Iyoukeen Cove & Pavlov Harbor
Forget all you’ve ever heard, read or thought of Southeast Alaska because today went beyond belief. Just after sunrise we spotted a group of humpback whales off Iyoukeen Cove. Escorted in by Dall’s porpoise, the humpbacks proceeded to work the bay’s water, churning it into a bubbling froth. Seventeen humpbacks, in a coordinated effort, used air, sound and bodies to corral the plentiful herring swimming at depth. Over the hydrophone we could hear the elephantine-like scream of the lead whale followed by a spiral of bubbles at the surface. The collection of gulls waiting for leftovers helped us to identify the area where these great giants would erupt at the surface. Even as “light artistic” mist falling over the bow turned to a steady rain, folks watched in awe for six hours as the humpbacks ate their way through the morning.
In the afternoon we sailed south to Pavlov Harbor. Once on the beach, we followed the rocky shore, flanked by a salmon stream and a beautiful representation of a Southeast Alaskan rainforest. As we rounded the corner, the stream transitioned into a small series of falls and a weir, or fish ladder, put in place by the National Forest Service. This weir allows National Forest Service personnel to count the runs of salmon returning from year to year. Dressed in our finest rubber boots and raingear, we weathered the elements and watched a brown bear plod through the rushing water, snag a big humpie (pink salmon), and retreat to the forest edge for an early evening meal.
Forget all you’ve ever heard, read or thought of Southeast Alaska because today went beyond belief. Just after sunrise we spotted a group of humpback whales off Iyoukeen Cove. Escorted in by Dall’s porpoise, the humpbacks proceeded to work the bay’s water, churning it into a bubbling froth. Seventeen humpbacks, in a coordinated effort, used air, sound and bodies to corral the plentiful herring swimming at depth. Over the hydrophone we could hear the elephantine-like scream of the lead whale followed by a spiral of bubbles at the surface. The collection of gulls waiting for leftovers helped us to identify the area where these great giants would erupt at the surface. Even as “light artistic” mist falling over the bow turned to a steady rain, folks watched in awe for six hours as the humpbacks ate their way through the morning.
In the afternoon we sailed south to Pavlov Harbor. Once on the beach, we followed the rocky shore, flanked by a salmon stream and a beautiful representation of a Southeast Alaskan rainforest. As we rounded the corner, the stream transitioned into a small series of falls and a weir, or fish ladder, put in place by the National Forest Service. This weir allows National Forest Service personnel to count the runs of salmon returning from year to year. Dressed in our finest rubber boots and raingear, we weathered the elements and watched a brown bear plod through the rushing water, snag a big humpie (pink salmon), and retreat to the forest edge for an early evening meal.
