We woke approaching Pavlof Harbor, a cove in Chichagof Island’s eastern shore. Soon after breakfast our explorations began.
Many went ashore for a walk. Meandering along the shore, the trail plunges into the forest, then re-emerges along a broad stream bed. Here salmon migrate in the late summer and bears use this spot as a fishing ground. Many ascended a small bluff beside a waterfall and then walked further in the forest. Here, they encountered some number-one, class-A, boot-sucking mud, without which any Alaskan experience would be but a pathetic hollow shell. Eventually walkers passed a beaver lodge before getting a quick view of the pond above the falls.
Meanwhile paddlers took kayaks through the placid and raindrop-dimpled waters of Pavlof Harbor and those in expedition landing craft took speedier rides.
Once back on the ship, some, perhaps more intrepid than prudent, took a “polar plunge.” They leapt and made a short but frenetic swim to a nearby boat. Most, being neither as fuzzy as otters nor as blubbery as whales clearly understood why such insulation makes life in the Alaska’s water bearable.
In the afternoon we cruised down Chatham Strait and into Peril Strait on our way to Sitka. Watching the huge scale and intimate detail of Alaska slide by we had time to consider the majesty and value of this great land and our connection to it.
