Misty Fjords National Monument
We spent a day surrounded by pure majesty in every direction we looked, travelling through the fjords on the east side of Revillagigedo Island. We traveled south all night and today we sailed at roughly the same latitude as Ketchikan as the sun rose over the mountains. Misty Fjords National Monument was our day’s destination, and instead of “misty” we got “sunny” fjords. The day was simply stunning, and the highlight of this place is mainly the picturesque surroundings.
Early this morning we entered Walker Cove and later on we explored Rudyerd Bay. Here we deployed our kayaks and Zodiacs to get up-close and personal with the magnificent rock formations and of course, with the western red cedars that announced our change in latitude.
From our small watercraft we got close looks of magical waterfalls, common loons, Bonaparte’s gulls and salmon spawning streams. Bald eagles were present in abundant numbers. Since the salmon spawning season is almost over and there are chum and pink salmon either dying or reaching the final stages of their life cycle, eagles and other forest-dwelling creatures eat as much as they can to accumulate the last available energy before winter’s arrival.
From our Zodiacs we admired a salmon stream under magical evening light. Magnificent reflections of the forest covered the water’s surface. Eagles flew above us as we pointed out the harlequin ducks and common mergansers and we maneuvered the boat to get the perfect photographs. Suddenly, we noticed a few branches moving behind a fallen tree. From the shoreline of the stream, a black bear slowly walked up towards the forest. In its mouth, there was a large chum salmon which made the bear look small. It stopped briefly to take a look at us, and slowly made its way into the deep of its forested home.
