We started our day with an early stop at Bartlett Cove to pick up Anne, our Glacier Bay National Park Ranger and Alice, our Hoonah Tlingit Cultural Interpreter. Our first destination was South Marble Island, where a group of Stellar sea lions, glaucous-winged gulls, and tufted puffins greeted us as we approached. As we continued on our exploration into Tidal Inlet, we found wildlife high and low: sea otters were floating all around, a coastal brown bear ambled along the shorelines looking for tasty intertidal snacks, and mountain goats scampered high into the cloud layer. After lunch, we made our way towards John Hopkins Glacier and took in the amazing views provided by this tidewater glacier. Our night was capped off with a short visit to Bartlett Cove and a lovely visit by local author and musician Kim Heacox before cruising on toward the next day’s adventure.
8/1/2019
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National Geographic Venture
Baranof Island
After exploring the glaciers and open waters of the northern Inside Passage, we sailed south through the night and returned to the starting point of our journey, Baranof Island. This island, along with Admiralty to the east and Chichagof to the north, is home to one of the highest densities of brown bears in the world. To search for evidence of the bears as they begin their yearly salmon feast and continue our exploration of the temperate rainforest, we anchored in Kelp Bay to kayak and hike the shoreline throughout the morning. Later in the afternoon, we welcomed Dr. Andy Szabo of the Alaska Whale Foundation to learn more about ongoing research taking place in Alaska on the unique bubblenet feeding behavior we witnessed earlier in the trip. Only in Alaska can you experience the forest, salmon, bears, and whales all in one day.
