Glacier Bay, Alaska
After the high-energy activities of our past two days, we took a tranquil approach to wildlife watching today in Glacier Bay National Park. The park, one of the most intensely-visited parts of Alaska, is home to a rich array of animals and plants and some astoundingly beautiful geology. With two local interpretors on board to enhance our Naturalist team, we made our first scenic stop just after breakfast. On South Marble Island, the shore was crowded with bickering Steller sea lions, scolding glaucous-winged gulls, while absurdly-ornate tufted puffins and many other birds flew past. None seemed perturbed by the close approach of our ship, and the first of many hundreds of photos were snapped.
Our goal was the namesake ice that flows into Glacier Bay, currently some 65 miles inland from its entrance. However, had we travelled here 200 years ago we would have struck the icy face of the glacier only about 10 miles after entering the bay. The landscape that the ice revealed in its retreat is at turns barren and lush, with always the hint of something interesting. With many binoculars trained along the shoreline, we were rewarded with excellent views of a black timber wolf, as it trotted casually along a gravel outwash plain. Wolf sightings are a rare treat and even our National Park Ranger was excited by the sight.
At the head of the bay, so far into Alaska that we could see Canada, we reached the icy spires that form the face of the Margerie Glacier. Here we crept closer through the many pieces of brash ice that have been spawned by the relentless forward momentum of this river of ice. We waited patiently to witness some of this dramatic calving, and we were not disappointed. On two separate occasions, pieces of ice the size of budget hotels came crashing down as their own weight tore them free of the ice cliffs pushing behind. Those of us shooting video will have a soundtrack of the thunderous collapse, with the added bonus of a chorus of excited shouts and shrieks.
