The National Geographic Sea Bird left the dock at Sitka last night and cruised through Peril Strait. We awakened on the other side of Baranof Island, and at 6:45 a.m. the gentle voice of our expedition leader came over the PA—a little earlier than planned—because a humpback whale was feeding in the waters off the bow of the ship. A few breaths at the surface followed by tail fluke dive down, repeated every few minutes. What a beautiful mellow way to start this first day of our voyage. At 7:00 a group convened on the aft bridge deck to greet the day with some light qigong exercises. The rest of the morning was devoted to cruising some pretty areas, including the gushing bounty of Kasnyku Falls, and the lush landscape of Kelp Bay. This was alternated with safety and informational briefings, and an Introduction to Photography talk in the late morning.
We anchored during lunch and spent the afternoon exploring a beautiful area at Lake Eva. Hikes of various levels were a great introduction to the temperate rain forest of Southeast Alaska. The natural history staff pointed out the regal Sitka spruce and western hemlock that make up the majority of the forest here. Everywhere we looked was green! The smells of forest greeted every breath—damp mustiness of soil and decomposing trees, the freshness of new shoots bursting forth from tree limbs and earth, and the clean sweet scent of those amazing trees. We saw signs of wildlife all along the trail including the midden pile remnants of red squirrel dining on spruce pine cones, bear diggings and leaf nibbles of the skunk cabbage, feathers indicating a snack was had by some predator, scat of Sitka black-tailed deer, calls of various birds including bald eagles, and several thrushes. One hiking group made it to Lake Eva, and spent some time in the company of a few massive Sitka spruces. In the late afternoon we got the kayaks out and experienced the beauty and peace of the place from the water.
Back on board for Recap and dinner—and an after-dinner presentation by our National Geographic Expert. What a wonderful beautiful day here in Southeast Alaska.
