We were lucky to have another clear, sunny day in Southeast Alaska. The National Geographic Sea Lion was anchored in Hanus Bay, on Baranof Island. We spent the entire morning exploring the area around Lake Eva: hiking, kayaking, and crusing in the expedition landing crafts. We saw two brown bears near the stream flowing our of Lake Eva, which is teeming with spawning salmon. Kayakers took advantage of a high tide to paddle around the lagoon, where they could see fish and Harbor Seals swimming beneath them.
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.
