Adapted from the style of old cowboy Western novels, today’s chapter is titled “In Which Scanning for Wildlife Saves a Life.”

The morning was typical Southeast Alaska: soggy and foggy. Our full day in the small town of Wrangell allowed for a choose-your-own adventure opportunity. Many opted to join jet boat tours that we arranged with local vendors. It was on one of these tours that a guest, whom I will call “N,” was scanning the shoreline for wildlife and found quite a wild sighting of life — a man waving his arms desperately, far from roads or homes. The jet boat detoured, rescuing the man who had suffered injuries and ended up in trouble in wild Alaska. N claims that it is thanks to the lessons from our naturalists to use our binoculars that this man was spotted and rescued, and that this group returned to the vessel with an incredible story!