Chicagof Island
A silvery sky and intermittent rainsqualls greeted the Sea Lion as she made her way towards our morning anchorage on Chicagof Island. We were scheduled to hike in the old growth forest that leads towards Lake Eva a nursery lake for Sockeye Salmon. The small stream, critical to the salmon runs out of Lake Eva and empties near the beach where we made our landing. Our walk this morning would take us on an exploration of that Sockeye Salmon habitat, and more explanation on the interconnectedness of many species of life that depend on those salmon within their spawning grounds around this stream leading upstream towards Lake Eva. Our group was divided into four groups of varying speeds, and off we went, seeking the shelter of the forest from the liquid sunshine pouring down from the Alaskan skies! Once under the canopy of the trees we began to explore the world of plant and animal communities before us. From the tiny scrambled-egg slime mold to the spotted coral root orchid, to a Raven calling with many different voices in the trees, to a boisterous Bald eagle, to a Northern squirrel sounding off about the intruders into his forest….we gathered in the sounds, the sights and the smells of a temperate rain forest. We made a stop near a small series of waterfalls where the salmon were resting on their way towards Lake Eva. At the base of the falls we could see the swirls of water where the Salmon waited before the big push to jump the falls and find yet another waiting pool for resting. Photos were taken, and once again we took a moment to take in the glorious green world bedecked with raindrops like diamonds on all the foliage. Back on the trail we headed up above the waterfalls and stopped at yet another resting pool for Salmon and watched the dark green torpedoes mill about in the shallow, still water. These Sockeye Salmon are anadramous fish. They are born in fresh water, then migrate and spend their entire life cycle in the salt water of the Pacific Ocean. The fish we were watching are returning to their spawning grounds to choose a mate lay and fertilize their eggs and then die. Their carcasses are then food for their offspring, and a myriad of other creatures. So interconnected is the cycle of the salmon, that even the forest we walked in is part of that fishes life. Our hike now took on the great boot-sucking mud of Southeast Alaska! Each group followed closely in the footsteps of its predecessors, watching closely for appropriate footholds. Because of the vital necessity of a pristine habitat for Sockeye Salmon, this forest has remained undisturbed, and allowed us the privilege of seeing some really big trees! There were a wonderful variety of sizes of trees along with downed trees and the sculpture of dead snags twisting throughout the forest. As our groups progressed through the forest it soon became apparent that many of us would make the journey all the way to Lake Eva! It was just over one mile each way to the lake but that one-mile was not any easy one! Through the mud, over roots, across shaky bridges and most important time given to stop and pause and embrace a large tree…..possibly a tree that had stood for a very long time, casting its shelter over the forest floor and path we walked along.
At long last we came within range of a break in the trees providing us with a view of a glassy smooth dark green lake. Snags hanging out over the water creating a mirror image in the water, mist covered trees on the hills behind the lake and the same jewels decorating all the shrubs and small plants around the edge of Lake Eva. All around us was the quiet and beauty of a small lake just a short distance from the sea. It was not just a nursery for Sockeye Salmon, but a habitat for bears, eagles, ravens and many, many other creatures who’s lives revolve around a much greater cycle of interconnected lives within the temperate rain forest.
