Early this morning the bridge officers aboard National Geographic Sea Bird navigated with great skill through the fog, south in Stephens Passage into Thomas Bay. While the guests ate breakfast, the hard working deck crew lowered our Zodiacs into the water with the crane on the lido deck.
Guests disembarked from the fantail and were shuttled the short distance through the turquoise-colored waters to the shoreline. A variety of hikes all led varying distances up Cascade Creek. The creek was very full, and the thunderous sound of the falling water was appreciated as well as the mist and spray from the main waterfall. Hiking further up into the forest, we found various nurse logs, as well as tall western hemlocks and a few yellow cedars as well. Also along the trail we sampled some ripe Alaskan blueberry, salmon berries and watermelon berry. We also had the chance to observe many ground plants including the bunchberry, false azalea and of course, the infamous and spike-covered devils club.
During our delicious lunch prepared by our excellent galley team, the bridge officers navigated us to another part of Thomas Bay where we could see the upper stretches of the Baird Glacier. Guests spent the afternoon exploring the unique and beautiful Scenery Cove by both kayaks and Zodiacs.
