Glacier Bay National Park

Today was an incredible day to be sailing the waters of Glacier Bay National Park! We awoke to an early morning view of the Fairweather Range, including Mt. Fairweather, itself. Our Glacier Bay Ranger, Jenn Schramm, boarded and chatted with the large number of early morning risers as we began our trek northward.

Our first stop at South Marble Island was a highlight of the morning. We observed colorful tufted puffins, pigeon guillemots, pelagic cormorants, and chatty black-legged kittiwakes circling the ship and the island. As we continued our slow journey past, we encountered huge, raucous Steller’s sea lions lounging on the rocks above the intertidal zone.

From this spot, our exploration took us closer to the coastline, in search of potential land mammals and scenic vistas. Throughout the day, the Fairweather Mountain Range became our backdrop, and we each took hundreds of photos of the majestic mountain views! We found an elusive bear in the brush, but most of us were only able to capture a fleeting glimpse. Shortly thereafter, we spotted a perfect view of a mountain goat, perched on a grassy knoll above the ship. First Mate, Rick, positioned the National Geographic Sea Lion right under the face of the cliff so that we could all take a closer look. After focusing our binoculars, we realized that the mother goat had a brand new kid tucked away in her shadow. The new kid stood up on the steep slope, wobbled for a moment, and then nuzzled its mother’s side.

After watching the backside of a foraging brown bear and many more mountain goat sightings, we proceeded north toward Tarr Inlet. Our destination was the intersection of two large glaciers, Grand Pacific and Margerie. Our second mate, Miranda, maneuvered our small ship into position and we were treated to a view of the entire face of Margerie Glacier. With the mountains looming in the background, we watched the incredible river of ice crash and boom into the sea!

Thinking that we could not possibly have added anything to our day, we began the long trek down-bay toward Bartlett Cove. Shortly thereafter, the call came in from Captain Sinclair that we had a bear on the beach. Everyone rushed outside (those who weren’t already out, enjoying the warm, balmy afternoon!) and watched a huge Coastal brown bear lumber along. We could clearly see the bear’s characteristic hump as it walked alongside a snow bank. Eventually, with a prior course set in mind, the bear made its way up into the snow, clambering higher and higher.

Eventually arriving in Bartlett Cove, we disembarked to take a short walk along the forest trail. The sky gave off a beautiful evening light and we witnessed a faint alpenglow before the sun dropped below the Fairweather Range.