Safari Spirit, Day 3: Scenery Cove, Cascade Creek Waterfall & Humpback Whales

Everyone aboard the Safari Spirit is having a ball! When we first boarded, we all discussed what we'd like to see in Alaska. For me and Daryl, bears were high on our list. We haven't seen any yet, but yesterday's visit to LeConte Glacier more than made up for that. I wasn't prepared for the beauty of the fjord and I'm so glad we had a chance to spend time there!

Last night we anchored in Scenery Cove, part of Thomas Bay on Alaska's mainland. After breakfast, we got in the skiff and motored over to the beach to find the Cascade Creek Waterfall trailhead. The walk from the beach to the trail was shorter and easier than yesterday's—phew! However, I thought this hike was much harder. I'm only 5-feet tall and some of the steps up were difficult for me—even with the walking stick. Of course, if you're hiking up to reach the top of a waterfall, you can't avoid the steep incline! But, if you've got problems with your knees, you may want to sit this one out.



Since everyone else in our group is much more athletic than I am, I was a bit worried about lagging behind. However, you need never fear that. The expedition leader usually takes the lead and another crew member, in this case Kim Killingsworth, follows up in the rear. When Kim saw I was hesitating a bit, she radioed Nitakuwa and they decided to break the group in two. Kim, Daryl, Peter, and I lagged back a bit...it was nice of everyone to slow the pace or me and Peter used the opportunity to take lots of photos. Since this is bear country, both Kim and Nitakuwa were carrying bear spray. I asked Kim if she ever had to use it and she never has. She says as long as you make noise on the trail and don't carry food, bears will pretty much leave you alone. That's good news! Because while I really want to see a bear, I don't think I want to surprise one on the trail!

We made it to the top of the waterfall where there is a small bridge...just stunning! Now to turn around and get back down! Yikes! I will admit that I had a somewhat rough time on the descent and did fall once. But, it was one of those things where I was standing one minute and before I knew what happened, I was sitting on the ground. I wasn't hurt anywhere...just surprised. I guess my feet went out from under me. After that, I just sat on each rock and shimmied down, like a toddler going down the stairs on his bum. Thank goodness for rain pants! Definitely pack them! We used them every single day. I'm glad I did this trail but it was definitely tougher than I expected.

Once we returned to the Safari Spirit, we enjoyed a leisurely lunch and then started watching for whales as we sailed Frederick Sound. I had just gone to our cabin to take a short nap when I literally heard Nitakuwa's whoop of excitement—a pod of humpback whales was coming right toward us and there was a baby with them!

I grabbed my camcorder and raced to the deck just in time to see several of the humpbacks "mug" us. Evidently, the baby got too close to our ship and the adults came between her and us to try and coax her further away. It was such a surprise! None of us could believe it! Captain Tate turned away from the whales a bit since you're not supposed to get so close to them but in this case, they came to us! Once we established the correct distance between vessel and whales, we went back to enjoying the show.


Before we knew it, we had spotted the spouts of dozens of humpbacks so Nitakuwa suggested that we board the skiff for a closer look. Wow! We motored out to the area of concentrated spouts, throttled back the engine, and then just waited. Soon, we heard the tell-tale whoosh of the spout and saw several whales surface just a matter of yards away! It was unreal!


A humpback's tail can be as wide as 12 feet across and now, from this vantage point, I could truly see how massive these animals are! Yet, they are so graceful as they waved their tails in the air before diving deeper. At this point, we put the hydrophone in the water so we could eavesdrop on the whale calls and songs. It was a glorious encounter!


As we returned to the ship, Daryl and I commented that we could forego the bears because the whale encounter was so amazing. But, who knows what tomorrow will bring?! —Andrea

Photos © Leonard Hospidor and may not be used without permission