Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness
It’s a remarkable experience to go to sleep in a state capitol and wake up in a whole different world. As we pulled the curtains aside in our staterooms, we quickly realized that Endicott Arm in the Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness area is nothing if not other-worldly. Instead of seeing the lush spruce-hemlock forest characteristic of most of this region, we were greeted by towering walls of granite laced with willows, cottonwoods and alders, dramatic u-shaped valleys that once held glaciers, and bottle-glass green water punctuated with chunks of ice in shades of blue ranging from (according to guest accounts) Tidybowl® to blue raspberry sno-cone. It didn’t take us long to have breakfast and board the Zodiac fleet for cruises among the ice bergs and up to the face of the Dawes Glacier. Dawes has been very active in recent days as evidenced by the unusually dense ice pack in the fjord. The going was often slow as we made our way towards the glacier to watch for the exhilarating spectacle of centuries old ice crashing to the water’s surface with a resounding thunderclap and an impressive splash. We were not disappointed.
Part of what made our cruising slow was the presence of several hundred harbor seals like those pictured above. The ice affords relative safety from predators, particularly killer whales, for the birthing of their very precocial (and adorable!) pups. The pups can swim within hours of birth and are born with their adult coat of hair, having shed their fuzzy, white lanugo coat in utero. We made sure to keep our distance so as not to disturb them and most remained sufficiently unconcerned by our presence to allow us good photographic opportunities. It was an exciting way to begin our adventure in the wilds of Southeast Alaska.
It’s a remarkable experience to go to sleep in a state capitol and wake up in a whole different world. As we pulled the curtains aside in our staterooms, we quickly realized that Endicott Arm in the Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness area is nothing if not other-worldly. Instead of seeing the lush spruce-hemlock forest characteristic of most of this region, we were greeted by towering walls of granite laced with willows, cottonwoods and alders, dramatic u-shaped valleys that once held glaciers, and bottle-glass green water punctuated with chunks of ice in shades of blue ranging from (according to guest accounts) Tidybowl® to blue raspberry sno-cone. It didn’t take us long to have breakfast and board the Zodiac fleet for cruises among the ice bergs and up to the face of the Dawes Glacier. Dawes has been very active in recent days as evidenced by the unusually dense ice pack in the fjord. The going was often slow as we made our way towards the glacier to watch for the exhilarating spectacle of centuries old ice crashing to the water’s surface with a resounding thunderclap and an impressive splash. We were not disappointed.
Part of what made our cruising slow was the presence of several hundred harbor seals like those pictured above. The ice affords relative safety from predators, particularly killer whales, for the birthing of their very precocial (and adorable!) pups. The pups can swim within hours of birth and are born with their adult coat of hair, having shed their fuzzy, white lanugo coat in utero. We made sure to keep our distance so as not to disturb them and most remained sufficiently unconcerned by our presence to allow us good photographic opportunities. It was an exciting way to begin our adventure in the wilds of Southeast Alaska.
