Kelp Bay and Chatham Strait, 7/20/2022, National Geographic Quest
Aboard the
National Geographic Quest
Alaska
We spent our day ‘schwacking and observing (whale) snacking in Kelp Bay and Chatham Strait!
Some people’s idea of paradise is a tropical beach, white coral sands, warm water, and a warm breeze. Not us! We woke up to a drizzly day with low clouds, a brisk wind, and air and water temps in the 50s. The Southeast Alaska version of paradise!
The first half of our day started with forest and Zodiac adventures in Kelp Bay. Bushwhacking hikers enjoyed following bear and deer trails that wound through seas of blueberries and muskegs full of sundews, while Zodiac cruisers got up close and personal with brown bears and humpback whales.
And speaking of humpback whales, our afternoon cruising through Chatham Strait provided us with the chance to observe a group of humpback whales bubble-net feeding, which is unquestionably one of the most spectacular animal behaviors anyone can witness. The rain blended with tears of joy as hundreds of tons of whales repeatedly lunged all around us.
Marine biologist, multisport athlete, and photographer Adam has been studying whales, dolphins, and seabirds since 1994. Since then, he has spent thousands of days at sea on research expeditions all over the world and has seen half of the known cetac...
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Our day started early. Very early. So early that some people had not even gone to bed yet. We were awake because the sky was clear, and we were hoping for a light show. And what a light show we had. The northern lights, or aurora borealis, can happen at any time of the year, but the sky must be clear of clouds and dark enough to see them. In the Land of the Midnight Sun, and in the world’s largest temperate rainforest, those two conditions don’t often align. But we were treated to a spectacular show this morning as we headed towards the green-lit horizon. While vivid ribbons of green shifted and pulsed ahead, the Milky Way and Perseid meteor shower were shining brightly above us. After catching a few hours of rest, we roused ourselves in the daylight as we navigated the narrow length of Endicott Arm. Located in Tracy Arm-Fords Terror National Wilderness, Endicott Arm is a deep glacial fjord carved by ice. At the end of the arm sits Dawes Glacier. The glacier spills out of the Stikine Icefield, a solid lake of ice cradled high in the Coastal Mountains. The terminus, or face, of the glacier reaches the sea, which allowed us to cruise through chunks of ice towards the towering glacier on Zodiacs. Harbor seals swam between ice chunks, their shiny, round heads reflecting the clear morning light. Waterfalls spilled down sheer rock faces along the fjord. Our Zodiacs quickly transformed into toy boats in the immense scale of space around us. Back on-board National Geographic Venture , we retraced our route back out of Endicott Arm, out of Holkham Bay, and back into Stephens Passage. The afternoon sun was warm as we cruised south, and we soon found ourselves surrounded by dozens of humpback whales in Frederick Sound. The giant animals rose gently to the surface from their feeding dives, exhaling a twenty-foot column of steamy breath into the evening air. A beautiful sunset colored the sky as we journeyed on towards our next adventure. Photo caption: Northern lights. Photo by Shayne Sanders
Today we spent the day in the Southeast Alaskan fishing village of Petersburg. Fishing has been an important part of life for thousands of years by the Tlingit nation, and now with a Norwegian addition. Nearby ice from a tidewater glacier gave early European settlers the means to preserve fresh fish long enough to get their haul to Seattle. It proved a good business. Today, the fish travel by airline along with the visitors. In addition to flash-frozen fresh fish, salmon and other species are netted and processed in the canneries. Dungeness crabs are another local delicacy that we look forward to enjoying tonight. Our expedition leader offered many activities to choose from, including muskeg walks, flights over LeConte Glacier, and bike rides. The small, lovely town is welcoming.
We pulled anchor and began to navigate the Sergius Narrows early in the morning as we sailed toward Sitkoh Bay. Utilized by the Tlingit for thousands of years as a place to fish for salmon, Sitkoh Bay was then settled by August Bushman in the early 20th century. Right before we anchored National Geographic Quest , a brown bear was spotted at the end of the bay. A variety of hikes were offered as well as some Zodiac tours. Several of the groups got to watch a coastal brown bear fish for salmon in a small creek. The long hikers experienced the tidal flats and a few streams, and a few folks decided to learn about the ‘boot sucking mud’ that is a famous part of adventuring in Southeast Alaska. Today was the first experience for many in the Tongass National Rainforest, the largest temperate rainforest on the planet and one of the most intact ecosystems left in the United States. After dinner, we enjoyed a talk about bears, and whales were spotted in the moonlight. All in all, today was a great way to start our expedition.
