Blue skies and warm temperatures are a fairly rare occurrence here in Southeast Alaska, but we were blessed with them today. We took full advantage of it, getting an early start with Zodiac tours at the bar of the LaConte Glacier Iceberg Garden. It was then off to Petersburg for the afternoon where we enjoyed our first hikes in the forest and muskeg (bog), dock walks, and time to explore town or for a fortunate few, flightseeing. The evening was topped off with an escort past Petersburg by orca whales.
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.
