Dates

Overview

Skiff, kayak, and paddle board through fjords and inlets as wildlife greets you from land and sea. See the Tongass National Forest and Glacier Bay National Park as Alaskans do, by hike and “bushwhack”.

Expedition Highlights

• View Margerie and Grand Pacific Glaciers
• A park ranger joins you on board for a day in Glacier Bay National Park
• Whale watching in Icy Strait and Lynn Canal or Chatham Strait
• Wildlife searches—bears, sea otters, harbor seals, sea lions, and Dall’s porpoises
• South Marble Island—a bird and sea lion haulout
• Beachcomb along intertidal zones
• Hike and bushwhack in the Tongass National Forest
• Kayak, paddle board, and skiff in glacial fjords

Itinerary

Day 1 – Juneau, Alaska – Embarkation

Arriving in Juneau, you will be transferred from the airport to our hospitality area. Upon boarding, your crew greets you with champagne and smiles. Set sail for a week of scenic channels and secluded wilderness. (D)

Day 2 – Captain’s Choice

Lynn Canal or Chatham Strait, your captain makes the call. Either choice, go with the flow. The water is fine. The guides help you gear up, and lead your adventure along the rocky outcroppings. By kayak or paddle board, take in the size of this wilderness. Bald eagles dot the treetops. Harbor seals bob up and under. Pods of orcas—the largest in the dolphin family—skim along the water’s surface. (BLD)

Day 3 – Glacier Bay National Park

What a privilege. At 3.3 million acres—this UNESCO World Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve is massive. At Bartlett Cove, a park ranger joins in on your day’s exploration and shares the park’s history. Orange-beaked puffins, guillemots, marbled murrelets are just a few possible sightings. Keep a tally—the list will grow. Arriving at South Marble Island, you can hear and smell ‘em before you see ‘em—it’s a haul-out for sea lions. Perched above around the bend, watch for mountain goats, and lower along shore, foraging bears. Up bay, glacial silt turns the water a milky white. Margerie and Grand Pacific Glaciers—one holding steady, the other retreating. Lounging harbor seals laze on bits of bergs. And if time allows, tuck up in Tidal Inlet. End this very full day with your feet up for the sail into Icy Strait. (BLD)

Day 4 – Icy Strait

From kelp-lined channels to hemlock and spruce forests, every inch of this far northwest corner is worth exploring. And today’s adventures promise to be as big as the water is deep! Seals and sea lions haul out on rocky outcroppings, resting before they disappear in the water to search for food. If the tides are right, head out in the skiff with one of the guides for a closer exploration of the rugged shore, or perhaps, make it all the way to George Island. Whatever you do—wilderness trekking, skiffing, or paddling—your expedition team guides the way. (BLD)

Day 5 – Chichagof Island

Welcome to the west coast of Chatham Strait – one of the largest, longest, and straightest fjords on the planet. We’re deep within a nutrient highway, and endless coves and glacial fjords draw unsuspecting lines along the coast. Chichagof Island is home to the coastal brown bear supported by the lush meadows, rich berries, and prolific salmon runs. Each cove and bay hold their very own microcosm of the greater ecosystem – and your guides are getting into the granular details of the connections between place, species, and time. The time of year dictates the destination. Spring meadows are filled with wildflowers. Summer salmon runs bring bears to the freshwater cornucopia of the largest return of nutrients from sea to land on earth. There’s no “good” or “bad” time to visit this place – every season brings new surprises. (BLD)

Day 6 – Baranof Island

Baranof Island is our playground for the day. Glacially carved fjords become more exposed as we approach South Baranof Wilderness. We continue our search for the coastal brown bear and bushwhack up into muskegs that offer sweeping views across Chatham Strait towards Kootznoowoo. Whales transit the coastline in search of schools of herring and salmon that gather here in numbers beyond comprehension. Following the spouts west, we enter Peril Strait – an infamous stretch of water rich in indigenous and Russian history Tight channels and swirling eddies bring marine mammals to the area, here to take their chances at salmon returning to their natal streams. It’s also the perfect time to enjoy an open paddle or stand-up paddle boarding with the calm waters. (BLD)

Day 7 – Krestof & Nakwasina Sounds

There aren’t many straight lines along Baranof Island. Its western side is spattered with remote, uninhabited islands – endless opportunities for adventure. Secluded coves, windswept shorelines, and cliffs battered by winter storms provide ample habitat for migratory birds. Drop anchor, pick your modus operandi, from kayaking to snorkeling, and get going. Rocky intertidal zones are Alaska’s touch tanks – sea stars and edible kelps abound – turn a stone or two to see what’s underneath. There are no groomed trails here—get out on a guided hike that John Muir himself would approve of. (BLD)

Day 8 – Sitka, Alaska – Disembarkation

Cruise into Sitka this morning over breakfast. Farewell new friends!