Last night, National Geographic Sea Lion departed Sitka and headed north, transiting narrow channels en route to Peril Strait. This morning we awoke in calm, scenic Saook Bay on the north side of Baranof Island. After breakfast, we got out on the ship’s bow as we cruised into Sitkoh Bay, a long, narrow inlet on Chichagof Island. Many of us had just finished adjusting our binoculars, when suddenly we were looking through them at two brown bears walking near a salmon stream. One of them went into the water, and came out dripping. A few hundred yards away there was an abandoned salmon cannery. Bears, stunning scenery, bald eagles and historic buildings, and it wasn’t yet 9:30 a.m.
We had some first-day logistics to take care of, so as we did that, the ship turned north into Chatham Strait. David gave tips on taking good photographs, and Lee talked to us about bears and safety near them. Our afternoon anchorage was in a corner of Freshwater Bay called Pavlof Harbor. A salmon stream runs down a cascade from a lake, and pink salmon have just returned to spawn. The fish jumped occasionally in the stream, and out in the bay as well. A few weeks ago, these fish were in the North Pacific, but they’ve just returned to use up their bodies’ last resources in a final burst of energy—they’ll spawn, then die, and they’ll feed dozens of animals on this final leg of their journey.
Some of us kayaked, and some of us walked into the forest, intending to reach the lake. The forest had bear trails meandering through it, and a wide variety of mushrooms added bits of color to the forest floor under spruce and hemlock trees. While we were there, a brown bear came out of the forest and walked onto the shallow part of the stream and began catching salmon. Viewing was outstanding! Whether we watched from the shore, up above in the forest, or from kayaks, it was simply thrilling to see the bear catch fish, and eat them. Later in the afternoon, two bears were feeding. We adjusted our hiking plans to take advantage of the great bear viewing. Today has been a fantastic beginning to our Alaska expedition.
