John Muir’s description of Tracy Arm as “a wild, unfinished Yosemite” felt apt this morning as we awoke among sheer rock walls, glacially-sculpted valleys, and granitic domes rising thousands of feet above us on either side of the narrow fjord. South Sawyer Glacier gifted morning Zodiac tours with the action and thunder of calving ice. We welcomed U.S. Forest Service wilderness rangers Sean and Dylan aboard National Geographic Quest for an unplanned afternoon visit. The evening closed with Captain’s Dinner and our guest photo slideshow, accompanied by smiles, laughter, and new friendships.
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.
