Brown Bear on Baranof Island
Our morning began with an exploration of Gut Bay. This inlet is a deep notch on the coast of Baranof Island. Here glaciers have sculpted granite into forms reminiscent of Yosemite. Cliffs were high and smooth, and marked with arcs from exfoliation. We found a handsome bruin along the shore. Like those we saw before, this “mighty predator” was placidly munching vegetation, regularly regarding us with grass hanging from his mouth like one of Gary Larson’s cows.
For the rest of the morning we made our way north in Chatham Strait. We heard lectures about salmon and bears, and we found a feeding humpback whale. The whale was lunging at the surface, allowing us to see the “stove-bolts” on the top of its head, its open mouth, and a long pectoral flipper.
Lunch was suddenly interrupted by the sighting of killer whales! We dashed out to the bow to see three whales swimming Chatham Strait. Two were males, with impressive six-foot dorsal fins. The other was female, by whose arcuate dorsal fin we were able to identify these as salmon eaters. One of the males did a couple of breaches when we were able to see much of his striking black-and-white body.
We landed in the afternoon at the Lake Eva trail on the north side of Baranof Island. Long hikers strode quickly to the lake. Others watched young salmon in the shadowy pools of the river. But of all we found, best were a fine pair of bears. A brown sow and her large cub prowled the riverside. Though these bears are no doubt anticipating salmon, they were, again, peacefully grazing on riverside sedges.
We returned to the ship to unwind over drinks and dinner, but the day was not over. After dessert, killer whales were found again. We followed a group of ten or so whales. We had fine views of the whales and enjoyed a few more breaches.
The “ABC” islands of Southeast Alaska and the strait they share offer some of the grandest scenery and the finest wildlife of the Northwest Coast, and we enjoyed much them.
