Today we made our first expedition landing and visited Cascade Creek. The creek was flowing prodigiously, roaring loudly, and producing a lot of mist. Hikes differed in strenuousness and length, and a couple of groups even did some bushwhacking in the rainforest. The National Geographic Sea Lion then sailed down toward Baird Glacier and Scenic Cove where some of us hiked on the outwash plain in a field of blooming Nookta lupine while others took advantage of the opportunity to kayak and paddleboard.
9/10/2024
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National Geographic Sea Lion
Pavlof Harbor
The day started with an exciting encounter. Before breakfast we observed a group of bubble-netting humpback whales. It was incredible to see them lunge and hear them breathing at the surface. This was coupled by a glorious pink sunrise. After breakfast we took Zodiac cruises searching for bears near Pavlof Harbor. Even though we did not find any (wildlife is always delightfully unexpected), the scenery was beautiful, and we watched many adorable harbor seals. After thinking the excitement of the day was done, we spotted a large group of whales from a distance. While approaching closer, we realized this group was also bubble-net feeding. Close to the shore, we observed these whales for hours. We even dropped the hydrophone to hear their haunting feeding call before they all lunged at the surface. It was one of the most incredible things any of us had ever witnessed. As if this wasn’t enough, at our sunset recap we got the call that there were killer whales around the ship. It was the most amazing ending to the most amazing day.