Idaho Inlet, Inian Islands, Elfin Cove and Fox Creek
Nothing like filling the day with as much as we can possible do or see. When I awoke, at first I thought the windows had fogged up. Stepping outside proved my assumption wrong…it was a bright foggy Southeast Alaska morning inside Idaho Inlet. The ship slid quietly along and the amplified sounds came through clearly. A loud peeping (I call “shouting”) from the marbled murrelets (“M‘n Ms”), cries from the kittiwakes and glaucous-winged gulls, then our quarry was spotted – sea otter! Eating crab! After every bite or two it would roll, cleaning the table (chest). A kittiwake paddled aft to catch the tidbits. More otters appeared out of the mist as we moved ahead slowly, individuals minding their own business, seemingly with a schedule to keep.
After breakfast we loaded the Zodiacs, dressed appropriately for the misty conditions, and set off around the Inian Islands. Made of granite and diorite they have beautiful walls; rocky walls riddled with linear intrusions creating geometric designs. Humpback whales and Steller sea lions, hauled out on shore and in the water waiting to nab salmon coming in from the open ocean, put in appearances around our Zodiacs. An otter or two popped their heads up, mostly out of bull kelp beds along the rocky shoreline.
By lunchtime everyone was back on board and warmed up in time to leave again, for a visit to the small community of Elfin Cove. Less than a dozen people over-winter in this boardwalk community –meaning all homes have their personal walkways leading off a central boardwalk which rings a beautifully protected harbor. We were careful to leave their salmonberries alone, knowing they would be used by each homeowner for jams later in the season. The general store and Patty’s smokehouse did remarkably good business, as did the U.S. Postal Service considering the short time available!
Late afternoon saw us on shore once more, this time at Fox Creek inside Idaho Inlet. Ancient bear paths in the forest are still used today (fresh scat nearby), a nearly clean bear skeleton hidden behind the bushes, deer bones, squirrel middens, berries and late-blooming flowers. We had it all. Scott Babcock, our resident geologist tried panning for gold in the streambed, but no large nuggets were found. Instead, photographs and memories were the only treasures we removed from the area.
As the day closed down to rest, the mist blended the molten-steel colors of the sea with the air. A whale exhalation provided an exclamation mark, ending an amazing day.
