The weather in Southeast Alaska is many things. One thing it is not, is predictable. If anyone on board the National Geographic Sea Lion never knew what weather we would wake up to on Monday, May 15, 2017; they certainly never told. It was gorgeous from sunrise to spectacular sunset, sixteen hours of sunlight! The morning was spent at De Groff Bay where we embarked on our first expedition landing of the trip. Using our inflatable boats we motored through a scenic inlet and made landfall. It was here we were given an introduction to Alaska’s temperate rainforest and some of the major plants that make up the ecosystem here. The Sitka spruce and the western hemlock are two giant conifers that tower 60 meters high and shade the forest floor creating cool, damp, and dark environment even in the bright sunshine we experienced today. Peppered through-out were the standing snags of yellow cedar, bleached to bones in the sun; laid low by flash freezes before the insulating snow has fallen each winter, the signs of a changing climate.
Once back on board and fortified by an excellent lunch we weighed anchor and set out toward Peril Straight and Sergius Narrows. In 1799 a doomed seal hunting expeditions endured terrible storms and when they finally managed to take refuge on land, the entire party feasted on shellfish beset with paralytic shellfish poisoning, and one hundred fifty of them perished as a result. Many English place names in the area refer to the incident, such as Poison Cove and Deadman’s Reach. However the gruesome history of this area didn’t dissuade our spirits or inhibit our travels in the least.
We moved smoothly through these tight channels at slack tide and were even treated to a great look at a humpback whale, breathing on the surface and diving, as well as curious seals and spectacular landscapes. All this while we all soaked in the sunshine on the outer decks. The beautiful Northwest islands rising straight into mountains continued to unfold before us as we motored along with dusk setting and out spirits high.
