Haida Gwaii, 9/10/2024, National Geographic Sea Bird
Aboard the
National Geographic Sea Bird
Alaska
National Geographic Sea Bird visited Haida Gwaii today. In the morning, we visited a Museum and Cultural Center where we learned about the house frontal poles and other utilitarian and creative objects.
In the afternoon, there were a variety of hikes on offer in the forest near Spirit Lake. Everyone was very touched by the beautiful surroundings and culture on our first day in this special place.
I like to remind people that there are very few big surprises left in life, but if you are out in nature, with an open mind and a lot of time, you never know what you will find.
As we continued our way north through Alaska, we had a favorite stop of mine in Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness. We had a rainy day, which I enjoy because we can see at higher elevations since the rain turns to snow and, in turn, the snow feeds the absorption zone of the Sawyer Glaciers. We went out in the Zodiacs and navigated around the icebergs and bergy bits, even collecting a piece for the ice melt-off challenge. Once underway out of Tracy Arm, we saw some humpback whales. One whale had an entanglement of line on its fluke. The line was causing an obvious cut to the marine mammal. The correct authorities were notified about the condition of the whale and location of the sighting. Hopefully the whale will be assisted soon and the entanglement removed. Several other humpbacks were seen shortly after, luckily no entanglements on these. They were demonstrating surface feeding behavior, with one lunge feeding and the other making bubbles to catch its prey.
Today, National Geographic Sea Bird sailed through Misty Fjords National Monument, an incredible wilderness with spectacular cliffs and deep glacial fjords. Mid-morning, we passed by New Eddystone Rock, a volcanic pillar of basalt that juts out of the ocean like a jagged shark tooth. After a quick sighting of Dall’s porpoises, we reached Owl Pass, a narrow gap with a striking cliff rising straight from the ocean that has a large cutout which some say resembles an owl. After boarding Zodiacs, we had an incredible cruise through Owl Pass into Punchbowl Cove. Surrounded by huge mountains on all sides, we got some great views of Barrow’s goldeneye, harlequin ducks, and common mergansers. At the end of the bay, a dozen harbor seals masqueraded as pieces of driftwood, and we even got some quick glimpses of a river otter! We’re excited to cruise up towards Petersburg overnight and are looking forward to the rest of our time aboard National Geographic Sea Bird.
After an evening cruising from SG̱ang Gwaay, National Geographic Sea Bird made one last stop this morning in Daajing Giids to drop off our cultural interpreters, DeeDee Crosby and Grace Garvie. At dock, we had two unique opportunities. The first, our daily morning stretch class had the opportunity to meet on land, and second, we welcomed the incredible artisan, Aay Aay, aboard. We were familiar with Aay Aay, who we had met two days prior as an interpreter at the Haida Heritage Center. His specialty is a revival of traditional Haida weaving. During Aay Aay’s time on board, he shared with us his personal story about discovering and mastering his art with spruce root, cedar, and wool weaving. He taught us how to hand spin the warp threads that would be the beginnings of a wool piece. After an artistic morning, we embarked on our journey across Hecate Strait to reach our next destination along our expedition, Alaska. This evening, I write as we make our way into Dixon Entrance preparing to wake up to the scenery of the famed Misty Fjords in the morning.
