Lowe Inlet
This morning we awoke anchored in Lowe Inlet. This fjord boasts spectacular topography, with granite walls soaring high above protected waters. The mountainsides, though precipitous, are heavily clad in spruce and cedar. A large lake stands just above the inlet, draining through turgid falls.
Before breakfast we spotted a black bear. The creature moved slowly through the grass at the water’s edge, evidently grazing on newly emergent greenery. We all had plenty of time to watch the bear through binoculars or spotting scope before it ambled off into the trees.
Soon after breakfast we began exploring the inlet by Zodiac and by kayak. Boaters rocked in the foaming spillway of the waterfall or floated in the placid shallows, listening to the varied sounds of birdsong.
Lowe Inlet seems wild now, but it has not always been so. A forest of pilings marks the location of a once-busy salmon cannery. Nearby, we found a semi-circle of stones in the shallows. This enclosure was used by Tsimpshian Indians to catch fish on a falling tide. Boaters found that the cannery site was still full of life. A tree swallow twittered from the top of one post, resplendently iridescent in the bright sun, while his duller mate explored possible nest cavities. Later a bear emerged from the forest to munch the grasses between the pilings.
The weather was so brilliant that by afternoon, the ship’s crew organized a quick change, and we enjoyed lunch outside on deck. Fine weather continued as we motored through the long narrow fjords of British Columbia’s Inside Passage. In the early evening, the Captain took a detour, negotiating the perilously narrow entrance to Baker Inlet. Once inside, we found an active bald eagle nest, with one bird hunkered down in the massive construction, the other perched vigilantly above. As we watched, the nesting bird flew off, and the other bird hopped down and settled into the nest, perhaps to brood eggs or young for the rest of the night.
Long after dinner, the sun blazed cheerily in the northwest, leading us toward the waters of Southeast Alaska.
This morning we awoke anchored in Lowe Inlet. This fjord boasts spectacular topography, with granite walls soaring high above protected waters. The mountainsides, though precipitous, are heavily clad in spruce and cedar. A large lake stands just above the inlet, draining through turgid falls.
Before breakfast we spotted a black bear. The creature moved slowly through the grass at the water’s edge, evidently grazing on newly emergent greenery. We all had plenty of time to watch the bear through binoculars or spotting scope before it ambled off into the trees.
Soon after breakfast we began exploring the inlet by Zodiac and by kayak. Boaters rocked in the foaming spillway of the waterfall or floated in the placid shallows, listening to the varied sounds of birdsong.
Lowe Inlet seems wild now, but it has not always been so. A forest of pilings marks the location of a once-busy salmon cannery. Nearby, we found a semi-circle of stones in the shallows. This enclosure was used by Tsimpshian Indians to catch fish on a falling tide. Boaters found that the cannery site was still full of life. A tree swallow twittered from the top of one post, resplendently iridescent in the bright sun, while his duller mate explored possible nest cavities. Later a bear emerged from the forest to munch the grasses between the pilings.
The weather was so brilliant that by afternoon, the ship’s crew organized a quick change, and we enjoyed lunch outside on deck. Fine weather continued as we motored through the long narrow fjords of British Columbia’s Inside Passage. In the early evening, the Captain took a detour, negotiating the perilously narrow entrance to Baker Inlet. Once inside, we found an active bald eagle nest, with one bird hunkered down in the massive construction, the other perched vigilantly above. As we watched, the nesting bird flew off, and the other bird hopped down and settled into the nest, perhaps to brood eggs or young for the rest of the night.
Long after dinner, the sun blazed cheerily in the northwest, leading us toward the waters of Southeast Alaska.
