Tracy Arm & Ford’s Terror Wilderness

Our alarm clock this morning was the gentle thump and bump of small pieces of ice hitting the ship’s hull. As we were sleeping through the early morning hours, the National Geographic Sea Lion had made its way towards the South Sawyer tidewater glacier of Tracy Arm. What a spectacular way to begin a day in a classic glacial valley of Southeast Alaska, with the steep fjord walls rising up from the startlingly sea-foam green water and its scattering of icebergs.

The occasional pigeon guillemot passed the ship and we could see the alders that have taken hold in recent years on the rock faces. However, taking the center stage this morning is the glacier in front of us. As the glacial ice of South Sawyer Glacier flows downstream, it gets closer to the water. When it arrives, it pushes pieces of its icy face off into the sea. Today, the glacier was especially active and the piece we saw calve off its face was about the size of a 15 story building. As if a demolition team had set off explosives at its base, the ice thundered down into the water, sending out spray and bits of ice shrapnel. The resulting wave made it all the way to the onlookers aboard the ship and rocked her enough that we all had to reach for a hand-rail.

In the afternoon, we had an especially unique opportunity to kayak in Tracy Arm amongst the icebergs. It was almost like being a voyeur, getting a more intimate look at the daily life of an iceberg. The range of white to light blue to the deep blue characteristic of the freshest, densest ice was a great contrast to the dark green and brown of the walls rising behind them.

Through the evening, we made our way back out of Tracy Arm towards Stephens Passage. On the way, we stopped to admire what we call Hole-in-the-Rock Waterfall. The hole that is being referred to was created by the movement of the glacier hundreds of years ago, when it extended further out into Tracy Arm. Then we stopped near Harbor Island to drop off the US Forest Service backcountry kayaking rangers that had joined us for the afternoon. They came onboard to tell us a little bit about the wilderness here and the many tasks they perform as a part of their job. After dinner, we bid them farewell, as they paddled away from the ship and we departed towards Juneau and what will be our final destination at the end of yet another memorable expedition.