Just before sunrise the National Geographic Venture positioned in
Teakerne Arm inside Desolation Sound. A Zodiac was lowered about 45 minutes
before sunrise. A small group of staff were going a shore to look at a brand-new
landing! Many of our sites in Desolation Sound have been visited via recon in
2019, though we on the Venture would be the first visiting Lindblad ship!
After a short scramble up a steep entry on land, our moderate hikers
group headed toward a lake that feeds into Cassel Falls. For those interested
in a “stationary hike,” chairs were pulled around our Cultural Interpreter and
Naturalist Sharon Grainger, who spent an hour and half sharing tales of the
Indigenous peoples and their relationship to the forest and the sea. From tiny
lichen to Western red cedars and Douglas firs, from the rocks to the sea,
Sharon wove all these natural resources into a story of the land and its
people, who for thousands of years honored these gifts from nature and used
them for a wonderful life!
Once the stories were finished, all groups made their way back
down to the trail head and small dock and waiting Zodiacs. Some groups went hiking or kayaking. A small group headed out onto the waters
of Teakerne Arm for a Zodiac tour.
Starting at the waterfall, our Zodiac cruised up to the face of
the falls with a small amount of water descending into salt water. This area of
the Pacific Northwest has not had rain for nearly four months! Our Zodiac then
began a slow cruise out towards the entrance of the arm. Our driver had spotted
what turned out to be a local oyster farm. Asking as politely as possible we
approached Jeff and asked if he wouldn’t mind sharing a little about his life
as an oyster farmer. He was more than happy to do so and brought up many
stories about his life and his third season as an oyster farmer on his tiny farm.
We got to see all kinds of sea life living on the baskets that held his oysters
and much to our joy he started sharing all the sightings of marine mammals in
the area. As he spoke, the water was filled with thousands and thousands of sand
lance. This is a very important prey fish for many marine mammals, such as humpback
whales, harbor seals, Dall’s porpoise, just to name a few.
Following another old Lindblad tradition, the ship’s crew brought
some supplies to our new friend, Jeff. Our kindness was suddenly rewarded by the
sight of Dall’s porpoises surrounding the Zodiac! It all happened so fast,
cameras could not be lifted in time … just keeping the memory in our mind and
heart was delightful!
Back on the Venture, we enjoyed a lovely lunch as our Bridge
officers began our journey south, heading toward tomorrow’s destination in
Victoria, British Columbia. In calm seas we maintained a watch for marine
mammals from the bow of the ship. We were rewarded with nice sightings of humpback
whales and a haul out of Steller sea lions. Our day finished with cocktails on the
bridge deck as we shared stories of our day in this extraordinary place called
the Pacific Northwest Coast.
