Baranof Island, Alaska
We boarded the Sea Lion at Sitka, the former capital of Alaska on Baranof Island (named for Alexander Baranof, the Russian Governor and Commander of the Russian-American company, here to exploit Alaska’s wealth of sea otter furs.) During the night we headed up and around Baranof Island through Olga, Neva, and Peril Straits. In the early morning we gathered on the bow to see if the Sea Lion really could squeeze through that tiny entrance into Red Bluff Bay. She could, she did, and we entered a narrow fjord (a glacially-carved valley, now flooded by the sea). Steep valley walls rose vertically above us, and disappeared into the depths below. Morning fog drifted down from the peaks above, and myriad waterfalls poured over the rim and rushed down with a roar. That was all well and good, but we were there to look for BEARS! The “ABC Islands” of Southeast Alaska (Admiralty, Baranof, and Chichagof) support the largest concentrations of brown bears to be found, but they can be shy. Our quest was successful – we spotted a large, healthy-looking brown bear foraging on sedge roots in a coastal meadow, and we quietly approached for very good views. It was a fine start to our voyage.
Farther north, in Kelp Bay, we boarded our Zodiacs for the short ride to Pond Island and our first shore and kayak excursions. As the Sea Lion kayakers circumnavigated Pond Island we could imagine Aleut hunters, involuntary servants of the Russians, similarly paddling around Pond Island some 200 years ago to harpoon sea otters. Pond Island offered a wonderful introduction to the old growth forest. Tall Western hemlock and Sitka spruce towered above, the latter attracting red squirrels that harvest and store the cones for their winter food supply. The trees were decorated with epiphytic mosses and lichens, and mosses, lichens, and ferns gave a continuous carpet to the forest floor. The abundance of epiphytes and rich understory vegetation are characteristic features old growth forest. Many were surprised to find that northern toads are abundant in small streams of the coastal meadows that fringe the forest.
Were we done with this day? By no means! As we headed north in Chatham Strait after our dinner we encountered humpback whales having their dinner. They put on an incredible show for us. The vapor of their blows hung in the quiet air. A small and large blow seen in close succession indicated a mother-calf pair recently returned from the birthing ground in the warm water around Hawaii. The calf, making its first visit to Alaska, must learn to feed on the rich resources of these northern waters. Here, long days and abundant nutrients fuel a bloom of phytoplankton that reverberates through the food chain. Much of the whales’ food intake for the entire year comes in the few months that they are here, and the whales were very busy making short and shallow feeding dives, seemingly oblivious to our presence. One whale was soon nicknamed “Notch,” for a conspicuous wound (healed, we fervently hope) behind its dorsal fin. Hopefully, we will be able to watch for repeat sightings of this whale among the thousand or so humpback whales that swim in the waters of Alaska during the summer season. Stay tuned.
We boarded the Sea Lion at Sitka, the former capital of Alaska on Baranof Island (named for Alexander Baranof, the Russian Governor and Commander of the Russian-American company, here to exploit Alaska’s wealth of sea otter furs.) During the night we headed up and around Baranof Island through Olga, Neva, and Peril Straits. In the early morning we gathered on the bow to see if the Sea Lion really could squeeze through that tiny entrance into Red Bluff Bay. She could, she did, and we entered a narrow fjord (a glacially-carved valley, now flooded by the sea). Steep valley walls rose vertically above us, and disappeared into the depths below. Morning fog drifted down from the peaks above, and myriad waterfalls poured over the rim and rushed down with a roar. That was all well and good, but we were there to look for BEARS! The “ABC Islands” of Southeast Alaska (Admiralty, Baranof, and Chichagof) support the largest concentrations of brown bears to be found, but they can be shy. Our quest was successful – we spotted a large, healthy-looking brown bear foraging on sedge roots in a coastal meadow, and we quietly approached for very good views. It was a fine start to our voyage.
Farther north, in Kelp Bay, we boarded our Zodiacs for the short ride to Pond Island and our first shore and kayak excursions. As the Sea Lion kayakers circumnavigated Pond Island we could imagine Aleut hunters, involuntary servants of the Russians, similarly paddling around Pond Island some 200 years ago to harpoon sea otters. Pond Island offered a wonderful introduction to the old growth forest. Tall Western hemlock and Sitka spruce towered above, the latter attracting red squirrels that harvest and store the cones for their winter food supply. The trees were decorated with epiphytic mosses and lichens, and mosses, lichens, and ferns gave a continuous carpet to the forest floor. The abundance of epiphytes and rich understory vegetation are characteristic features old growth forest. Many were surprised to find that northern toads are abundant in small streams of the coastal meadows that fringe the forest.
Were we done with this day? By no means! As we headed north in Chatham Strait after our dinner we encountered humpback whales having their dinner. They put on an incredible show for us. The vapor of their blows hung in the quiet air. A small and large blow seen in close succession indicated a mother-calf pair recently returned from the birthing ground in the warm water around Hawaii. The calf, making its first visit to Alaska, must learn to feed on the rich resources of these northern waters. Here, long days and abundant nutrients fuel a bloom of phytoplankton that reverberates through the food chain. Much of the whales’ food intake for the entire year comes in the few months that they are here, and the whales were very busy making short and shallow feeding dives, seemingly oblivious to our presence. One whale was soon nicknamed “Notch,” for a conspicuous wound (healed, we fervently hope) behind its dorsal fin. Hopefully, we will be able to watch for repeat sightings of this whale among the thousand or so humpback whales that swim in the waters of Alaska during the summer season. Stay tuned.
