Hikers found that after a week of trekking in the Southeast Alaska rainforest we had bonded with our rubber boots. So it was with childlike enthusiasm that we splashed through the puddles and slogged through the mud. The mud didn't matter; the beauty of the forest cast its spell. Carpets of lush moss, massive trunks of hemlock and spruce and prolific huckleberry bushes surrounded us. We were however, not the only users of this trail as the large dark piles of bear scat indicated. Consequently the silence would intermittently be broken when our leader would call out hey-oh to warn bears we were in the area. Most of us made it to the falls where we watched chum and pink salmon swimming in the calm pool above the turbulent waters. Those who pushed onward were rewarded with the big daddies of the old growth forest, giant hemlocks and spruce over 8 feet in diameter.
The kayakers set off up the river, paddling on the incoming tide. We slipped through a peaceful lagoon and made it up to the waterfall. The scene 360 degrees around us was magically beautiful. Then as the kayakers headed back and the hikers returned, the Captain's voice was heard over the radio, "Did you see that bear"? "He is heading for our landing beach". Quick change of plans ensued, hikers diverted to be picked up by Zodiacs in the inner lagoon and kayakers delayed landing on the beach until the bear moved on. Many of us did get an excellent look at this wild creature as he walked along the beach.
Following a delicious Captain's dinner, the trip finale was a bonfire on the beach at an island near Sitka where one of our naturalists lives. Keith invited us over for a fabulous bonfire, hot chocolate, and a good old-fashioned marshmallow roast. One of us summed up the general feeling when she said, "I don't want this trip to end, I'm ready to do it all over again."
