Icy Strait
This morning we were welcomed to the “real” Southeast Alaska with a cool morning breeze and low clouds clinging to the spruce-covered slopes of northern Chichagof Island. The Sea Lion rested silently at anchor, as furry sea otters and sleek harbor seals welcomed sleepy guests to the day. Shortly after breakfast, we began our explorations on foot and by kayak. Kayakers paddled close to rocky shores, finding many-armed sea stars and pulsing jellyfish in the kelp forest below and bald eagles perched in the spruce trees above. Hikers examined the many clues that brown bears leave in the forest to indicate their presence. Deep scratch marks high on a spruce trunk, bits of dark fur matted in sticky pitch on those same trees, clear tracks on a muddy trail and the perennial bear paths created when many bears walk in the exact same footprints over time.
We’d intended to explore by ship for the entire afternoon, but an impromptu Zodiac cruise seemed in order when we transited the Inian Islands. These islands lay at the junction of two highly productive bodies of water, Icy Strait and Cross Sound. Twice each day, water from the open Gulf of Alaska swirls around these rocky islands as it floods into the Inside Passage, bringing schools of salmon during these summer months. Dozens of bald eagles and Steller sea lions take advantage of this flood of food, catching salmon with talon and tooth. Roving bands of these sea lions investigated our inflatable craft while we captured their antics on countless photographs.
The end of our day was as raucous as the morning was silent. Just after dinner, our Chief Mate spotted a group of humpback whales diving together out in Icy Strait. We stopped to watch, and soon were treated to an incredible display of cetacean acrobatics! We watched and cheered as a young humpback repeatedly launched its entire body out of the water and threw its immense tail up to slap it loudly on the sea’s surface. This whale was so intent on making noise, it rolled on its back, with throat pleats clearly visible, and raised both of its 15 foot-long pectoral flippers out of the water, then slapped them down on the water. The kayak water fight of the morning was no match for the noise and splashes this whale was making. Although it was breezy and cool out on deck, none of us could bring ourselves to leave until, feeling the pull of tomorrow’s adventures, the Sea Lion slowly turned and sailed away.
This morning we were welcomed to the “real” Southeast Alaska with a cool morning breeze and low clouds clinging to the spruce-covered slopes of northern Chichagof Island. The Sea Lion rested silently at anchor, as furry sea otters and sleek harbor seals welcomed sleepy guests to the day. Shortly after breakfast, we began our explorations on foot and by kayak. Kayakers paddled close to rocky shores, finding many-armed sea stars and pulsing jellyfish in the kelp forest below and bald eagles perched in the spruce trees above. Hikers examined the many clues that brown bears leave in the forest to indicate their presence. Deep scratch marks high on a spruce trunk, bits of dark fur matted in sticky pitch on those same trees, clear tracks on a muddy trail and the perennial bear paths created when many bears walk in the exact same footprints over time.
We’d intended to explore by ship for the entire afternoon, but an impromptu Zodiac cruise seemed in order when we transited the Inian Islands. These islands lay at the junction of two highly productive bodies of water, Icy Strait and Cross Sound. Twice each day, water from the open Gulf of Alaska swirls around these rocky islands as it floods into the Inside Passage, bringing schools of salmon during these summer months. Dozens of bald eagles and Steller sea lions take advantage of this flood of food, catching salmon with talon and tooth. Roving bands of these sea lions investigated our inflatable craft while we captured their antics on countless photographs.
The end of our day was as raucous as the morning was silent. Just after dinner, our Chief Mate spotted a group of humpback whales diving together out in Icy Strait. We stopped to watch, and soon were treated to an incredible display of cetacean acrobatics! We watched and cheered as a young humpback repeatedly launched its entire body out of the water and threw its immense tail up to slap it loudly on the sea’s surface. This whale was so intent on making noise, it rolled on its back, with throat pleats clearly visible, and raised both of its 15 foot-long pectoral flippers out of the water, then slapped them down on the water. The kayak water fight of the morning was no match for the noise and splashes this whale was making. Although it was breezy and cool out on deck, none of us could bring ourselves to leave until, feeling the pull of tomorrow’s adventures, the Sea Lion slowly turned and sailed away.
