Chichagof Island
Early risers found a scene of low-lying fog over a grassy meadow at the end of a small bay surrounded by high forested ridges. We had reached the end of an inlet on the northwestern side of Chichagof Island. Idaho Inlet had once been the resting place of a small freighter called the Idaho when in the fog it had tried to make its way further by sea than the sea actually went so it grounded on the shallows where we now drifted peacefully in search of wildlife. As people awoke and came to the decks they felt the quiet of the place and soaked up the solitude. Only a few species of birds were seen on this first minutes of the day but the reward of being in a place of beauty and serenity was far greater than the short list of species identified.
As we traveled out of the inlet, small groups of Sea Otters rafted together for seemingly safety in numbers protection. Very little kelp grows in the inside parts of the bays and these underwater forests are what the otters use for protection. Some of the otters were consuming their morning foods in which was a good stimulus for us to do the same as breakfast was announced.
After breakfast we divided into kayakers and hikers. Later in the morning the groups switched so almost everyone had a chance to do both activities. While walking with the staff naturalists we had an opportunity to view the grand old growth forest of Chichagof Island. The kayakers were treated to the sounds of Marbled Murrelets whistling to each other and the mighty exhale of Humpback Whales feeding in the area. During the middle part of the day we actually had lunch on deck as the sun shone brightly and warmed the air and our happy spirits. Because the day was so outstanding we ventured into Cross Sound where to the north the Brady Glacier provided a foreground for the massive Mount Fairweather high above the rugged coastline. We also ventured out in the Zodiac’s to see more closely the features of this normally wave beaten coast which today was calm and placid as the Pacific refers to.
Early risers found a scene of low-lying fog over a grassy meadow at the end of a small bay surrounded by high forested ridges. We had reached the end of an inlet on the northwestern side of Chichagof Island. Idaho Inlet had once been the resting place of a small freighter called the Idaho when in the fog it had tried to make its way further by sea than the sea actually went so it grounded on the shallows where we now drifted peacefully in search of wildlife. As people awoke and came to the decks they felt the quiet of the place and soaked up the solitude. Only a few species of birds were seen on this first minutes of the day but the reward of being in a place of beauty and serenity was far greater than the short list of species identified.
As we traveled out of the inlet, small groups of Sea Otters rafted together for seemingly safety in numbers protection. Very little kelp grows in the inside parts of the bays and these underwater forests are what the otters use for protection. Some of the otters were consuming their morning foods in which was a good stimulus for us to do the same as breakfast was announced.
After breakfast we divided into kayakers and hikers. Later in the morning the groups switched so almost everyone had a chance to do both activities. While walking with the staff naturalists we had an opportunity to view the grand old growth forest of Chichagof Island. The kayakers were treated to the sounds of Marbled Murrelets whistling to each other and the mighty exhale of Humpback Whales feeding in the area. During the middle part of the day we actually had lunch on deck as the sun shone brightly and warmed the air and our happy spirits. Because the day was so outstanding we ventured into Cross Sound where to the north the Brady Glacier provided a foreground for the massive Mount Fairweather high above the rugged coastline. We also ventured out in the Zodiac’s to see more closely the features of this normally wave beaten coast which today was calm and placid as the Pacific refers to.
