It was a day of exploration on Thursday, August 4, 2016. There were different types of hikes – the long, medium, and short hikes in the rainforest of Baranof Island. We landed on the barnacle and oyster shell encrusted shore of the island via an expedition landing craft when there was a negative low tide. We then headed for Eva Lagoon/Lake.
We were all searching for bears, red squirrels, bald eagles, and salmon. Mr. Jim Campbell found a fishing bear and also provided us a picture. Squirrels were chattering, and a lone bald eagle was perched high upon a hemlock. A banana slug was also spotted sitting shyly on a leaf.
The rainforest was a rich mosaic of mosses, lichens, and bear scat, which were visible on the walking path. Since the tide was very low, all of the rivers and streams exposed lots of seaweed and barnacles. After the hikes, we were back on the ship.
In the afternoon, naturalist Lee Moll gave a presentation about glaciers. We spent most of the afternoon watching orcas and humpback whales. The bow was filled with excited people with binoculars and cameras observing the orcas breaching. The humpbacks also breached repeatedly. A hydrophone was dropped into Chatham Strait to listen to whales communicating with each other while feeding on herring.
At dinner, everybody talked about the whales swimming adjacent to the ship. Right before dinner, I (Rishi), Max, Jeff, Mr. Jim Campbell, and Jim the photographer saw four whales breach at the same time! It was very exciting. We still watched whales after dinner, and made memories that will never be forgotten.
