The decks were filled earlier than normal with early risers riding the excitement of the previous night’s whale sightings. We dropped anchor in Hanus Bay which has a fantastic landing beach in which a trail leads to the placid waters of our beloved Lake Eva. Hikes of various speeds and levels of interpretation were lead into the trails of the temperate rain forest, which eventually reached some impressive old growth. Squirrel middens and a cornucopia of mushroom species lined the trail whereas banana slugs and brown bear scat littered the trail. Once deeper into the forest, the old growth trees revealed themselves and some of the largest Sitka spruce and western hemlock I have ever seen towered above the moss covered forest floor. The pink salmon were abundant in the stream that the trail paralleled and we enjoyed the periodic salmon breach. Various birds were heard singing throughout the forest and a couple lucky eyes saw a river otter retreat into the bush.
After lunch we had the unexpected sighting of at least six humpback whales bubble-net feeding near the small community of Tenakee Springs. The rarity of this behavior resulted in the expedition leader delaying the afternoon plans and allowed us the proper time to observe this incredible display of cooperative feeding. Our skilled Captain was at the helm and he cautiously placed the National Geographic Sea Lion within incredible proximity to these whales without interfering with their afternoon feed.
We came to terms with the fact that a delay in timing wouldn’t cooperate with the afternoon tide and not be optimal for potential bear viewing at a well-known salmon stream. However, as soon as the first expedition landing craft was in route to the stream, two playful cubs rolled out of the alder and into the grass and their gigantic mother shortly followed. Apart from the pure magnificence of seeing these creatures in their natural habitat and as a family unit, we witnessed a very odd sight… The mother had about six feet of tapeworm trailing her and it looked rather unpleasant. Everyone was blessed to get a quick glimpse of the brown bears with a stunning waterfall as their backdrop. Rain, sun, mist, clouds, bear, salmon, whales, smile, laughter and thick forest all played a role in our day of Alaskan abundance.
