Inian Islands & Fox Creek
Early this morning, the National Geographic Sea Lion reached Cross Sound and anchored amongst the Inian Islands just off the north coast of Chichagof Island. We were literally right at the edge of the Gulf of Alaska, part of the North Pacific, which is world renowned for its stormy seas and rich fishing waters. Fortunately, the seas were calm this morning and the marine richness manifested itself for us when we offered Zodiac cruises for everyone to enjoy the spectacular wildlife.
Wow! First off, we watched incredibly appealing sea otters within several kelp beds, including mothers swimming at the surface with pups on their chests. One of them was spotted eating a sea star (Figure A). Then, we cruised around the lush, forest-covered islands and marveled at the many bald eagles perched in the trees along the shorelines. The main reason for this venture, however, was our hope to encounter northern sea lions (formerly called Steller’s sea lions) out near the opening to the Gulf of Alaska. I’m happy to report we were highly successful from that point of view.
Hundreds of sea lions were observed in the raging currents, upwellings, and whirlpools caused by the strong incoming tide. Many of them approached our Zodiacs as we drifted with the currents. This tidal phenomenon is undoubtedly the reason behind the presence of so many predators in this vicinity. We observed both bald eagles and sea lions catching fish. A mother humpback whale and her calf also joined in the feeding fest, as well as harbour porpoises, tufted puffins, rhinoceros auklets, marbled murrelets, pelagic cormorants, and glaucous-winged gulls.
During lunch, our vessel moved a short distance to Idaho Inlet, where we spent the rest of the day anchored just off Fox Creek. Our guests had the choice of hiking, kayaking, cruising with Zodiacs, or even a combination of these options. We discovered why this temperate rain forest is so green and lush, but the light drizzle didn’t really bother us. It’s all part of life here.
The hikers were treated to an amazing phenomenon just inside the forest near the landing beach…a short stretch of an ancient bear trail that consists of individual footprints that have been sustained for many generations. By that, I mean the individual bears actually step on top of each other’s individual foot falls. It really is quite a remarkable sight (Figure B).
This area holds a beautiful forest, as should be expected, but the highlights also include both an upland muskeg located farther up the slope behind the landing area, as well as a salmon stream, i.e. Fox Creek. The kayakers and Zodiac cruisers reported later that they also enjoyed themselves this afternoon. To finish off the eventful day, we sailed over to the region about Point Adolphus after dinner and spent more time with feeding humpback whales.
