During the night, we set out south from Juneau and woke to the steep glacier-carved walls of Endicott Arm. As National Geographic Sea Lion approached the end of the passage, a dense patch of ice pieces floated between the ship and Dawes Glacier. Formed from ice calving into the ocean from the glacier, these small “bergy bits” and “growlers” serve as a resting and birthing area for the harbor seals that have made their way up into the passage to do just that. We saw many pups, some just hours old, lounging on the ice with their mothers or trying out their first swimming lesson.
After lunch and some logistics on expedition etiquette, we had travelled back north through little Tracy Arm to Williams Cove. We split up into small groups to enjoy kayaking around the Sitka spruce-lined cove and hikes in the forest. After seeing the shore and the forest from the ship, it was an even bigger treat to walk through it. Guests learned of all the flowers, berries, trees, plants, and shrubs that make up this thick temperate rain forest and (for some) learned the what life is like on an Alaskan peat bog.
As dinner was served, we pulled up anchor and headed south overnight, down Frederick Sound to the small fishing town of Petersburg.
