Chatham Strait & Pavlof Harbor, Southeast Alaska
A mysteriousness hung over Chatham Strait this morning as we made our way northward in the earliest light of this day—fog hanging over the water and resting like thin blankets along the mountainsides that rose steeply on both sides of us. There was a mist in the air and dozens of different hues of gray in sky and sea. Breaking through the boundary of air and water rose three humpback whales blowing their misty spouts and sinking silently into the dark depths of this watery world. Even before breakfast this day was auspicious. During the morning we explored Tenakee Inlet with its many small side bays and the quaint stilted town of Tenakee Springs. In Tenakee we saw a few more humpback whales spouting, rolling and finally throwing their massive flukes above their gigantic bodies and disappearing into the unknown. By mid-morning the rain was coming down heavily as we headed north in Chatham Strait past Freshwater Inlet in search for more humpback whales, our hope being to encounter one of the cooperative feeding groups that are sometimes found in this area. Sure enough, peering through the curtain of rain we sighted a group of 8 whales all throwing their mighty tails into the air. And then the rain stopped and the fog lifted and we were able to watch…and hear…one of the truly spectacular wildlife spectacles of the world. With a hydrophone (underwater microphone) in the water and all eyes focused on the spot where the whales dove, we waited for a few minutes and then the magic began. One of the whales moaned the most haunting sound imaginable, a plaintive call with an upward swing, and then stopped abruptly. Seconds later the entire group of eight, weighing in at over 300 tons, exploded out of the water with water and herring streaming from their cavernous mouths and 100s of gulls coming in to pick up the left over scraps of the fish feast. This ritual repeated over and over for more than an hour until time for our own lunch-feed. An experience of a lifetime for sure!
For lesser mortals than our intrepid explorers, the afternoon in heavy rain would have been a deterrent. Instead, we put on our raingear and went out for walks and kayaking--weather be damned! The payoff came after more than an hour ashore when a young brown bear was spotted feeding on salmon at Pavlof creek falls. Word went out and everyone ashore and in kayaks rushed to watch our second world class wildlife experience for the day. Back and forth across the falls, the young bear hunted and on two occasions landed and devoured a pink salmon trying to make its way up to the lake and the spawning grounds beyond. Those two salmon didn’t make it but they provided us with an incredible look into the magical world of the salmon-bears.
We have certainly set a high bar for the rest of the trip on the first day of this extraordinary expedition to southeast Alaska and all the way south through British Columbia to Seattle.
A mysteriousness hung over Chatham Strait this morning as we made our way northward in the earliest light of this day—fog hanging over the water and resting like thin blankets along the mountainsides that rose steeply on both sides of us. There was a mist in the air and dozens of different hues of gray in sky and sea. Breaking through the boundary of air and water rose three humpback whales blowing their misty spouts and sinking silently into the dark depths of this watery world. Even before breakfast this day was auspicious. During the morning we explored Tenakee Inlet with its many small side bays and the quaint stilted town of Tenakee Springs. In Tenakee we saw a few more humpback whales spouting, rolling and finally throwing their massive flukes above their gigantic bodies and disappearing into the unknown. By mid-morning the rain was coming down heavily as we headed north in Chatham Strait past Freshwater Inlet in search for more humpback whales, our hope being to encounter one of the cooperative feeding groups that are sometimes found in this area. Sure enough, peering through the curtain of rain we sighted a group of 8 whales all throwing their mighty tails into the air. And then the rain stopped and the fog lifted and we were able to watch…and hear…one of the truly spectacular wildlife spectacles of the world. With a hydrophone (underwater microphone) in the water and all eyes focused on the spot where the whales dove, we waited for a few minutes and then the magic began. One of the whales moaned the most haunting sound imaginable, a plaintive call with an upward swing, and then stopped abruptly. Seconds later the entire group of eight, weighing in at over 300 tons, exploded out of the water with water and herring streaming from their cavernous mouths and 100s of gulls coming in to pick up the left over scraps of the fish feast. This ritual repeated over and over for more than an hour until time for our own lunch-feed. An experience of a lifetime for sure!
For lesser mortals than our intrepid explorers, the afternoon in heavy rain would have been a deterrent. Instead, we put on our raingear and went out for walks and kayaking--weather be damned! The payoff came after more than an hour ashore when a young brown bear was spotted feeding on salmon at Pavlof creek falls. Word went out and everyone ashore and in kayaks rushed to watch our second world class wildlife experience for the day. Back and forth across the falls, the young bear hunted and on two occasions landed and devoured a pink salmon trying to make its way up to the lake and the spawning grounds beyond. Those two salmon didn’t make it but they provided us with an incredible look into the magical world of the salmon-bears.
We have certainly set a high bar for the rest of the trip on the first day of this extraordinary expedition to southeast Alaska and all the way south through British Columbia to Seattle.
