Today we explored the eastern flank of Baranof Island. We awoke entering Red Bluff Bay. This bay is named for the unusual rock is on one side of the bay. A rare sliver of the Earth’s deep crust, the rock is high in magnesium, which stunts tree growth. Though plant life around the bay may be limited, marine life is rich. We found sea lions and whales even before we entered the bay. Red Bluff is an intense fjord, with near-vertical walls cloaked in forest that seems to defy gravity. Several falls tumble down the bay’s steep walls, and the captain nosed us right up the mightiest of them.
Later in the morning, we paused to pick up Andy Szabo of the Alaska Whale Foundation. Andy is one of the area’s foremost whale researchers. He is also, we found, an informative and amusing lecturer. Still, we were not disappointed to have his presentation interrupted, because the disturbance was killer whales! We all rushed to the bow to see the whales. Andy described interesting aspects of whale biology as we watched. By their numbers, behavior and appearance, we identified these as “resident” or king salmon-eating whales. We saw about ten whales at varying distances, and were lucky enough to see one of them breach.
Eventually we left the whales and finished listening to Andy’ presentation. By the time he was done, we had reached Kasnakyu Falls, another of Baranof’s many cascades.
In the afternoon we stopped at the Lake Eva trailhead at the entrance to Peril Strait. Many opted for a leg-stretching hike up the trail. They passed beautiful lilies and huge trees on the way to the lake. It was obvious that many a bear had used the trail recently, for they left their colorful calling cards. One particular highlight was a couple of otters that preened and swam the stream flowing from Lake Eva. Meanwhile, a bear emerged from the forest to sit on the beach. A lucky few who were in rubber boats or on the ship enjoyed the seaside bruin.
