Lake Eva At Hanus Bay, Baranof Island, And Basket Bay, Chichagof Island, Southeast Alaska
Wow!! For sure an exciting day, especially during the morning!
Before breakfast, the M.V. Sea Lion was anchored at Hanus Bay, which is found on the eastern side of Baranof Island. This morning's activities included a wonderful hike through an old growth temperate rain forest and kayaking along the shore of the island. We were divided into different groups, hikers and hiker/kayakers. Just about 30 minutes after the first group of hikers had taken off, an agitated voice came through our radios, announcing that they had already spotted a brown bear, walking close to the main trail. This place is well known for the large number of bear sightings and, as you can well imagine, all of the naturalists had their bear mace canisters out of the backpacks and handy, before heading into the forest. At that time, the bear did not show much interest in the group and disappeared into the woods to do its own thing. But the anticipation was planted in all of us. We all made sure we were being loud enough, by screaming "YO BEAR " and so on. The trail runs through a magnificent forest, with an understory of salmonberries, devil's club, blueberry bushes, as well as of many smaller plants, such as false lily-of-the-valley, wild strawberries, a few orchid species, ferns, bunchberries and many different species of mosses. As one of the groups of hikers was making its way back to the beach for a paddling experience, the bear was seen again, this time walking around a meadow through which we had to walk to reach our landing beach. It was close to the water and eating grasses and sedges. We all rushed into the bushes to have better looks. It was about 50 meters away from us; silently the cameras started clicking and excitement developed. Our Expedition Leader, Jason Kelley, called the next group to hurry up so they could see this beautiful, powerful wild animal. We all had incredible looks at it and when we decided it was time to head back, we seriously started making a great deal of noise as to cause it to move from the path for our passage. For our surprise, he just did not care at all! We called him OSO (Spanish for bear), we screamed YOOOO BEEEAAAR!! Nada…he was enjoying life, and foraging along the grass, he did not move. We had to look for other ways to get back to the beach, and so, a Zodiac picked us up at a more suitable site, and we were taken to our landing beach. It was really quite an adventure!!
Before lunch we had a presentation on humpback whales and the research that the Alaskan Whale Foundation is doing. With one of the researchers, Andy Sabo joining us and giving us a thorough presentation on their present research here in Alaska, we learned a lot about their feeding behavior. And it wasn't long after lunch, that we had already spotted a pair of humpback whales swimming close to shore. And if that wasn't enough…. In the late afternoon we stopped at Basket Bay, a uniquely gorgeous place where a marble and limestone "grotto" is found. Enjoying the comfort of our Zodiacs, we toured the inside of this place for a moment of peace, wonder and joy!
Wow!! For sure an exciting day, especially during the morning!
Before breakfast, the M.V. Sea Lion was anchored at Hanus Bay, which is found on the eastern side of Baranof Island. This morning's activities included a wonderful hike through an old growth temperate rain forest and kayaking along the shore of the island. We were divided into different groups, hikers and hiker/kayakers. Just about 30 minutes after the first group of hikers had taken off, an agitated voice came through our radios, announcing that they had already spotted a brown bear, walking close to the main trail. This place is well known for the large number of bear sightings and, as you can well imagine, all of the naturalists had their bear mace canisters out of the backpacks and handy, before heading into the forest. At that time, the bear did not show much interest in the group and disappeared into the woods to do its own thing. But the anticipation was planted in all of us. We all made sure we were being loud enough, by screaming "YO BEAR " and so on. The trail runs through a magnificent forest, with an understory of salmonberries, devil's club, blueberry bushes, as well as of many smaller plants, such as false lily-of-the-valley, wild strawberries, a few orchid species, ferns, bunchberries and many different species of mosses. As one of the groups of hikers was making its way back to the beach for a paddling experience, the bear was seen again, this time walking around a meadow through which we had to walk to reach our landing beach. It was close to the water and eating grasses and sedges. We all rushed into the bushes to have better looks. It was about 50 meters away from us; silently the cameras started clicking and excitement developed. Our Expedition Leader, Jason Kelley, called the next group to hurry up so they could see this beautiful, powerful wild animal. We all had incredible looks at it and when we decided it was time to head back, we seriously started making a great deal of noise as to cause it to move from the path for our passage. For our surprise, he just did not care at all! We called him OSO (Spanish for bear), we screamed YOOOO BEEEAAAR!! Nada…he was enjoying life, and foraging along the grass, he did not move. We had to look for other ways to get back to the beach, and so, a Zodiac picked us up at a more suitable site, and we were taken to our landing beach. It was really quite an adventure!!
Before lunch we had a presentation on humpback whales and the research that the Alaskan Whale Foundation is doing. With one of the researchers, Andy Sabo joining us and giving us a thorough presentation on their present research here in Alaska, we learned a lot about their feeding behavior. And it wasn't long after lunch, that we had already spotted a pair of humpback whales swimming close to shore. And if that wasn't enough…. In the late afternoon we stopped at Basket Bay, a uniquely gorgeous place where a marble and limestone "grotto" is found. Enjoying the comfort of our Zodiacs, we toured the inside of this place for a moment of peace, wonder and joy!
