We awoke in the glassy waters of Sitkoh Bay of Chichagof Island with yet another cloudless and sunny day. We anchored in the silence and solitude only a few hundred yards out from a red roofed lodge and various structures. At one time the sounds of an active cannery would have echoed across the water and the wakes from constant marine traffic would have relentlessly splashed the beach, but today, the only sounds were our own.
The day presented the guests with a multitude of options including; kayaking, a photography walk, an interpretive natural history walk and a three-hour fast pace walk for those more ambitious travelers. A gravel covered logging road tucked amongst the Sitka spruce and hemlock paralleled the bay and proved to be filled with numerous biological surprises. The most entertaining encounter, if calculated by laughter, turned out to be the plethora of banana slugs that were inescapable to anyone on the road. The photographers took turns getting low and applying their macro photography skills to the most patient and lethargic slimy subjects of all. Given the unusually bright day and heavy contrast in the forest, we were forced to focus more on the macro environment and found ourselves looking closely at every leaf and fungus. One unexpected treat turned out to be the abundance of deliciously ripe salmon berries that happened to litter the roadside.
The afternoon wind was howling unusually fierce in Chatham Straight resulting in 2-to-4 foot wind swell, which made it borderline impossible to spot any whales should they have been in the vicinity. The National Geographic Sea Lion fortunately found refuge from the wind in the narrow and scenic Red Bluff Bay. As soon as we entered the bay, all signs of wind disappeared and nearly everyone was shedding layers thanks to the powerful sun and calm summer air. As we navigated deeper into Red Bluff, we were greeted by a peculiarly dark-marble colored Harbor seal that blended into its barnacle draped perch. It was no shock to see white heads of eagles periodically popping out amongst the green shades of the forest. The consecutive days of sun and warm air resulted in heavy melt off from the snowy peaks and over 13 temporary waterfalls were counted above the tree-line. The grand finale of the bay exploration was thanks to Captain Nettles and his extraordinary boat handling which placed the bow no further than 30ft off an immense waterfall. Cameras of all shapes and sizes were occupying every available hand and impressive “oohs” and “ahhs” could be heard throughout the entirety of the National Geographic Sea Lion, which is indicative of another successful day aboard.
