Tolmie Channel, Green Inlet, and Butedale, 5/6/2022, National Geographic Venture
Aboard the
National Geographic Venture
Alaska
During the first half of the day, we cruised through narrow waterways between countless forested islands. It was a landscape of deep green, with few signs of people. In the afternoon, we investigated Green Inlet by kayaks, Zodiacs, and on bushwhacking walks in the lush forest. After dinner, the ship paused at the site of an abandoned cannery, and a spirit bear walked in front of one of the old wooden buildings.
Photographers (unless specified otherwise): Berit Solstad and Tara Kaestner
Berit grew up on the rocky shores of Marblehead, Massachusetts. In the tidal cove behind her family’s home she found horseshoe crabs, eels, and feeding frenzies of fishes and birds. Low tides exposed clam flats, crabs, mussels, and snails. She explor...
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We enjoyed a beautiful morning exploring the Sitka spruce and hemlock trees dominating the forest along the Lake Eva trail on Chichagof Island; then in the later part of the day we cruised Chatham Strait. Stunning scenery abounded with the lush green understory of mosses, lichens, berry bushes, deer ferns, skunk cabbage, aspen, and Devil’s club, just to name a few. Under the dotted canopy of the trees, we identified signs of recent bear activity, red squirrel caches, and the flitting dance of birds through the understory. The screeches of a soaring bald eagle and the sounds of the songbirds echoed throughout the forest, as the flowing water of the salmon stream gurgled into the brackish lagoon leading to the sea. Our cruise through Chatham Strait had calm winds and seas; we enjoyed expansive views of snow-capped mountains, and intimate tree-lined coastlines with kelp wafting in the shallower waters. It was a great place for all to reflect on the many sights, sounds, smells, and experiences we’ve had over the past 13 days of this Treasures of the Inside Passage expedition from Seattle to Sitka.
The penultimate day of our voyage began in the shadow of the foggy and blustery hills of the Inian Islands. This little watermark archipelago sits at the mouth of Cross Sound like a roadblock between the inside passage and the Gulf of Alaska. Vigorous currents and upwelling make it one of the best spots in Southeast Alaska to look for wildlife. Large rafts of sea otters and an energetic haul-out of Steller sea lions greeted us on our morning Zodiac tours, along with a sampling of bald eagles and a variety of seabirds. The Inians have been designated as wilderness, with the exception of one private inholding. The small homestead was originally a haven for commercial fishermen, but today it is a school run by Tidelines Institute. For the afternoon we raised anchor and explored the George Islands, both on foot and with Zodiacs. A beautiful, pebbled beach made the perfect backdrop for our traditional polar plunge, where five brave souls leaped into the icy seas — which our undersea specialist measured at a brisk 42 degrees. Tonight, we begin steaming south for Lake Eva and the final day of our memorable two-week adventure in the Pacific Northwest!
The day’s events started earlier than expected with a brilliant showing of the aurora borealis at around midnight. The lights danced above the bow as people captured the show on camera or just drank in the moment. The real adventure began early as National Geographic Quest docked at Bartlett Cove, the gateway to Glacier Bay National Park. Guests disembarked for some quick early morning hikes, and we took aboard a national park service ranger to join us for the day to provide information and interpretation about the park. Glacier Bay was in high form today as the blue skies and sunlight poured over calm seas and abundant wildlife. Coastal mountain goats, humpback whales, brown bears, sea otters and tufted puffins were just a portion of the animals spotted from the bow of the ship. South Marble Island provided views of sea otters and pelagic birds of all kinds. The crowning destination of the day was Margarie Glacier, one of the many rivers of ice flowing into the great Pleistocene basin.