George Island, Cross Sound and Icy Strait at sunset
Today was a day that almost goes beyond description. It was almost overwhelming. From dawn to dusk, it was a day full of mammals, marine majesty, and macro and microcosmic mystique. During the night we had motored to the western entrance of Cross Sound and the protected waters of George Island. Here, just at the edge of the Gulf of Alaska, we dropped anchor and waited for the morning to develop. Calm waters, broken skies, and a promise of a wonderful day greeted us as we awoke. Right after breakfast the day began in earnest. Hikers went ashore in shifts to either traverse the island - wandering through the forest and strolling along sand and cobble beaches - or to follow a sinuous and hilly trail to an old WWII gun emplacement which once guarded the entrance to Cross Sound from any possible Japanese invasion. Admittedly, another option while ashore was the "short nap." All had an opportunity to hop into a Zodiac for a circumnavigation of the island. The Zodiacs took us past rocky sea arches, beneath horned puffins nesting above cliffs, into kelp filled bays, and out onto the open Pacific Ocean. To the north we could see the southern shoreline of Glacier Bay National Park and the immense Brady Icefield… to west only open water and a few fishing boats in search of silver salmon.
In Southeast Alaska, whenever the sun comes out its time to doff the raingear and fire up the grill. We did just that. Once back onboard we settled down to a barbecue buffet on the back deck with ice cream sundaes for desert. When finished we hoisted anchor and went in search of otters. Not only did we find these cute marine mammals floating close-up in the calm waters of Idaho Inlet, but also a myriad of Humpbacks feeding, fluking, breaching, and chin-slapping. At the same time we also spotted a grizzled old brown bear. He was old, emaciated, and extremely impressive and it was quite a relief to see this one from the ship and not the shore. At times, there was so much to see one didn't know where to look. Around 4PM word reached us that a pod of killer whales were cruising near Point Adolphus so we took off to see for ourselves. However, before reaching the Orca we came across a wall of whales blocking our way… more Humpbacks! Once more we were treated to an amazing display of feeding and social behaviors. Recap was cancelled, dinner postponed, and still the whales danced and dove. "On to the Orca" we cried and so we did so. Seven killer whales cavorted just beyond the wall of Humpbacks and captured all of our imaginations. Sleek, powerful, graceful, and playful are the words which come to mind when one watches these "wolves of the sea." When dinner could be postponed no longer we finally we went inside. Though desert was a blackberry crisp the true finale to the meal - and for the day - was the setting sun over the waters of Icy Strait. Truly, there can be nothing better than a serving of the Fairweather Range…iced with snow… fringed with golden rays of sunlight… and set in a calm sea… to satisfy one's soul.
