We awoke today, our last day of the trip, in the majesty of Tracy Arm. As the steeping walls of the fjord loomed around us, we boarded our Zodiacs for a voyage to the domain of Sawyer Glacier. There we watched as walls of ice calved into the sea. Afterward, we returned to the ship where the brave embarked on a plunge of polar nature. After the plungers returned from the frosty waters of the fjords, we left Tracy Arm headed to our final destination of Juneau, journals full of adventures and hearts filled with travel.
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.
