Sitkoh Bay/Lake Eva, Hanus Bay/Peril Strait
A slight reduction in engine noise is enough to alert experienced guests aboard the Sea Lion that something wild, something beautiful, and most likely, something very much alive may be coming into view from the bow. Such was the case as Captain Graves sailed into Sitkoh Bay early this morning. Experience has taught that this narrow fjord on the east side of Chichagof Island is prime habitat for brown bears, and this experience paid off for early risers who witnessed no fewer than seven bears foraging along a grassy meadow near shore. Our ship hung back, drifting in the quiet water as we watched these living symbols of wild Alaska search for their breakfast.
After our breakfast, the Sea Lion anchored in Hanus Bay on the northeast corner of Baranof Island to begin our exploration off ship by foot and kayak. Hikers enjoyed an old-growth forest of Sitka spruce and western hemlock trees with an understory of broad-leaf shrubs such as skunk cabbage and devils club and a ground cover of innumerable ferns, moss, fungi and delicate flowers. The trail we followed passed a stream with a small waterfall. In the pool above the fall, a school of salmon rested before their final push to spawn upstream. The clear water revealed other fish including dolly varden and cutthroat trout swimming with the salmon.
After hiking, many guests took advantage of the smooth water and kayaked along the shore of Hanus Bay. The incoming tide provided an opportunity to follow the salmon’s path up stream to the base of the small waterfall where we could only marvel at the ability of these fish to swim up the powerful current into the pool above. A sign of a not so distant past but vastly different environment was observed in scoured and polished bedrock along the shoreline. These markings reminded us of the power of ice to modify the landscape and of the reach of the Pleistocene glaciation. Could it really be true that this vast chain of islands was covered with glaciers? Apparently yes, as the evidence is clear and very hard to refute.
The Sea Lion pulled anchor and sailed through Peril Strait where we paused one more time to view a brown bear along the southeast shoreline. We continued into Sergius Narrows against the current of a fast-flowing tide. This narrow waterway funnels the tidal flow of the Pacific Ocean through a channel less than a mile wide. We watched with fascination as tidal eddies flowed around the ship and the channel marker buoys leaned heavily with the strength of the current. Our last evening on board was shared together, alone in the water of Nakwasina Sound, one of the thousands of quiet inlets still found in Southeast Alaska.
A slight reduction in engine noise is enough to alert experienced guests aboard the Sea Lion that something wild, something beautiful, and most likely, something very much alive may be coming into view from the bow. Such was the case as Captain Graves sailed into Sitkoh Bay early this morning. Experience has taught that this narrow fjord on the east side of Chichagof Island is prime habitat for brown bears, and this experience paid off for early risers who witnessed no fewer than seven bears foraging along a grassy meadow near shore. Our ship hung back, drifting in the quiet water as we watched these living symbols of wild Alaska search for their breakfast.
After our breakfast, the Sea Lion anchored in Hanus Bay on the northeast corner of Baranof Island to begin our exploration off ship by foot and kayak. Hikers enjoyed an old-growth forest of Sitka spruce and western hemlock trees with an understory of broad-leaf shrubs such as skunk cabbage and devils club and a ground cover of innumerable ferns, moss, fungi and delicate flowers. The trail we followed passed a stream with a small waterfall. In the pool above the fall, a school of salmon rested before their final push to spawn upstream. The clear water revealed other fish including dolly varden and cutthroat trout swimming with the salmon.
After hiking, many guests took advantage of the smooth water and kayaked along the shore of Hanus Bay. The incoming tide provided an opportunity to follow the salmon’s path up stream to the base of the small waterfall where we could only marvel at the ability of these fish to swim up the powerful current into the pool above. A sign of a not so distant past but vastly different environment was observed in scoured and polished bedrock along the shoreline. These markings reminded us of the power of ice to modify the landscape and of the reach of the Pleistocene glaciation. Could it really be true that this vast chain of islands was covered with glaciers? Apparently yes, as the evidence is clear and very hard to refute.
The Sea Lion pulled anchor and sailed through Peril Strait where we paused one more time to view a brown bear along the southeast shoreline. We continued into Sergius Narrows against the current of a fast-flowing tide. This narrow waterway funnels the tidal flow of the Pacific Ocean through a channel less than a mile wide. We watched with fascination as tidal eddies flowed around the ship and the channel marker buoys leaned heavily with the strength of the current. Our last evening on board was shared together, alone in the water of Nakwasina Sound, one of the thousands of quiet inlets still found in Southeast Alaska.
