Endicott Arm and Stephens Passage, 7/9/2024, National Geographic Sea Lion
Aboard the
National Geographic Sea Lion
Alaska
Our first full day aboard National Geographic Sea Lion was spent cruising up Endicott Arm to get to Dawes Glacier. The Zodiacs were dropped to explore the area further and guests were taken to scenic waterfalls. They were visited by harbor seals peri-scoping to view the strange people in orange “fur”.
Naturalist Al spotted a mother mountain goat and her kid on the rocky cliff face. Amazingly enough, a female Steller sea lion managed to make its way to the face of Dawes Glacier, surprising the naturalists. She even catches a fish and tears it to pieces at the surface. The day was filled with epic views and amazing wildlife experiences.
Emily proudly grew up in the state of Michigan, doing whatever she could to experience and get to know our natural world. She carries a degree in zoology and public policy and worked in an agroecology lab throughout her time in school. Discovering th...
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The Inian Islands are located between the open waters of the Gulf of Alaska and the protected waters of the Inside Passage. Marine life is abundant in this area of strong currents and upwelling, and countless salmon swim through here as they return from the ocean to spawn. We saw many Steller sea lions, sea otters, and seabirds around the islands. Later in the day, we visited George Island for walks ashore and kayaking…and a few hardy souls went swimming! Our day’s wildlife sightings continued after dinner as we watched humpback whales.
A cool mist hung low over National Geographic Sea Lion as we made our way through Icy Strait and turned south, hugging the rocky east coast of Chichagof Island. Chichagof is part of Alaska’s ABC Islands, which are known for their sweeping shoreline meadows, stunning temperate rainforests, and abundant wildlife. This area hosts robust sockeye, chum, and pink salmon runs plus thick brambles of salmonberries and thimbleberries, which support the dense brown bear populations these islands are famous for. Zodiac’ing ashore for a morning of hiking and bushwhacking, we immediately found recent evidence of brown bears. Fresh scat dotted our trail almost the entire trek, and we took care to remain in close proximity to our hiking groups as we enjoyed some time in the glorious rainforest. As we trekked, we sampled salmonberries and thimbleberries and stopped periodically to peer across the meadow in search of wildlife. We were rewarded with multiple sightings of Sitka deer, river otters, and Alaska-sized banana slugs all around. Upon return to the ship, our Global Explorers prepared for their Zodiac driving lessons with naturalists. After dinner, Paul debuted our guest slideshow, which reminded us all just how wonderful our week on National Geographic Sea Lion has been.
Today is Haines day! Haines is a small coastal town that is brimming with neat activities for our guests. While some guests enjoyed a deep hike into a temperate rainforest or a walk through meadows of flowers, others went fly fishing, cycling, or floating on a river raft. Some guests spent the day in town bebopping around into shops, breweries, and museums. Haines day is always a guest favorite. We left the dock in the early evening to head for Cross Sound. Tomorrow, we are exploring the Inian Islands! We closed our day with a stunningly vivid double rainbow after dinner. It was such an amazing day in Southeast Alaska.
