Kelp Bay
'Richness of life' in this highly productive region on our planet best describes our experiences today! The lush temperate rain forest that surrounded us as we anchored in this quiet bay near Pond Island was especially exquisite in the rain. We donned our raingear and boots and set out on the Zodiacs for an adventure on shore. Our timing to shore coincided with an especially low tide, allowing us to see the incredible diversity of the rocky intertidal life. Mussels and barnacles were most abundant on the rocks, along with the abundant algae called rockweed. As we peered into the many pools of water and under rocks, we were amazed at how much we could find: hermit crabs scurrying about, tidepool sculpins that would dart quickly from one hiding place to another, flat worms, a tiny six-rayed sea star, and even a blenny eel we carefully placed in a temporary home (a deserted clam shell we filled with seawater!). We could then pass this temporary home around (along with a hand lens) to get a closer look at some of the special adaptations of this tiny creature. Some of us continued explorations deeper into the dripping forest where we explored a beaver dam and beaver chippings and chews, some recent evidence of beaver activity. Back on board the ship, we had an opportunity to peer under the video microscope and explore the tiny world of life in a few drops of water taken from a plankton sample collected earlier in the day. Some of these creatures were the larval stages of what we had just seen in the tidepools.
Although the blustery winds had abated, it was still a bit windy for kayaking, so we spent our afternoon hiking in the forest in the south end of Kelp Bay. As we made our way from the beach towards the forest we noticed tracks along the riverbank that indicated that brown bears of several different sizes had visited recently. A set of very small cub tracks indicated a cub of the year, and the large tracks nearby most certainly would be its mother. Another pair of bear tracks showed a clear but less dramatic difference in size, perhaps a mom with an older cub, also utilizing the resources in the area. The above photo shows an example of one of the tracks. During our afternoon hike, we learned to "love our boots" as we trekked across streams (second photo) and entered a region of some of the most spectacular regions of the Tongass National Forest we has seen so far. We were amazed at the size of the western hemlocks that were easily 500 to 700 years old! Our senses saturated, we eagerly await for what lies ahead for tomorrow.
