Tracy Arm and Williams Cove
“Closer, closer, come closer!” That was the cry from the kids of the Sea Bird as our second mate delicately maneuvered our ship to within a few feet of the cascading waters of Hole-in-the-Wall Falls. And indeed we did move close enough for some spray to wet the eager faces on the front of the bow.
We began our day looking out at the face of the North Sawyer Glacier, which, over the past few years has been rapidly retreating, like most of the alpine glaciers in Alaska. We observed a few big pieces falling off the face of the glacier and then launched the Zodiacs to get an up-close and personal view of ice in the water as well as several roaring waterfalls coming off the near vertical cliffs of the fjord. The color of the morning was glacial ice blue. As we carefully picked our way between growlers, bergy bits and full-fledged icebergs, we saw every subtle shade of blue imaginable; along with an incredible variety of shapes and textures that kept our cameras constantly in action.
Cruising down Tracy Arm our geologist veered from one side of the ship to the other, pointing out cirques, and hanging valleys, and fault zones and glacial striations—all worthy of display in a geology textbook.
Near the mouth of the fjord was Williams Cove, where we had a brief look at a black bear and two cubs foraging along the shore before doing our last kayaking and hiking events. This has been a remarkable voyage—great whales, amazing mountains and glaciers, wonderful people; and most amazing of all—seven straight days of pure, unadulterated sunshine in the coastal rainforest of Southeast Alaska.
“Closer, closer, come closer!” That was the cry from the kids of the Sea Bird as our second mate delicately maneuvered our ship to within a few feet of the cascading waters of Hole-in-the-Wall Falls. And indeed we did move close enough for some spray to wet the eager faces on the front of the bow.
We began our day looking out at the face of the North Sawyer Glacier, which, over the past few years has been rapidly retreating, like most of the alpine glaciers in Alaska. We observed a few big pieces falling off the face of the glacier and then launched the Zodiacs to get an up-close and personal view of ice in the water as well as several roaring waterfalls coming off the near vertical cliffs of the fjord. The color of the morning was glacial ice blue. As we carefully picked our way between growlers, bergy bits and full-fledged icebergs, we saw every subtle shade of blue imaginable; along with an incredible variety of shapes and textures that kept our cameras constantly in action.
Cruising down Tracy Arm our geologist veered from one side of the ship to the other, pointing out cirques, and hanging valleys, and fault zones and glacial striations—all worthy of display in a geology textbook.
Near the mouth of the fjord was Williams Cove, where we had a brief look at a black bear and two cubs foraging along the shore before doing our last kayaking and hiking events. This has been a remarkable voyage—great whales, amazing mountains and glaciers, wonderful people; and most amazing of all—seven straight days of pure, unadulterated sunshine in the coastal rainforest of Southeast Alaska.
