Our overnight transit led us to Clarence Strait and nearby Grindall Island, where the day dawned calm, warm, and sunny. Morning activities included hiking through a beautiful forest of yellow cedar, western hemlock, Sitka spruce and shore pine, as well as circumnavigating the island in our expedition landing craft. Hikers put ashore carefully navigated the rocky intertidal zone and then, with one giant step, entered a moss draped forest where Pacific wrens and golden-crowned kinglets alternately welcomed and scolded us.
In the afternoon, we visited the Hump Bay Oyster Company where Pacific oysters are grown in the cold, clean, nutrient-rich waters of Southeast Alaska near Ketchikan. The tour included a touch tank as well as sampling the delicious oysters.
