Sitkoh Bay, Lake Eva & Peril Strait
After cruising through the night from Point Adolphus in Icy Strait, we arrived at Sitkoh Bay at about 5:30 in the morning. The captain slowly navigated the National Geographic Sea Bird the few miles up to the upper end of the bay. We were looking for critters, particularly brown bears! The wind was blowing quite hard, but our vigil was rewarded when Sara, one of the onboard naturalists, spotted a bear feeding on grass along the shore. The bruin soon ducked back into the woods, so we slowly turned and headed for Florence Bay, our proposed destination for the morning activities on shore.
After the National Geographic Sea Bird anchored, a scout boat headed to shore to check on the conditions for landing the Zodiacs at the trail-head; not favorable this morning! Sue, our Expedition Leader, made the decision to head toward Lake Eva, in Peril Strait, and see if we could land at that beach. After about an hour of travel we arrived, and the conditions were much better on shore, so the call went out to get ready for the morning hikes.
Soon the first guests came ashore for the aerobic hike, followed by the long, moderate and leisurely groups. Soon all the hikers were walking through a mixture of forest trail, boardwalk and mud holes, a little of everything on this beautiful Forest Service trail. The longer hikers made it all the way to Lake Eva, while the shorter ones took their time and learned more about this amazing temperate rainforest. We walked over tree roots, around fallen logs and next to a beautiful waterfall and rapids along the stream, which is fed by the lake.
By the time all the hikers returned to the landing beach, the wind had picked up considerably which led to some wet rides back to the ship. We all of course survived, and got out of the dripping rain gear before heading to lunch.
Shortly after our meal, the announcement was made for a group photo and video on the bow. Slowly everyone arrived, got the shot accomplished, and we continued our cruise through Peril Strait toward the morning arrival in Sitka and the end to a week of exploring in the “wilds” of Southeast Alaska. What a fabulous trip!
