Tracy Arm
Gentle bumping motions and sounds awoke us as the National Geographic Sea Lion nosed its way carefully through the ice-infested waters of Tracy Arm. As we progressed further and further into the fjord in the early morning hours, the lumps of ice floating in the water increased both in size and number.
This 25 mile long fjord within the Ford’s Terror Wilderness Area is a stunning sight with mountain peaks rising up to 5,000 feet on either side of a less than 1 mile wide channel. Lush green forests dressed the mountainsides and everywhere waterfalls cascaded down the rock faces around us. The waters of the fjord were a deep emerald green color. At the end of Tracy Arm lie 2 glaciers – Sawyer and South Sawyer. From the ship we had magnificent views of South Sawyer, and just after breakfast we launched the zodiacs and headed over to take a closer look – some to Sawyer Glacier and some to South Sawyer, and to the icebergs littering the waters in front of them.
Magnificent, glittering sapphire-blue icebergs loomed high over our heads as we gazed in awe at these nature-sculpted works of art. All shapes, shades of blue, and textures were on display, and our tiny zodiacs seemed insignificant in comparison with some of the monstrous sized ice we encountered. The face of these glaciers with their jagged serracs dripped down through the valley at the end of the fjord. The two glaciers were joined together only about 100 years ago, and both have been retreating steadily recently.
We admired the steep wall of ice at its face and watched pieces calve off into the water with booming sounds as loud as thunder. Some people experienced massive calvings with entire columns of ice about 200 feet tall crashing into the water in front of the boats to much excitement. The resulting waves rocked the boats as the roaring ice heaved and slowly settled back into temporary calm only for more and more ice to come crashing down a few minutes later. We were mesmerized and could have easily watched all day.
It was time to head back out of Tracy Arm, and we admired the steep landscape around us as we slowly sailed out past numerous waterfalls. The sun came out at times and we marveled at the luck we have had on this trip with how nice the weather has been. Reports of humpback whale activity in the vicinity of Juneau made us all hopeful for an eventful evening. We spent the afternoon onboard sailing north in search of them with some time to pack, relax, watch the ever-beautiful scenery outside, and watch Sharon’s wonderful presentation From Rocks to Rainforest with gorgeous images of plants we have seen during the course of our voyage.
In the evening, as always, we enjoyed appetizers and libations in the lounge and a delicious farewell dinner. Most people were only partway through eating their main course when the call came out that whales had been spotted. Not just any whales – but a large group of humpback whales engaged in bubble-net feeding!
Many abandoned their delicious dinners completely, some ran in and out eating and watching, others quickly swallowed their food and then came out on deck in the fog and drizzling rain to see this amazing show. About 15 humpback whales repeatedly surfaced with their jaws wide open engulfing huge quantities of prey, blowing a few times at the surface after that before diving under to create their bubble-net curtains to entrap their food.
We screamed with astonishment and joy to watch these beautiful and massive creatures. Other whale-watching boats sat in the fog taking in the show as well. And then it got even more exciting when a group of killer whales join the show, swimming right past our bow, one young whale breaching and tail-lobbing repeatedly. It was hard to know which way to look. A more phenomenal ending to the cruise could not have been imagined.
