Mitkof Island & Petersburg
What started off as a gray misty morning slowly evolved into another mostly sunny spring day. We have been so fortunate with the weather. After breakfast, we had our first Zodiac landing on shore. We were at Ideal Cove on Mitkof Island for a walk into the temperate rain forest. Entering this old growth forest was like entering a natural cathedral… the musical song of a winter wren, the occasional chatter of a red squirrel, and the bubbling of a nearby stream were the only sounds breaking the deep silence of the emerald green wilderness.
Along the trail were signs of Sitka black-tail deer and moose. After about a mile, we came to a beaver dam, where we were surprised to see a river otter.
Later, back on the National Geographic Sea Lion, we steamed toward Petersburg. Just as lunch was announced, a half-dozen orcas or killer whales enticed us back outside. These rare, beautiful creatures seemed to be toying with the ship by swimming under the hull then surfacing and jumping and then slapping their tail flukes. For many amazing minutes, the whales continued to swim near us allowing for remarkable observation and photography. Finally, we had to break away to continue in Petersburg, where guests were able to explore town on their own or go flight-seeing over glaciers or for another hike…this time on Kupreanof Island. This trail took us to a muskeg bog to see unusual plants such as the carnivorous sundew.
