[Chichagof island, Alaska, Jul 31, 2024]
After a fantastic couple of days in Glacier Bay National Park, it was time to explore some of the islands of Southeast Alaska.
Our first stop was Chichagof island, part of the Alexander archipelago. The three northern islands in the archipelago, Admiralty, Baranof and Chichagof, are colloquially known as the ABC islands. They are also some of the largest islands in the United States , but there is minimal human presence and industry on them. The best known city is Sitka, on the western side of Baranof island.
We docked in Wachusset Cove on Chichagof island and started preparing for our activities for the day. Olivia decided to do a full day “yak and whack” – a kayak, followed by a stop on land for lunch, a bushwhack and a kayak back to the boat. I debated doing that, but I didn’t feel confident getting in and out of a kayak on water. I decided to do a skiff tour in the morning followed by a bushwhack in the afternoon. When I saw how choppy the water was that morning, I was really happy with my decision. I would not have enjoyed kayaking in that swell!
When I was reviewing the board with the schedule after breakfast, I ran into Pam. Her husband had just sustained an injury of some kind, and he was slow to get ready in the morning. He was supposed to be on the first skiff out for the day, at 8:45, while I was supposed to be on one later that morning. She was checking to see if she could move him to a later skiff because he wasn’t going to be ready on time, but they were all full. I offered to switch with him – a decision I came to regret later. Still, my skiff tour was really nice and the scenery was breathtaking. Our wildlife spotting consisted mainly of birds – kingfisher, merganser and eagles.
The reason I regretted my decision so much? Every skiff tour later in the morning saw bears at the same waterfall we went by! Here are some pictures the guides of those skiff tours took. I was very disappointed but I had to remind myself you never know how these things will turn out and anyway, I did someone a favor.
At least I had time to go into the hot tub before my afternoon activity. After lunch, we took a skiff to the island for the bushwhack. It felt good to be on land.
At first we were on a trail and went by someone’s hunting cabin.
But pretty soon we were truly making our way through bushes. It also started raining, and our rain gear was very much put to the test.
Finally, we emerged from the thick forest into a muskeg. A muskeg is basically a bog in the Arctic and boreal areas. It forms when there is so much rainfall that the ground becomes saturated and the water can’t drain. The ground is so squishy!
We saw a native Alaskan berry called salmon berry. There were also some bear tracks, but no bears.
We did, however, see a wood frog. Our guide captured it long enough for us to take a closer look, then released it. He told us that amphibians have to develop special adaptations to survive the Alaskan winter. The wood frog freezes in winter, then thaws out in spring and continues on!
After the muskeg, we bushwhacked some more to this beautiful meadow. Our guide was surprised we hadn’t seen any bears because open spaces like that were prime habitats! We did see some fresh marks of a mama bear and her cub by a creek, but that’s about it.
Although there were no bear sightings today, it was still a beautiful day to be in Alaska. This rainbow after the rain as we were about to get back on the ship was a reminder that beauty is always around, though not always in the form of a bear.
