Red Bluff & Kelp Bays
Crisp bright sunlight bathed the stream in the meadow at the end of Red Bluff Bay and slowly consumed the dark shadows. Tall grass easily hid the animals we were hoping to see as we searched the lumps and stumps. One had ears. All you could see was the top of the dark brown head before it dropped out of sight and reappeared. The view the bears had was of a small ship with dozens of glass eyes looking at it. When we finally pulled away two bears were in full view. We passed the red bluffs of iron and magnesium that give the bay its name and continued out into Chatham Strait. This feature is truly straight because it was formed by a fault that extends much of the length of Southeast Alaska to beyond the town of Haines.
Waterfalls are mesmerizing, and Kasnyku Falls is no exception. The water shoots out in sprays and tumbles hundreds of feet down from an opening in the forest to finally spread out onto the sea. The National Geographic Sea Lion lingered here, visually drinking in the cascades.
After lunch we explored the South Arm of Kelp Bay. I think that of all the places in Southeast Alaska, none represents the engaging, complex beauty of this area more than this bay. We encountered numerous humpbacks and harbor seals on our way in. Densely forested hillsides rose steeply to avalanche-scoured slopes below angular, snow-covered peaks that today poked into a clear blue sky. At the end, a large meadow filled the junction of two glacial valleys that wound off on either side. There’s higher ground within the tall sedges with acres of wildflowers, including fields of geraniums, Indian paintbrush, and Sitka burnet. Armed with the spirit of exploration with never enough time, we poured out onto the fields of grass as sinuous lines of hikers. Kayakers glided into the stillness. At one point, a sow and cub stood near the lifejackets and wouldn’t allow the kayakers to return to shore. You can be consumed by the scenery here, gripped in the claws of wildness. We passed several humpback whales on the way out; one is the photograph of today’s expedition report. As we ate dinner, the ship cruised into Chatham Strait under a graying sky.
Crisp bright sunlight bathed the stream in the meadow at the end of Red Bluff Bay and slowly consumed the dark shadows. Tall grass easily hid the animals we were hoping to see as we searched the lumps and stumps. One had ears. All you could see was the top of the dark brown head before it dropped out of sight and reappeared. The view the bears had was of a small ship with dozens of glass eyes looking at it. When we finally pulled away two bears were in full view. We passed the red bluffs of iron and magnesium that give the bay its name and continued out into Chatham Strait. This feature is truly straight because it was formed by a fault that extends much of the length of Southeast Alaska to beyond the town of Haines.
Waterfalls are mesmerizing, and Kasnyku Falls is no exception. The water shoots out in sprays and tumbles hundreds of feet down from an opening in the forest to finally spread out onto the sea. The National Geographic Sea Lion lingered here, visually drinking in the cascades.
After lunch we explored the South Arm of Kelp Bay. I think that of all the places in Southeast Alaska, none represents the engaging, complex beauty of this area more than this bay. We encountered numerous humpbacks and harbor seals on our way in. Densely forested hillsides rose steeply to avalanche-scoured slopes below angular, snow-covered peaks that today poked into a clear blue sky. At the end, a large meadow filled the junction of two glacial valleys that wound off on either side. There’s higher ground within the tall sedges with acres of wildflowers, including fields of geraniums, Indian paintbrush, and Sitka burnet. Armed with the spirit of exploration with never enough time, we poured out onto the fields of grass as sinuous lines of hikers. Kayakers glided into the stillness. At one point, a sow and cub stood near the lifejackets and wouldn’t allow the kayakers to return to shore. You can be consumed by the scenery here, gripped in the claws of wildness. We passed several humpback whales on the way out; one is the photograph of today’s expedition report. As we ate dinner, the ship cruised into Chatham Strait under a graying sky.
