Williams Cove and Tracy Arm, Southeast Alaska
Early in the morning, the National Geographic Sea Lion entered Tracy Arm by crossing the shallow terminal moraine, which is a pile of debris that was produced long ago when the glacier was at its furthest extent. We noticed the abundance of floating icebergs, some of which were quite large and deep blue in color.
Anchoring in Williams Cove, an inlet near the entrance to Tracy Arm, we embarked the vessel to begin our morning’s activities, which consisted of Zodiac cruising, kayaking, and hiking. For the cruisers and paddlers, the wide bay was perfect for adventuring: the intertidal zone, waterfalls, and sea caves beckoned us to explore along the shore. As we did, curious harbor seals monitored our activity. Meanwhile, those on the hikes were busy forging their own trails in the insect-laden forest. The explorations were really a taste of what Alaska is all about—discovering this vast wilderness for ourselves.
During lunch, we began cruising up Tracy Arm, a narrow and spectacular fjord that averages only a mile in width along its entire 25-mile length. Sheer granitic cliffs towered above us and we could see abundant evidence that the valley had been carved by glacial activity. We could hear "growlers”—small icebergs scraping against the ship—indicating our proximity to tidewater glaciers. In the upper part of the fjord are two tidewater glaciers (Sawyer and South Sawyer Glaciers), which were joined as recently as 1880.
We found the fjord choked with ice and worked our way carefully through it. When we reached the upper part of the fjord, Zodiacs were launched that allowed us to reach the fjord’s upper reaches and the face of Sawyer Glacier, where we spent some time waiting for calving episodes and observing arctic terns and the numerous harbor seals that were hauled out on icebergs. The clear blue color of many of the icebergs made them look like precious gemstones and some icebergs even appeared to have been sculpted at the hand of an expert ice-carver. As we approached to within a half mile of the 200-foot high face of this tidewater glacier, we were impressed by the deep crevasses and blue ice. In this part of the fjord, we could hear the sounds of the numerous waterfalls, the cracking sounds of the glacier, and the calls of birds. Some of us were lucky enough to observe the glacier calving. In comparing pictures of the glacier taken several years ago, it was obvious that the glacier had both thinned and retreated dramatically.
Once back on board, we had our final night’s recap and then the National Geographic Sea Lion slowly retraced its steps and maneuvered back through the icebergs as we exited out of the glacially-carved fjord. Against the sheer, glacially-polished cliffs we had a chance to marvel at the classic signs of glaciations such as glacial striations, bowl-shaped cirques, U-shaped valleys, hanging valleys and glacial milk.
After the Captain’s Farewell Dinner, we began cruising north toward Juneau, our port of disembarkation and the end of a fabulous week’s voyage. Emotions flowed strongly as we bid this great land one last farewell—at least for now.
