Glacier Bay National Park
Wiping the sleep from your eyes, shuffling to the window, sliding the curtain aside. You blink once, twice, three times – “Am I dreaming?” Ice is everywhere. Floating all around the ship, and a quarter mile off the bow towers a massive wall of ice: Johns Hopkins Glacier. Debating whether to return to the cozy warmth of the cabin, or stay on deck at this early hour, the ice falling from the face of the glacier, splashing into the water below with a muffled thunder-like roll quickly silences all debates. Here, in this seemingly enchanted corner, it is easy to comprehend the magic of Glacier Bay.
And what a magical day it was! In just twelve hours we witnessed quite a few extraordinary wildlife sightings. Waking up in front of Johns Hopkins allowed us the entire day to work our way back “down bay”. Mid-morning brought us into Russell Cut, a picturesque strait wherein lies the park’s northernmost salmon stream. We were hoping to spot a bear. In fact, we saw nine brown bears: a sow and three cubs at the end of the stream, another set of mother and cubs near the brush, and for a brief moment, a large cinnamon-colored bear along the tree line. Thanks to the skillful maneuvering of the Captain and the Chief Mate, we closely watched one set of cubs and mother feed at the edge of the stream. Words cannot do justice to the sights and sounds: young cubs scrambling over the rocks, tearing at pieces of salmon, the mother simultaneously walking back and forth through the stream and keeping an eye on her young ones. Add to this sight the sound of the roaring stream, and the cries of the gulls as they swooped and soared about the stream.
Following lunch, we were on the bow, scanning for whatever may come into view of our binoculars. Just outside the entrance to Geike Inlet, naturalist Lee Moll started exclaiming excitedly: “Silver! Silver!” Making the announcement on the P.A., Lee’s reverent voice brought us streaming onto the decks: “I have been waiting twenty-eight years for this sight - Glacier bears!” Glacier bears? Glacier bears! A very special sub-species of the black bear, glacier bears are black bears with silver or bluish shade to their fur. Somehow, Lee managed to spot their silver sheen way up on the hillside.
When asked to clarify how rare a sighting of a glacier bear, Ranger Melanie Heacox replied: “I’ve been lucky to see them before, but I’ve lived here for twenty-five years. You are visiting the park for one day, and are seeing glacier bears!” Watching with binoculars, cameras, and the spotting scope, we viewed the mother bear (black with a silver forehead) and her two cubs (one completely silver, and the other a blueish-blackish color) as they clambered and trundled along the hillside. Again, the thought “Am I dreaming?” passed through our heads. What amazing luck! What an awesome day!
Now it is recap time, our day drawing to a close. Ranger Melanie describing once more what a wondrous place Glacier Bay is, how it inexplicably captures you. After the charmed day we have spent here in the park, watching bears, whales, glaciers, puffins, otters and sea lions, it is easy to understand her affinity for this wild, extraordinary corner of the world and the creatures within.
Wiping the sleep from your eyes, shuffling to the window, sliding the curtain aside. You blink once, twice, three times – “Am I dreaming?” Ice is everywhere. Floating all around the ship, and a quarter mile off the bow towers a massive wall of ice: Johns Hopkins Glacier. Debating whether to return to the cozy warmth of the cabin, or stay on deck at this early hour, the ice falling from the face of the glacier, splashing into the water below with a muffled thunder-like roll quickly silences all debates. Here, in this seemingly enchanted corner, it is easy to comprehend the magic of Glacier Bay.
And what a magical day it was! In just twelve hours we witnessed quite a few extraordinary wildlife sightings. Waking up in front of Johns Hopkins allowed us the entire day to work our way back “down bay”. Mid-morning brought us into Russell Cut, a picturesque strait wherein lies the park’s northernmost salmon stream. We were hoping to spot a bear. In fact, we saw nine brown bears: a sow and three cubs at the end of the stream, another set of mother and cubs near the brush, and for a brief moment, a large cinnamon-colored bear along the tree line. Thanks to the skillful maneuvering of the Captain and the Chief Mate, we closely watched one set of cubs and mother feed at the edge of the stream. Words cannot do justice to the sights and sounds: young cubs scrambling over the rocks, tearing at pieces of salmon, the mother simultaneously walking back and forth through the stream and keeping an eye on her young ones. Add to this sight the sound of the roaring stream, and the cries of the gulls as they swooped and soared about the stream.
Following lunch, we were on the bow, scanning for whatever may come into view of our binoculars. Just outside the entrance to Geike Inlet, naturalist Lee Moll started exclaiming excitedly: “Silver! Silver!” Making the announcement on the P.A., Lee’s reverent voice brought us streaming onto the decks: “I have been waiting twenty-eight years for this sight - Glacier bears!” Glacier bears? Glacier bears! A very special sub-species of the black bear, glacier bears are black bears with silver or bluish shade to their fur. Somehow, Lee managed to spot their silver sheen way up on the hillside.
When asked to clarify how rare a sighting of a glacier bear, Ranger Melanie Heacox replied: “I’ve been lucky to see them before, but I’ve lived here for twenty-five years. You are visiting the park for one day, and are seeing glacier bears!” Watching with binoculars, cameras, and the spotting scope, we viewed the mother bear (black with a silver forehead) and her two cubs (one completely silver, and the other a blueish-blackish color) as they clambered and trundled along the hillside. Again, the thought “Am I dreaming?” passed through our heads. What amazing luck! What an awesome day!
Now it is recap time, our day drawing to a close. Ranger Melanie describing once more what a wondrous place Glacier Bay is, how it inexplicably captures you. After the charmed day we have spent here in the park, watching bears, whales, glaciers, puffins, otters and sea lions, it is easy to understand her affinity for this wild, extraordinary corner of the world and the creatures within.
