What a beautiful start to our trip in Southeast Alaska! We awoke outside of Sitka to a mix of clouds and dappled sunshine on the water. Spotting gulls and kingfishers, we spent the morning cruising through The Narrows and into Peril Strait. In the afternoon, we got our first introduction to the rain forest at Lake Eva. We hiked and motored around the salmon stream inlet and observed countless eagles in the trees and humpies in the water. Those of us that walked farther into the woods met our first banana slugs and foraged for wild berries on the way up to Lake Eva. It was truly a magical day, a perfect start to what is sure to be a wonderful week here in Southeast.
7/18/2024
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National Geographic Quest
Freshwater Bay, Chichagof Island
This morning before breakfast, the bridge team of National Geographic Quest spotted orcas in Freshwater Bay. Eager to see this iconic whale species, the bow was quickly occupied by excited guests, staff, and crew. We could not have asked for better conditions. A sunny, calm morning with at least a dozen orcas! Wow! After breakfast we went ashore at Kennel Creek on Chichagof Island and split into aerobic, moderate, and casual walking groups. After yesterday’s wet forest at Fox Creek, we welcomed the firm, dry ground of an old logging road. Along our walks there were abundant signs of brown bears. One of the two aerobic walks had fresh bear tracks on top of their footprints upon their return. In the afternoon cruising down Chatham Strait, we enjoyed time on deck soaking up the sun when an eagle-eye naturalist spotted a group of humpbacks ten miles away! As we approached, we could see that this was no small group, as twenty-three whales were bubble net feeding! This day will long be imprinted in our memories of wild Alaska.