Lake Eva Trail, Baranof Island / Pond Island, Kelp Bay
Our first day aboard the Sea Lion was full of activities. In the early morning we entered Sitkoh Bay (Chichagof Island) to check the meadow at the end for wildlife. Through the spotting scope we spied a brown (grizzly) bear walking through the tall grass. Before the berries ripen and the salmon start to run upstream, the bears feed on sedges, roots, intertidal organisms, and anything else they can find. To paraphrase John Muir, a grizzly will eat anything except granite.
After breakfast we anchored in Hanus Bay and went ashore in our inflatable Zodiacs to hike on the Lake Eva trail. Two groups survived the boot-sucking mud and made it to the lake. Others took a more moderate pace and had time to see and photograph flowers, eagles and salmon. Sockeye (red) salmon are the first of several runs to enter this stream and a number of them had already made it up and over a cascade and were resting in a pool above. After growing large in the ocean, salmon make their way back to the river from which they originated, where they spawn and shortly afterward die and nourish the bears, eagles, and trees along with the next generation of salmon with nutrients from the sea. Bear tracks and scat in the trail confirmed the presence of one crucial link in that cycle. Wildflowers of all colors burst like fireworks in the meadows.
We were back on board for lunch. We pulled the anchor and cruised south in Chatham Strait and turned into Kelp Bay (Baranof Island). We anchored near Pond Island and had the opportunity to kayak and Zodiac cruise along the shoreline and around the islets in this scenic bay. Sharon led a few people on a walk through a muskeg (bog) and to a beaver dam. Yellow pond-lilies accented the water behind the dam.
The Zodiac cruisers were lucky to see a couple of brown bears walking on the beach. There were also curious harbor seals that stared back at us with big brown eyes as we gazed at them. Marbled murrelets dotted the water offshore of their nesting area. This is a small seabird that nests in ancient forest. They use their wings to “fly” underwater in pursuit of small fish. Endangered elsewhere, they are still fairly abundant in Southeast Alaska but it was somewhat worrisome and disconcerting to see clearcuts juxtaposed to their critical and threatened nesting habitat.
As we sailed north in Chatham Strait this evening, we came upon some humpback whales and were treated to close views of these magnificent animals in a brilliant sunset.
Our first day aboard the Sea Lion was full of activities. In the early morning we entered Sitkoh Bay (Chichagof Island) to check the meadow at the end for wildlife. Through the spotting scope we spied a brown (grizzly) bear walking through the tall grass. Before the berries ripen and the salmon start to run upstream, the bears feed on sedges, roots, intertidal organisms, and anything else they can find. To paraphrase John Muir, a grizzly will eat anything except granite.
After breakfast we anchored in Hanus Bay and went ashore in our inflatable Zodiacs to hike on the Lake Eva trail. Two groups survived the boot-sucking mud and made it to the lake. Others took a more moderate pace and had time to see and photograph flowers, eagles and salmon. Sockeye (red) salmon are the first of several runs to enter this stream and a number of them had already made it up and over a cascade and were resting in a pool above. After growing large in the ocean, salmon make their way back to the river from which they originated, where they spawn and shortly afterward die and nourish the bears, eagles, and trees along with the next generation of salmon with nutrients from the sea. Bear tracks and scat in the trail confirmed the presence of one crucial link in that cycle. Wildflowers of all colors burst like fireworks in the meadows.
We were back on board for lunch. We pulled the anchor and cruised south in Chatham Strait and turned into Kelp Bay (Baranof Island). We anchored near Pond Island and had the opportunity to kayak and Zodiac cruise along the shoreline and around the islets in this scenic bay. Sharon led a few people on a walk through a muskeg (bog) and to a beaver dam. Yellow pond-lilies accented the water behind the dam.
The Zodiac cruisers were lucky to see a couple of brown bears walking on the beach. There were also curious harbor seals that stared back at us with big brown eyes as we gazed at them. Marbled murrelets dotted the water offshore of their nesting area. This is a small seabird that nests in ancient forest. They use their wings to “fly” underwater in pursuit of small fish. Endangered elsewhere, they are still fairly abundant in Southeast Alaska but it was somewhat worrisome and disconcerting to see clearcuts juxtaposed to their critical and threatened nesting habitat.
As we sailed north in Chatham Strait this evening, we came upon some humpback whales and were treated to close views of these magnificent animals in a brilliant sunset.
