Every day, our expedition begins with adventure here in Southeast Alaska. Our staff scouted a new area this morning known as Point Bridget State Park. As the tide rose throughout the morning, the beach landing contained large rocks teeming with wildlife from the intertidal zone. Further inland, the high tide line met the sedges and grasses that composed a beautiful meadow where trails began. The pathway before us was forked—one trail extending further into the meadow to the west; the other avenue heading into the lush forest to the south. Guests got the opportunity to choose between a forest hike, a meadow hike, and an elevation hike that lead to a small lake. Each entailed wondrous wildlife and breathtaking scenery. Aboard National Geographic Sea Bird, we had much to be thankful for. Point Bridget State Park—a place not easily forgotten.
8/12/2019
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National Geographic Sea Bird
Pavlof Harbor & Chatham Strait
During the morning, we explored the scenic cove of Pavlof’s Harbor on the southeast shore of Freshwater Bay, Chichagof Island, and area known for its healthy salmon stream. We were optimistic that we might still see a bear during our last day exploring Southeast Alaska. We were not disappointed! At the base of a small waterfall, we spotted a coastal brown bear casually gorging itself on salmon as we watched, spellbound, from the safety of our expedition landing crafts only a few yards away. The bear, enjoying its meal, seemed oblivious or at least indifferent to our presence. For nearly an hour, we watched the animal devour fish after fish until it calmly walked up the river bank rocks and into the forest. Late summer and early fall is the time to fatten up and prepare for the long winter ahead. Come November and the onset of snow, brown bears will leave the coastline and head to higher elevations near or above treeline. Biologists debate whether bears truly hibernate or just den up and sleep during the winter. Pregnant sows will give birth to tiny, one-pound cubs while sleeping within the den and nurse them until spring. We returned to the ship after our morning adventures for lunch and were relaxing in the lounge when another bear was spotted on the beach south of Pavlof Harbor. Although more distant than our first encounter, we all enjoyed another exceptional sighting of a coastal brown bear. But the wildlife viewing wasn’t over yet! As we sailed south along Chatham Strait, we encountered a pod of killer whales swimming nearby. Crusing alongside the pod, we counted a group of about ten that included one large male. His large dorsal fin rose nearly six feet above the water‘s surface. Guests spent the remaining time reading or chatting with friends. We wrapped up our day with the captain‘s dinner followed by the guest photo slideshow, which we enjoyed as we sailed toward Sitka through Peril Strait. Have we seen it all? Hardly! But we left with a sense of fulfillment, knowing that we saw a lot! And maybe one day we‘ll return and finally see some elusive moose!
