After spending the night cruising through Chatham Strait and Frederick Sound, the National Geographic Sea Bird passed by the town of Petersburg on our way to Ideal Cove on Mitkof Island, the site for our morning activities. We’ll be doing a variety of hikes this morning, from a vigorous aerobic one, to a more casual and leisurely walk. All of them are on a narrow boardwalk trail that loops for miles around several lakes in the area. This is part of a vast system of trails that have been created and maintained by the U.S. Forest Service, both on islands and the mainland of Southeast Alaska, in the Tongass National Forest.
Things are changing quickly at this time of year in Alaska, flowers fading, colors turning, with different mushrooms emerging in the forest. There can be a large variety of shapes, sizes, and colors of these fungi along any trail, and we were not disappointed this morning! I think that there were a large number of photos taken of these wonderful organisms on this particular morning!
Soon it was time to head back for lunch aboard the National Geographic Sea Bird, lift the anchor, and reposition to the town of Petersburg, also on Mitkof Island, along Wrangell Narrows. This is a community of about 3,000 people, which is heavily reliant on the commercial fishing industry. It was established by a Norwegian fisherman named Peter Bushmann in the late 1800s for its location near the Leconte Glacier, and its endless supply of ice for preserving the catch in the rich fishing grounds of this area of Southeast Alaska!
As lunch finished, the National Geographic Sea Bird was tying up to the pier, and the multitude of activities started almost immediately. First the flightseeing guests left for their adventure soaring over Leconte Glacier and the surrounding mountains for a birds-eye view of the southernmost tidewater glacier in the Northern Hemisphere. Then we gathered on the dock for an interpretive walk about the commercial fishing industry, and a short cruise over to Kupreanof Island for walks, on another boardwalk, through a muskeg area, a different habitat that makes up at least 15% of the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska. There were also bikes available to explore the Petersburg area, and a chance to just stroll into town and enjoy this lovely working community!
Soon it was time to leave, but we were rewarded for all our hard work of the day with a Dungeness crab feast; life is good!
