Life List:
Wild Alaska by boat
While kayaking in Warm Spring's salt chuck, we met and named this seal Sammy.
Harbor Seals
Warm Springs has a lovely shoreline and several coves to explore. We kayak along the far shore to investigate a nearby cove formed by mountains growing straight out of the water, then return to the village so we can enter the salt chuck.
Salt chucks are saltwater ponds that are filled at high tide and emptied at low tide. Southeast Alaska has two tides daily and high tide can exceed 20 feet in some areas—no wonder a pond or lake can be formed by tides! A narrow inlet feeds water into Warm Spring’s salt chuck—you have to enter it at high tide in order to get through and you want to leave when the tide starts to go out (huge nasty boulders make it impossible to navigate otherwise because of rapids as the tide rises and lack of water as the tide recedes).
Seals can hold their breath for 20 minutes and dive as deep as 600 feet, so we’d often give up trying to find him, only to have him reappear in a
completely different location.
Surely this is Mother Nature’s secret garden—an enchanting pond is embraced by mountains, with a small meadow at the far end that begs to be used for picnicking. As we drift along, enjoying the solitude, something pops up near me. Scott thinks it is a river otter until it dawns on us that it is a harbor seal!
The seal amuses us for more than an hour. We name it Sammy the Seal, figuring it would fit either a male or female though we automatically refer to it as a “him.” Sammy isn’t terribly spooked by us once he realizes we aren’t going to hurt him, so he just swims and floats around, sometimes coming pretty close to the kayaks—close enough to hear him breathing.
It’s a game of hide-and-seek trying to figure out where Sammy will appear after he slips underwater. It’s a bit like trying to locate a loon. Seals can hold their breath for 20 minutes and dive as deep as 600 feet, so we’d often give up trying to find him, only to have him reappear in a completely different location from where we’d last seen him. Because of our patience—and sheer enjoyment of sharing the water with this delightful creature—Scott took some really nice photos! Whenever Sammy disappeared, we entertain ourselves by watching and photographing kingfishers—we saw two pairs—flitting about on the hunt as well as several gulls languishing along the shoreline.
Naturally, the next day we want to kayak one last time in the salt chuck before leaving Warm Springs. It’s rather nippy so I borrow some gloves from Vic. They’re huge, but warm, and it makes all the difference. As we’re entering the inlet to the salt chuck, I see our buddy the seal swimming on the other side. Scott gets his camera ready, but once we’re in, Sammy is nowhere to be seen. It’s even more quiet here than yesterday and we realize there are no birds whatsoever. In fact, it’s rather eery. We paddle towards the far end and float around a bit, still no sign of Sammy.
We talk about leaving when the seal pops up near me. Simultaneously, I notice something moving on the shore. A very big brown bear! That might explain why there are no critters around. Scott paddles closer, but since this bear is probably twice as large as any we’ve seen so far, he stays twice as far away from it. At one point the bear sniffs the air, then looks right at us. Bloop! Not too far from me, I notice Sammy watching us, watching the bear. I can almost hear him sending me a message: “You know, it’s a lot safer over here where I am!” The bear eventually wanders off and we look for Sammy, but he has disappeared again.
The seal suddenly
lunges and gets a mouthful of a thrashing salmon, which he promptly devours
before diving into the waterfall waves again.
A jellyfish drifts by my boat. I notice a small bird landing on a floating log, and the current carries us to it as Scott snaps photos. It’s a beautiful little bird and I recognize it as a sandpiper. It has such magnificent feathers and coloring. He puffs out his chest a few times as if he’s posing. Our friend the seal pops up again. Sammy’s getting more used to us and his curiosity is enough to bring him closer. He’s watching us as diligently as we’re watching him. It is almost as if he is courting us, begging to be part of the photos Scott is taking. We are only too happy to oblige!
Eventually Sammy swims away and we make our way toward the inlet to leave. On the way back, we decide to go over to the waterfall one last time. The roar of the water is deafening. Scott paddles closer and he looks so tiny compared to the immenseness of the waterfall. We play in the waves awhile, and Scott points out a seal riding waves nearby. The seal suddenly lunges and gets a mouthful of a thrashing salmon, which he promptly devours before diving into the waterfall waves again. It’s hard to say whether it’s Sammy or not, but I’d like to think it is.
On the way to the dock, we see Dan, the chief engineer of the Kaleen, whom we met in Juneau. He signals us over and the first thing he says is, “Alaska looks good on you two!” I think to myself, “Well, it feels good too!” We laugh and tell him that we’ve been giving Vic’s kayaks a good workout. We’ve become so accustomed to kayaking as part of our visit that we can’t imagine exploring Alaska without them.
First Day | Fiords, Glaciers and Icebergs | Secluded Coves
Steller Sea Lions | Bears, Bears and More Bears
Fishing Villages and Hot Springs | Harbor Seals
Rainforests, High-Alpine Lakes and Beaches
A Whale of a Tale | Epilogue | Your Turn: Charter a Yacht
Alaska Photo Galleries