This morning our early risers were able to witness the phenomenal navigational skills of our captain, as the National Geographic Sea Bird cruised through the Wrangell Narrows, passed Petersburg and headed south to mouth of Le Conte Bay for our morning exploration of Southeast Alaska.
Icebergs and bergy bits filled the bay with larger blocks grounded on the barely submerged recessional moraine of the LeConte glacier. The source of the ice, the Stikine River ice field and the current terminus of this southernmost North American tidewater glacier was out-of-sight, approximately ten miles east of our location. The icebergs within the bay limited our ship’s mobility so we boarded Zodiacs to get a closer look and study the ice and wildlife.
After lunch we docked on Mitkof Island in the town of Petersburg. We explored the town, the fishing fleet, and the Muskeg bog across Wrangell Narrows on Kupreanof Island. Some of us took to the air to go flightseeing over the Stikine icefield and the LeConte glacier. High clouds did not obscure the extraordinary glacial carved peak known as Devil’s Thumb, which is located on the mainland approximately twenty-five miles northeast of Petersburg. The mountain peak marks a boundary point between Alaska and British Columbia and provides an imposing backdrop to this beautiful Alaskan town.
Many guests took advantage of our photo instructors and honed their skills on a guided walk through town. Others learned about the various means of fishing employed by the fleet in Petersburg. Explorers of nearby Kupreanof Island stretched their legs on an aerobic walk or spent a more leisurely period observing the rain forest and the exotic muskeg bog along a boardwalk trail.
After our afternoon adventures, we were welcomed back on board for evening cocktails, Recap and a fabulous dinner feast of Dungeness crab caught fresh from the water here.
