Silvery raindrops did not hold us back from heading up the trail from Ideal Cove along the eastern margin of Mitkof Island. This beautiful example of temperate rain forest was carpeted with a vibrant understory of devil’s club, bunchberry dogwoods, blueberries, and ferns. Cushions of moss and delicate strands of lichens adorned the branches of Sitka spruce and western hemlock trees that surrounded us and a creek below the trail. Many hikers reached a bridge near a portion of the stream widened by beavers. Some continued past this spot, and fast-paced hikers maintained a good clip to follow a loop trail. Leisure-paced and photo groups spent time investigating the area near our landing in detail and experimented with camera gear and macrophotography before all returned to the ship so that it could be repositioned for the afternoon.
Petersburg is not a shopping town on the cruise ship circuit, but rather a working community dedicated to commercial fishing. The officers tied up National Geographic Sea Bird at an inner dock where we could freely come and go. There was something here for everyone–bicycling, hiking with naturalists to a peat bog or along the docks, joining a photo walk, flightseeing over a glacier, or exploring on one’s own. Moored fishing boats provided a picturesque opportunity to learn about different types of gear. An undersea world of anemones, feather-duster worms, and mussels clings beneath the docks, filter feeding on plankton swept in by the changing tides. It was fun to wander the streets of this community of Norwegian heritage. A few shops do sell Scandinavian sweaters, but most of the stores are more likely to have fishing lures and raingear on their shelves. Once everyone was back on board, the National Geographic Sea Bird pulled away and started north, and before long, the chefs and stewards treated us to a delicious meal of ribs and fresh Dungeness crab.
