Chichagof Island, Pavlof Harbor and Basket Bay
The excitement of the morning was palatable as well as audible. Cindy our Expedition Leader bubbled with excitement as she woke us at 6:12 this morning. A group of humpback whales were bubble net feeding inside Freshwater Bay on Chichagof Island. Two different groups of whales blew their bubble nets, vocalized a little woo woo woo and then shattered the mirror-slick surface of the water. Maws were agape as they corralled, caught, sieved and gulped their morning breakfast of herring. The dramatic whoosh of several whales breathing before diving again was punctuated by the foggy columns of their blows. It was so still you could see the little curly cue vortices of their breath-mist swirling in the air.
The tide was out, way out for our morning on Chichagof Island. We landed amongst small spitting volcanoes made by clams still buried deep in the mud. Sea stars were strewn about the intertidal zone and sea urchins with short kiwi green spines decorated the clear shallow pools. The tops of the rocks bore blue mussels and everything else was either studded with barnacles or draped with rock weed.
Up off the beach and into the forest we found the best bear footprint you could ever hope for, and it was a steaming fresh print. Pavlof harbor has a salmon stream, and the bears know it. Along the stream we found various body parts of half-eaten salmon. As we walked the bear trails, we followed the footsteps of a mud walking bruin. Five perfect toes, both the bar heel pad of the front foot and the triangular heel pad of the back foot, and claw marks, deep holes puncturing the mud in a quarter-moon arc. To establish a sense of size and scale, we placed our hands next to the prints while we photographed them. Our hands looked very small in comparison.
Sunshine, blue skies and calm waters occupied us for the afternoon. Basket Bay was an inviting retreat for cruising by Zodiac or paddling kayaks aimlessly about. If you wanted a destination, the fern draped grotto at the end of the bay offered an intriguing and restful refuge. Purple monks hood dotted the marble cliffs beside delicate maidenhair ferns, schools of fish swam nervously below our kayaks, a darkened crevice of a cave drew inquisitive kayakers deeper into its cavernous mouth, most of them returned.
From bubbles to mud, hidden secret places to sunburned noses, we grabbed the day by its dawning light and didn’t let go until we squeezed every bit of wonder from it.
Just Another Morning by Katie Chapin, age 15
Whales breach the dawn light
Mouths gaping wide together
Such is Alaska
