Endicott Arm
What an amazing first day! The weather continued to be incredibly warm and sunny here in Southeast Alaska. We started the day earlier than expected, as a black bear was spotted on the sharp cliffs to the port side of the ship. Three mountain goats were also aware of the bear and quickly increased the distance between them. It appeared there was a mother goat with a new kid and possibly last years’ offspring. The adolescent seemed intent on staying with the other two while the mother seemed to encourage it to be on its way. We stayed with these three for almost an hour before breakfast was served.
After we navigated through the stunning fjord system of Endicott Arm, we boarded the Zodiacs to get a closer look at Dawes Glacier. The cliff face was impressive with walls of ice that were almost a shade of blue. Along the way, some saw harbor porpoises and most got their first look at harbor seals. It was a fabulous day to relax on the aft bridge deck with the sunrays beaming down as we returned to the mouth of the fjord.
In the afternoon, Naturalist Harold Stowell gave a presentation on the making and unmaking of mountains to familiarize us with geology behind the landscapes we were going to see this week. When we landed on the shore in William’s Cove we noticed the stones on the beach were all of similar size while there were large boulders not far off. Harold explained that the water, in the form of waves, would sort materials into similar sizes and densities. Ice, however, in the form of glaciers, did not make these distinctions and would carry materials both big and small.
Late in the afternoon a few lucky kayakers came upon a brown bear foraging in a river. It appeared undisturbed by their gawking. Brown bears evolved mostly on tundra and have a characteristic hump between their shoulders. They can be several hundred pounds heavier than grizzlies due to the abundance of salmon in their diet. However, as much as 50% of their diet is vegetable matter. Every year they climb high up on south-facing cliffs to dig a new den. They have just come out a few weeks ago and at the moment are eating beach grasses and the roots of skunk cabbage and of other plants. Later, during recap, Naturalist Bette Lu Krause sang us an unforgettable song about bears to top off this unforgettable day.
What an amazing first day! The weather continued to be incredibly warm and sunny here in Southeast Alaska. We started the day earlier than expected, as a black bear was spotted on the sharp cliffs to the port side of the ship. Three mountain goats were also aware of the bear and quickly increased the distance between them. It appeared there was a mother goat with a new kid and possibly last years’ offspring. The adolescent seemed intent on staying with the other two while the mother seemed to encourage it to be on its way. We stayed with these three for almost an hour before breakfast was served.
After we navigated through the stunning fjord system of Endicott Arm, we boarded the Zodiacs to get a closer look at Dawes Glacier. The cliff face was impressive with walls of ice that were almost a shade of blue. Along the way, some saw harbor porpoises and most got their first look at harbor seals. It was a fabulous day to relax on the aft bridge deck with the sunrays beaming down as we returned to the mouth of the fjord.
In the afternoon, Naturalist Harold Stowell gave a presentation on the making and unmaking of mountains to familiarize us with geology behind the landscapes we were going to see this week. When we landed on the shore in William’s Cove we noticed the stones on the beach were all of similar size while there were large boulders not far off. Harold explained that the water, in the form of waves, would sort materials into similar sizes and densities. Ice, however, in the form of glaciers, did not make these distinctions and would carry materials both big and small.
Late in the afternoon a few lucky kayakers came upon a brown bear foraging in a river. It appeared undisturbed by their gawking. Brown bears evolved mostly on tundra and have a characteristic hump between their shoulders. They can be several hundred pounds heavier than grizzlies due to the abundance of salmon in their diet. However, as much as 50% of their diet is vegetable matter. Every year they climb high up on south-facing cliffs to dig a new den. They have just come out a few weeks ago and at the moment are eating beach grasses and the roots of skunk cabbage and of other plants. Later, during recap, Naturalist Bette Lu Krause sang us an unforgettable song about bears to top off this unforgettable day.
