This morning the National Geographic Sea Lion dropped anchor in Hanus Bay in Peril Strait. We awoke to a little moisture in the atmosphere, which nurtured the thirsty earth that has seen little in the way of snow and rain these last few months. After breakfast we donned our boots and life jackets and set out on the activities of the morning. Some chose to kayak or hike or do both in the area known as Lake Eva. The enchanted forest beckoned us in and we were greeted by the introduced red tree squirrel above its impressive midden. A little further down the trail a pile of bear scat reminded us we were in bear country and being on Baranof Island (one of the ABCs) we knew this pile had to be from a brown bear. Like the Tlingit who once made this area a seasonal fish camp, the bears are drawn to this watershed for the salmon returning to spawn in the river, lake and lagoon. Learning about the salmon in the trees and the evidence of N15 (an isotope found only in the ocean) in tree rings really helped to drive home the interconnected nature of this web of temperate rainforest. Banana slugs on the trail emerged from their torpor, happy for the moisture, as a varied thrush sang its police whistle-like-song looking for love on the limbs. It’s an incredible forest that speaks to the soul of a life primordial. We should feel blessed that we have big trees thanks to those that have fought for their preservation.
After lunch we explored Sitkoh Bay on Chichagof Island and saw the remains of a once thriving cannery (1901-1974) where native Tlingit and Chinese dominated the work force. With the incredibly effective fish trap in use by 1907, the fishery agents in this area noted a decline in sockeye by 1911. Considering the impact of fish traps, it’s no wonder a driving force behind statehood was to put fisheries in the hands of the state vs the federal government and abolish the use of such detrimental traps.
We continued northbound in the company of bow riding Dall porpoises as we made our way towards the northern portal of the Inside Passage.
