Wilderness Exploration and Crab Feast

[Rambler5678]

Anyone ever did this excursion? Did you see any wildlife besides bald eagles?

[wolfie11]

I have done a couple of variations of this tour. The crab feast is fabulous - especially later in the summer when the crab is fresh. If the wilderness exploration is the hike portion through the rain forest, I have seen bears there a couple of times. It goes past the fish hatchery and through some meadows where there are a couple of black bears that hang out. If it is the boat trip then it's mostly eagles and maybe a Sitka black-tailed deer or two.

[Crew News]

I have done this excursion and we saw a few eagles in the tree line during the boat portion. The boat portion is really a visit to some Dungeness crab pots that are raised and the contents exhibited for pictures. I learned to opt for the float plane version for the crab feast.

 

My last visit to the Crab Feast via float plane there was a black bear cub about 100 feet from the restaurant pier at the edge of the water. One of the restaurant people threw some rocks to scare it away for fear that the mama bear might decide to invite the pair to the crab feast. So keep an eye on the area around the pier before/after the crab feast.

 

An alternative excursion, at least for HAL, is an Alaskan Lodge Adventure & Seafest excursion that includes a boat trip to a lodge that us used mainly by King Salmon fishing. On the way, the boat stops to feed a few swooping eagles, passes the US Navy Sonar Test Station (submarine visits are unannounced), and then a crab boil feast. A Sitka deer and her doe were standing right beside the lodge as if posing for pictures. The seafood boil was served on newspapers and followed by amazing chocolate chip cookies. Here are photos of this excursion:

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/place/alaska-2/ketchikan-2/alaskan-lodge-seafest-excursion/