Alaska Whales, Bears and Glaciers

Once again, we return to Southeast Alaska. After many years of doing this trip, it has become one of my favorites. You get to see some of the best of the best in Southeast Alaska.

We start this adventure at 8 a.m., July 28, in ‘Wrangell, meeting at the Stikine Inn (where most of us will be staying). Wrangell has plenty to offer, most of it within walking distance of the hotel. You may want to arrive a day early to enjoy this little town and relax after your flight. Highlights in this historic town include the Chief Shakes Totem Park and a magnificent museum. Using Wrangell as our base, we will spend half a day traveling by high-speed, shallow-draft jetboat up the mighty Stikine River to the fantastic Shakes Lake, with its other-worldly icebergs and rugged peaks. In late afternoon we board our 120-foot vessel for the trip to Anan Creek, where black bears congregate at a small waterfall to catch and eat salmon. Here, we follow a trail to an observation deck plus a blind where you will get amazing photos of these bruins.

From there we head south to the legendary Anan Creek, where black bears (and occasional brown bears) crowd together to catch and eat pink salmon. Expect to see plenty of bears along with lots of cute cubs.

Then we head back north through the Wrangell Narrows, past the delightful fishing town of Petersburg (we may stop here for a quick walk around town) and then to Frederick Sound, home to a summer population of of about 1500 humpback whales, They’re here in a feeding frenzy after wintering in Hawaii, where they don’t eat for months. You typically see them in groups of two or three. With luck you might see them breaching or bubble feeding. Sometimes here we also see orcas. You’ll spend a couple of days here, lingering in The Brothers Islands with its sea lion colony and just enjoying the deep green rainforest beauty of this magnificent place. From Frederick Sound we voyage east to the Ice Kingdom, nicknamed for Yosemite-like Endicott Arm, with its hundreds of brilliant aquamarine icebergs and mighty mountain-edged fjords. If we see especially photogenic bergs, we’ll linger for photo ops, maybe circling . Our destination is the mighty tidewater Dawes Glacier, with its calving, crashing bergs. Then we’ll anchor at the mouth of Fords Terror, and if we’ve had rain, we can admire the dozens of massive waterfalls that thunder from cliffs into the bay. Sometimes we take our Zodiac skiff deep into the Fjords Terror, with its mighty cliffs and waterfalls. We end our trip in Juneau on August 5, where after breakfast aboard you can either catch your jet flight home or linger in Juneau to enjoy the many sights and acitivites here.

We eat and sleep on our liveaboard 60-foot boat, the Delphinus II. We take only six passengers. Also aboard we’ll have an amazing cook (expect fresh fish, fresh-baked goodies and much more), plus me as your photo advisor. As needed, I’ll be giving you photo tips and Photoshop techniques. Access to Juneau and Wrangell is via Alaska Airlines jet.

I have been leading smallboat Southeast Alaska tours since 1999, and trust me, this is one of the best, a dream come true, and in so many wonderful ways, a life-changing adventure. Contact me and I can send you the highly detailed itinerary.

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