Alaska Cruise: Juneau to Petersburg (2009)

This cruise offers a diverse experience of Southeast Alaska, from fishing towns to wilderness solitude and exploration by foot and by kayak. This glacial wilderness supports a diversity of wildlife as varied as the landscape. On water you may see humpback whales, orca, porpoise, and stellar sea lion as well as numerous sea birds. On land you may see black bear, brown bear, and mountain goats.

Itinerary

Day 1: Juneau / Embarkation / Wood Spit

Docked near downtown Juneau, boat departs at 12:30 pm, heading south down Gastineau Channel and out into Stephens Passage. Enjoy a buffet lunch, orientation and safety meeting. Spend your first night anchored at Wood Spit near the entrance to Endicott Arm. The evening will be spent introducing everyone to kayaking. You will also take a hike and learn about the fascinating geology of this glacial area, its Tlingit culture and gold rush history. The spit is frequented by deer, wolf, nesting bald eagles, and an array of water birds.

Day 7: Kayaking / Petersburg / Disembarkation

A relaxing morning, time for one more kayak paddle before the boats get stowed. Underway by late morning, you will be tied up at the dock in Petersburg about noon, time enough to catch the afternoon flight to Seattle or get settled into your room in town.

Day 6: Thomas Bay / Baird Glacier

Today enjoy kayaking around the islands, hiking through the open under story of the rain forest, or fishing for halibut for your eveningÃ?Â?Ã?Â?s meal. There is a Stellar Sea Lion haul-out close by where hundreds of the vocal fellows and felines spend their days. If the Humpbacks are out your front door, you may spend some time shadowing their movements. In the afternoon head south down the sound for Thomas Bay and an anchorage called Scenery Cove. Tides permitting, hike on the extensive glacial moraine that lies at the foot of Baird Glacier. Tonight is your last evening together as a group, the night of the CaptainÃ?Â?Ã?Â?s Ball.

Day 5: The Brothers

By mid-day you will be underway, bound for The Brothers, a group of small islands positioned in the middle of Frederick Sound. Along the way, be on the alert for Humpback or Orca whale sightings. This is one of the prime summer feeding grounds for the migratory Humpback and it is a rare transit if we do not encounter a pod. The guides may shut down the engine and just drift, watching them feeding or breaching and listening to their songs with the hydrophone. The ship will drop the hook in an idyllic anchorage where the sounds of breathing whales, Stellar Sea Lions hauled out close by, or the screech of an eagle, comes drifting across the evening calm. Enjoy a campfire and dinner on the beach.

Day 4: Frederick Sound / Gambier Bay

Make your way out of Endicott Arm and back to Stephens Passage and into Frederick Sound. You head for Gambier Bay, keeping a sharp lookout for whales along the route. This is prime salmon spawning habitat, along with the brown bears that come down to the rivers this time of year to feed on them.

Day 2: Endicott Arm

Depart in the early morning hours to make the slack tide across the spit and into Endicott Arm. Travel twenty seven miles up the Arm to see the face of Dawes Glacier where youÃ?Â?Ã?Â?ll linger awhile to witness the calving and booming of the burgs. Then make your way to a seldom visited anchorage called Fords' Terror, comparable to a flooded Yosemite Valley.

Day 3: Ford's Terror

Become intrepid travelers at Ford's Terror where youÃ?Â?Ã?Â?ll find places to explore by foot and by kayak. Surrounded by 5,000 foot granite faces, you will kayak through the tidal rapids (at slack water of course) and paddle into the majestic inner fjord.