Lake Eva Trail & Red Bluff Bay
Stories from the land and tales from the sea colored our imaginations as we walked through the enchanting forest and cruised along the rugged coastline of Baranof Island today. Out on the trail, stories written in bear sign were all around, from browsed shrubbery to huge tracks and hair caught on spruce tree bark. And of course, scat. Who could possibly resist poking through the rich pile of blue-black residue filled with undigested blueberries? We remarked on the shift in the bear’s feeding patterns from grasses to newly ripened berries. By now, we are accustomed to walking the same trails as the bears and our knowledge of their yearly cycle brings a greater richness to the forest experience.
Up the trail a bit, just above the tumbling cascade, we stop at a slow meander in the stream that flows from Lake Eva. It is overhung with lacy branches that provide shade for juvenile fish. Every few seconds a fish rises and nabs one of the aquatic insects that whiz above the sun-dappled water. After gazing into the stream awhile, some of the shapes resolve into large chum salmon, their hooked jaws misshapen with that unmistakable spawning characteristic of salmon.
Mid-afternoon we stopped for a look at picturesque Kasniku Falls. This usually quiet cove was filled with fishing boats known as purse seiners. Tomorrow is the first opening of the season and like the bears, these men and women are waiting for the salmon. It is mid-July and we have witnessed the first of these life-giving animals making their way into the streams. After two years in the Pacific Ocean, the pink salmon have come in to face the gauntlet of purse-seiners and hungry bears; and to place their eggs in gravelly nests in the beds of their natal streams, just as they have for countless seasons.
Late in the day, our fine ship National Geographic Sea Lion visited the narrow reaches of Red Bluff Bay, a stunning small fiord that hosts dozens of waterfalls. Ah yes, another fine day filled with the beauty and wonder of Southeast Alaska.
Stories from the land and tales from the sea colored our imaginations as we walked through the enchanting forest and cruised along the rugged coastline of Baranof Island today. Out on the trail, stories written in bear sign were all around, from browsed shrubbery to huge tracks and hair caught on spruce tree bark. And of course, scat. Who could possibly resist poking through the rich pile of blue-black residue filled with undigested blueberries? We remarked on the shift in the bear’s feeding patterns from grasses to newly ripened berries. By now, we are accustomed to walking the same trails as the bears and our knowledge of their yearly cycle brings a greater richness to the forest experience.
Up the trail a bit, just above the tumbling cascade, we stop at a slow meander in the stream that flows from Lake Eva. It is overhung with lacy branches that provide shade for juvenile fish. Every few seconds a fish rises and nabs one of the aquatic insects that whiz above the sun-dappled water. After gazing into the stream awhile, some of the shapes resolve into large chum salmon, their hooked jaws misshapen with that unmistakable spawning characteristic of salmon.
Mid-afternoon we stopped for a look at picturesque Kasniku Falls. This usually quiet cove was filled with fishing boats known as purse seiners. Tomorrow is the first opening of the season and like the bears, these men and women are waiting for the salmon. It is mid-July and we have witnessed the first of these life-giving animals making their way into the streams. After two years in the Pacific Ocean, the pink salmon have come in to face the gauntlet of purse-seiners and hungry bears; and to place their eggs in gravelly nests in the beds of their natal streams, just as they have for countless seasons.
Late in the day, our fine ship National Geographic Sea Lion visited the narrow reaches of Red Bluff Bay, a stunning small fiord that hosts dozens of waterfalls. Ah yes, another fine day filled with the beauty and wonder of Southeast Alaska.
