Sadly, this was our last day before we headed to our final stop on this leg, Petersburg, on Sunday. We started our morning with the sun peeking through the clouds. Our journey began with immediately seeing more humpback whales! They were traveling and feeding just on the other side of Foot Island where we were anchored last night. It was a great way to start the day, to see these magnificent creatures up close. We continued our way south to Frederick Sound. The water was glassy calm with the sun rising in the sky.

Once we made it far enough south, we could see one of the tallest peaks in the range, Devil’s Thumb. It is quite an impressive peak standing at 9,077 feet in elevation. It has one of the largest rock faces in the country and also holds a special place in indigenous Tlingit history as the mountain that remained uncovered in their great flood story. We continued with Dall’s porpoise swimming around and a young sea lion playing in our wakes. We finally made it to our last anchorage in Thomas Bay, another beautiful Alaskan fjord. We could see the end of the Baird Glacier as we headed to our next spot, Spray Island.

Once we were all settled, a few crews went ashore to hike to nearby Cascade creek. It is aptly named, as it is a river of cascading waterfalls from Swan Lake to the fjord.

A few of us made it up to the lake where there is a rowboat that you can use to row around the lake. If you’re so inclined, there are more trails to explore and a cabin that you can stay in!