Pavlof Harbor—Freshwater Bay & Chatham Strait
The gray mists caressed the dark green hills of eastern Chichagof Island as the National Geographic Sea Lion sailed toward Pavlof Harbor, our morning destination. Spouts from numerous humpback whales caught our attention as we passed Iyoukeen Cove, a small inlet just north of Freshwater Bay. We paused to watch these graceful marine mammals and the whales soon rewarded us with a remarkable spectacle. The humpbacks began engaging in bubble-net feeding, a group feeding behavior in which one whale sings a loud song while another blows a curtain of air bubbles around their prey and flashes the white sides of its pectoral fins. These actions apparently frighten the tiny herring and force them together into a tight group. Suddenly, the whole group of whales rushes through the bubble-net and bursts from beneath the dark waters. From the decks of the National Geographic Sea Lion, we witnessed the humpbacks repeatedly feeding in this manner, mouths wide open, throat pleats bulging as they gulped thousands of gallons of sea water and filtered out the herring with their thick baleen plates. Many gulls joined the whales in the feeding frenzy, picking out the small bait fish that escaped from the giant mouths of the humpbacks. Often we could predict where the whales would appear by watching the anxious gulls circling overhead. The amazing show continued for hours as we used the National Geographic Sea Lion’s hydrophone to listen to the humpback’s haunting feeding cry. Eventually, we bade farewell to our feasting friends and traveled the short distance to Freshwater Bay.
We anchored in beautiful Pavlof Harbor and prepared to explore the dark, temperate rainforest that lined the edges of the bay. Our Zodiacs quickly landed us on shore and we began hiking up a creek to a dramatic waterfall that cascades from Pavlof Lake. As we hiked, we could tell that we were not the only recent visitors to the lake’s shoreline. Fresh brown bear tracks in the deep mud and other evidence hinted at the presence of these large creatures in the surrounding forest. The brown bears were eagerly awaiting the yearly arrival of the pink salmon that spawn near the base of the falls. We could see the pinks energetically jumping in the nearby bay, but few had made their way up to the waterfall and the waiting bears
We continued our exploration of Pavlof Harbor after lunch. Once again, guests had the opportunity to experience the wild beauty of the cove on foot, or by kayak. As we quietly paddled through the cove by kayak, the dark waters beneath us and the forested hills along the shore seemed to merge into a slate-green world of mist and beauty. We also had an unexpected opportunity to view a large brown bear fishing for salmon in the waterfall. From the safety of the Zodiacs, we watched this magnificent and powerful creature pouncing on fish in the swiftly flowing current. A light rain danced across the water’s surface as we eventually returned to the National Geographic Sea Lion, our home away from home on this expedition.
Late in the afternoon, we pulled up the anchor and continued our southward journey down Chatham Strait. By evening, we reached narrow Peril Strait, the calm marine highway that will take us the rest of the way to Sitka and journey’s end. Our exciting and eventful week onboard the National Geographic Sea Lion has given us memories that will truly last a lifetime, and has given us a sense of the wild, untamed land that is Southeast Alaska.
The gray mists caressed the dark green hills of eastern Chichagof Island as the National Geographic Sea Lion sailed toward Pavlof Harbor, our morning destination. Spouts from numerous humpback whales caught our attention as we passed Iyoukeen Cove, a small inlet just north of Freshwater Bay. We paused to watch these graceful marine mammals and the whales soon rewarded us with a remarkable spectacle. The humpbacks began engaging in bubble-net feeding, a group feeding behavior in which one whale sings a loud song while another blows a curtain of air bubbles around their prey and flashes the white sides of its pectoral fins. These actions apparently frighten the tiny herring and force them together into a tight group. Suddenly, the whole group of whales rushes through the bubble-net and bursts from beneath the dark waters. From the decks of the National Geographic Sea Lion, we witnessed the humpbacks repeatedly feeding in this manner, mouths wide open, throat pleats bulging as they gulped thousands of gallons of sea water and filtered out the herring with their thick baleen plates. Many gulls joined the whales in the feeding frenzy, picking out the small bait fish that escaped from the giant mouths of the humpbacks. Often we could predict where the whales would appear by watching the anxious gulls circling overhead. The amazing show continued for hours as we used the National Geographic Sea Lion’s hydrophone to listen to the humpback’s haunting feeding cry. Eventually, we bade farewell to our feasting friends and traveled the short distance to Freshwater Bay.
We anchored in beautiful Pavlof Harbor and prepared to explore the dark, temperate rainforest that lined the edges of the bay. Our Zodiacs quickly landed us on shore and we began hiking up a creek to a dramatic waterfall that cascades from Pavlof Lake. As we hiked, we could tell that we were not the only recent visitors to the lake’s shoreline. Fresh brown bear tracks in the deep mud and other evidence hinted at the presence of these large creatures in the surrounding forest. The brown bears were eagerly awaiting the yearly arrival of the pink salmon that spawn near the base of the falls. We could see the pinks energetically jumping in the nearby bay, but few had made their way up to the waterfall and the waiting bears
We continued our exploration of Pavlof Harbor after lunch. Once again, guests had the opportunity to experience the wild beauty of the cove on foot, or by kayak. As we quietly paddled through the cove by kayak, the dark waters beneath us and the forested hills along the shore seemed to merge into a slate-green world of mist and beauty. We also had an unexpected opportunity to view a large brown bear fishing for salmon in the waterfall. From the safety of the Zodiacs, we watched this magnificent and powerful creature pouncing on fish in the swiftly flowing current. A light rain danced across the water’s surface as we eventually returned to the National Geographic Sea Lion, our home away from home on this expedition.
Late in the afternoon, we pulled up the anchor and continued our southward journey down Chatham Strait. By evening, we reached narrow Peril Strait, the calm marine highway that will take us the rest of the way to Sitka and journey’s end. Our exciting and eventful week onboard the National Geographic Sea Lion has given us memories that will truly last a lifetime, and has given us a sense of the wild, untamed land that is Southeast Alaska.
