Sitkoh Bay, Chatham Strait, Red Bluff Bay
It was a calm and serene morning as National Geographic Sea Lion turned into Peril Strait and entered Sitkoh Bay. We scanned for bears along the shore of Chichagof Island. Low tide beckons the bruins to search for morsels to slurp and munch in the intertidal zone. There were a couple sightings this morning as we quietly cruised toward the large meadow at the head of the bay.
Sitkoh Bay is where the Tlingit people relocated after the Russians returned to reclaim Sitka in 1804. The bay has been used more recently to reap various resources of the Tongass National Forest, including its trees and salmon. A cannery existed here until 1974. Today we enjoyed the forest and sea resources by exploring on foot along a logging road, and by paddling kayaks in the bay looking at intertidal critters. Berries, banana slugs and fungi of many colors were in abundance in the forest and some of the hikers spotted a bear on the other side of the channel. With time and isolation on the myriad islands of the Alexander Archipelago, many species have become genetically distinct from their mainland relatives.
Although we were at sea level, Chatham Strait looked and felt like a lake this afternoon. We cruised toward the brightness in the sky to the south. Before long we had a beautiful, sunny day. Patches of snow remain in the craggy mountains that rise above the forest on rugged Baranof Island. The outside decks of the National Geographic Sea Lion were a pleasant and beautiful place to be as we motored southward along the eastern shore of the island, known as the “waterfall coast”.
In the late afternoon, sharp eyes spotted the spouts and fins of three killer whales! They spread out in a search pattern around us but we managed to keep track of them and get some good looks and photos from the decks of our vessel.
Scenic Red Bluff Bay, incised into Baranof Island, is where we chose to spend our cocktail and recap time before dinner. Thin waterfalls streaked the distant headwall at the back of the bay. Leaping salmon created a commotion on the water’s surface in front on their natal streams. We watched a brown bear swipe up fish in the river at the head of the bay. Then we visited a lovely waterfall that cascades down the high rock wall that bounds this narrow inlet.
As if this weren’t enough, dessert was interrupted when we came upon a single humpback whale surface feeding, lunging on its side with its mouth open and distended, full of food (probably krill). We remained outside for a vivid sunset and as the sky darkened, we felt that our day had come to a dazzling finale.
