Tracy Arm
The splendors of Tracy Arm awaited us today on our first morning in southeast Alaska. This narrow 22 mile long fjord, just south of Juneau, was a spectacular way to start our trip. From 6 am onwards, and throughout the rest of the day we enjoyed magnificent views of steep rocky walls looming high on either side of the deep green waters filled with blue icebergs that gathered thicker and more numerous as we wound our way deeper and deeper into the arm.
Shortly after breakfast, while approaching a beautiful waterfall, we had our first wildlife sighting – bears! Regardless of the rain, everyone rushed out onto deck to admire two black bears ambling along the rocky shore slurping at barnacles and turning over stones in search of further items to eat. At first we thought we were observing a female and her very large cub, but when we looked closer we could see the larger bear was quite scarred on its nose and one ear, plus it had a stiff gait as if from a leg injury. From this, we surmised it to be a male and the smaller bear a female that it seemed to be following. Unperturbed by our presence they continued to move slowly along the shore, and we had the luxury of watching their undisturbed behavior for a long and leisurely time.
Progressing further into the fjord, the thin misty clouds streaked across the faces of the mountains giving way to clearer conditions, and the light rain we experienced in the morning ceased. After lunch the Zodiacs were launched, taking us further towards the end of Tracy Arm where the magnificent Sawyer and South Sawyer Glaciers lay. South Sawyer became more and more visible as we wound our way through the icebergs, stopping to admire harbor seals resting on ice floes or seals that occasionally popped their heads out of the water to have a look around like small bowling-ball headed spies. They kept us in our Zodiacs always at a safe distance and watched us warily. One mother seal had just given birth to a pup and we admired this tiny new creature from a distance. The blue colors of the icebergs, and the face of the glacier stunned us with the glittering light that seemed to emanate from within the ice. The shapes and textures were surreal and beautiful and the surrounding ice-filled landscape peaceful and soothing.
