We were welcomed by another sunny day as the National Geographic Sea Bird made her way through Frederick Sound to Ideal Cove. After our morning stretch and breakfast, we went ashore early this morning to explore the trails on Mitkof Island. As usual, our guests were divided into different offerings of hikes ranging from a quick aerobic pace, to a more leisurely interpretive walks, to a photographic-oriented hike. This is one of the most scenic walks in the Tongass National Park. The forest service trail is made of fishnet covered boards—a "plank walk" that takes us through the old growth forest filled with towering Sitka spruce and western hemlocks, flowering shrubs, and mosses and lichen. After our hikes, our young explorers were given a lesson on driving the expedition landing craft.
After lunch, we arrived and docked in Petersburg, a fishing village of about 3,500 people that was founded by a Norwegian, Peter Buschmann, who settled here in 1897. This location was ideal for starting up a fishing community since it has an endless supply of ice from LeConte Glacier to preserve the catch from its fine harbor. Petersburg is not a tourist town but a working community, which process 100 million pounds of seafood each year. Trawlers, crabbers, longliners, and purse seiners are docked within the harbor.
This afternoon we had many activities to choose from. An energetic walk of nearly five miles along the beautiful shore, or exploring by bicycles, which were available at the dock. There was an opportunity to do a photo walk with our photo instructor, Steve Morello. There was also a dock walk to see some of the fleet, or a hike to the muskeg at Petersburg Creek. There was also the choice of exploring the town independently.
For dinner we had a feast of Dungeness crab, barbecued ribs, corn on the cob, corn bread, and coleslaw. Dessert was served in the lounge with special guest speaker, whale biologist Andy Szabo who came on board to share his knowledge and research on humpback whales in Southeast Alaska.
