SEA WOLF ADVENTURES
ACTIVE SMALL SHIP ADVENTURE CRUISING IN ALASKA & BRITISH COLUMBIA
July 29-August 3, 2012
Day 1-: Meet 10:00 AM at Bartlett Cove. Board the MV Sea. We will assemble in the main salon for introductions, an orientation discussing safety, boat layout, amenities and your Alaskan adventure.
We will cruise up bay to Geike to look for foraging bears, wolves and seabirds. Along the way we will have a kayaking introduction and lunch. After lunch we are paddling and beach exploring. Geike is a beautiful waterfall laden fjord that may offer a glimpse of black bears, wolverines, mountain goats and a large variety of seabirds and ducks. Then onward to our evening anchorage at Reid glacier, about a 4-hour journey filled with incredible vistas, wildlife on the beaches and possibly acrobatic whales in the waters. Along the way we will learn about the natural history of Glacier Bay, some of the research projects that the park is conducting and of course about wild harvesting. Dinner aboard the Sea Wolf and this is our evening anchorage watching the sunset over Glacier Bay.
Day 2: Breakfast at 8:00 am and we are off for a hike up the mountain, down the beach and fording a few glacial streams that will bring us to the face of Reid Glacier. Here we will learn about glaciers geology, plant and animal succession and explore among the grounded icebergs. We hunt for ice worms and for those so inclined we scoop up glacial silt for wonderful glacial facials. On our intertidal walk back, we look under rocks to discover what the bears feast on during low tide, Brown Bears, wolverine, small mammals and harbor seals all live in this area. Another beach offers bird lovers a binocular paradise, as it is a nesting ground for Arctic Terns, Kittlitz”s, Murrelets, Ptarmigan, Grouse, Plovers and a variety of other shore and sea birds. During lunch we will head to Tarr Inlet where the Grand Pacific and Marjorie Glaciers cascade into the water. Once here we will have a wonderful paddle along a sheer cliff, which is a Kittiwake and Puffin rookery and then out in front of Marjorie Glacier for a breathtaking experience as we watch an active calving glacier from a safe distance. We will then pull the anchor and cruise toward our evening anchorage.
Day 3 : Breakfast at 8:00 am as the engines are started and we will make our way to S. Marble Island to view a large Stellar Sea Lion Haul Out and a seabird-nesting rookery from the Sea Wolf. The shorelines have a great variety of shore birds, vista’s and the possibilities of seeing mountain goats, bears, wolves or moose.Then after lunch we have a marine mammal paddle with the possibility of whales, porpoises, harbor seals and otters. there is an amazing estuary filled with edible berrys and sign of wolves, bears and moose.
Day 4 :Breakfast 8 am. After breakfast we will cruise to the outer coast to an amazing island to explore the rocky tidal pools and shores. An afternoon paddle around the sea stack coves of the island hoping for whales and Stellar Sea Lions to pass us by. This is our evening anchorage.
Day 5: Breakfast at am and we will already be underway to our next adventure on Chichagof Island. We want to be in our kayaks by mid high tide so we can paddle the flood time up a pink salmon filled stream. Once there we can make short forays into the meadows looking for root plants to harvest and keeping an eye out for the Chichagof Island brown bears. As the tide falls the river becomes shallower and the fish begin leaping to make it up river. This attracts the bears. It is time to head back down stream in our kayaks where we hope to spot bears heading across the meadows to the banks to fish. We will pull along the shore to hopefully watch the hard working and sometimes -hilarious bears forage for their fish. Bald Eagles, Peregrine Falcons, Ravens, sea birds and shorebirds all participate in the feast that these salmon provide. This is our evening anchorage.
Day 6- Breakfast at 8:00 am then we are off to look for more spectacular humpback whales on the way to the outer coast. Lunch underway then we will be anchoring in a magical bay with beautiful waterfalls and facing the great N. Pacific Ocean otherwise known as the Gulf of Alaska. Once anchored, we will head in a skiff or kayaks to a small islet grouping called the Porcupines. This magical scattering of islets and reefs is a beautiful tide pool and is home to many sea otters-many with their pups. We will explore this wild coastal area all afternoon until the dinner hour approaches. Dinner and this is our evening anchorage.
Day 6: Today we will focus on finding the humpback whales around Point Adolphus and spend the day watching them feed hard in the nutrient rich waters of Glacier Bay. We are back at the dock by 2pm for a transfer to the airport.
Note: These itineraries are subject to change based on park area closures/openings, weather and travel conditions and wildlife movements. We try to be where we should see whales, bears, sea lions, eagles, wild flowers and soaring landscapes but the anchorage may change dependant on the above. Other destinations may include Fingers Bay, Queen Inlet, Johns Hopkins Inlet, Sundew Cove, Sebree Cove, the East Arm and the Islands. Many times we are following the wildlife as they move with their food source so we like the flexibility so we can have the greatest viewing possibilities.
We can offer 2 levels of kayaking and hiking activity levels from all day paddles/hikes to leisurely 90 minute paddles or hikes.
