Just another sunny day in Southeast Alaska—not! We are so fortunate to be enjoying this fine blue-sky weather. What could possibly be more satisfying than walking through an intact old-growth coastal rain forest and a beautiful open muskeg on a perfect day? At Ideal Cove we moved between huge Sitka spruce and western hemlock trees, listened to the intricate melody of the Pacific wren blended with the soft sounds of a babbling stream, viewed diffused green light through devil’s club leaves, considered ferns, moss, and lichens, and marveled at their adaptations to the low light of the understory, savored some sweet seedy salmonberries, and tasted a rather sour blueberry.
Just after lunch the captain masterfully docked the National Geographic Sea Bird in the midst of the impressive fishing fleet in Petersburg—a delightful small community on Mitkof Island. From our perch atop the nearby bog or muskeg, we could see the town and all of the waterways and the 10,000-foot peaks surrounding the island. Whether inspecting the sphagnum mosses and insectivorous sundew or perusing the aisles of the hardware store, photographing the fishing boats or capturing some of the Norwegian flavor of the town, one could hardly imagine a sweeter way to explore Southeast Alaska on such a day.
