Tracy Arm
This morning the Sea Lion was making her way up a narrow fjord called Tracy Arm. This twenty-four mile long fjord was cut by a retreating section of the Stikeen ice field. We were on our way towards Sawyer and South Sawyer Glaciers. These two glaciers are approximately eight to ten miles long and extend out from the Stikeen ice field. This forty mile long ice field runs north and south and is a rather thin, oblong shaped field of slowly moving ice. The Sea Lion had entered this fjord at around 6:00 AM, and was taking a relaxed pace as she made her way towards the head of this narrow and steep-walled waterway. Tracy Arm averages about 170 fathoms in depth so maneuvering near a large waterfall is a remarkable way to watch how water has shaped the waterway we were cruising on. Our Captain took the Sea Lion up to one of the many waterfalls we had been watching through out the morning and slowly we moved within inches of the cascading water! Pictures were taken, and we all enjoyed our first warm drinks of the day while watching and listening to this gorgeous waterfall.
Slowly our vessel backed away, and once again resumed her course towards South Sawyer Glacier. The fjord widened just slightly at a point where we could see both glacial arms as they descended into the waters of Tracy Arm. A small island sat just at this location. The Sea Lion made a sharp left turn and entered the short passageway leading to South Sawyer glacier. Waterfalls continued to grace the walls of the fjord, creating lacey patterns down the steep walls! Soon, we learned that this particular glacial arm is in serious retreat. It was estimated by the Natural history staff that South Sawyer glacier had retreated approximately one hundred feet in the last decade! Deep blue ice hung before us….all was quiet, except for the Arctic terns flying about our ship and the face of this small but magnificent piece of ice. We remained for a short time, and then the Captain took the Sea Lion back out to the main channel and began an approach towards Sawyer glacier.
Our expedition leader Bette Lu began her announcements for the morning, and let us knows that Zodiacs were being launched for ice tours. The ship was divided into two groups and drivers and Zodiacs were standing by for a ride through the icebergs towards the glacier, and hopefully a closer look at this otherworldly environment. The Zodiacs were loaded with warmly dressed guests and away we traveled, making short stops for mountain goats that were traveling carefully and slowly up the steep walls of this fjord. Waterfalls were visited from water level, and cameras were busy capturing these sights. Slowly we picked our way through the ice that had already descended from the face of Sawyer glacier. We came within one third of a mile of the glacier, and there we found several inhabitants of this cold and austere environment. Harbor seals were camped out on the icebergs that were close to the face of the glacier. A safe place for these marine mammals to give birth to each new years population of Harbor seals. As the ice crackled, rolled and moved around the Zodiacs we watched the wall of blue ice in front of us…..would we see a calving? What would the sound of white thunder be like from water level? As if the glacier were reading our minds, a small rumbling occurred on the right side, and a cloud of spray appeared as pieces of ice hit the water! Then all was quiet except for the constant creaking and snapping of ice moving against ice in the aqua colored water around us. All along the passage moving towards the face of these two glaciers we had seen the pattern of primary succession in the growth of the plant communities of the temperate rainforest. Here close to the face of the glacier, the trim line was sharp and showed the earliest stages of successional plant development. We talked with our naturalists about the raw land we watched, and wondered in awe that this bare rock would attract lichens, mosses then shrubs and trees and someday, hundreds of years from now an old growth forest would breath its elemental whisper across these rocky shores.
This morning the Sea Lion was making her way up a narrow fjord called Tracy Arm. This twenty-four mile long fjord was cut by a retreating section of the Stikeen ice field. We were on our way towards Sawyer and South Sawyer Glaciers. These two glaciers are approximately eight to ten miles long and extend out from the Stikeen ice field. This forty mile long ice field runs north and south and is a rather thin, oblong shaped field of slowly moving ice. The Sea Lion had entered this fjord at around 6:00 AM, and was taking a relaxed pace as she made her way towards the head of this narrow and steep-walled waterway. Tracy Arm averages about 170 fathoms in depth so maneuvering near a large waterfall is a remarkable way to watch how water has shaped the waterway we were cruising on. Our Captain took the Sea Lion up to one of the many waterfalls we had been watching through out the morning and slowly we moved within inches of the cascading water! Pictures were taken, and we all enjoyed our first warm drinks of the day while watching and listening to this gorgeous waterfall.
Slowly our vessel backed away, and once again resumed her course towards South Sawyer Glacier. The fjord widened just slightly at a point where we could see both glacial arms as they descended into the waters of Tracy Arm. A small island sat just at this location. The Sea Lion made a sharp left turn and entered the short passageway leading to South Sawyer glacier. Waterfalls continued to grace the walls of the fjord, creating lacey patterns down the steep walls! Soon, we learned that this particular glacial arm is in serious retreat. It was estimated by the Natural history staff that South Sawyer glacier had retreated approximately one hundred feet in the last decade! Deep blue ice hung before us….all was quiet, except for the Arctic terns flying about our ship and the face of this small but magnificent piece of ice. We remained for a short time, and then the Captain took the Sea Lion back out to the main channel and began an approach towards Sawyer glacier.
Our expedition leader Bette Lu began her announcements for the morning, and let us knows that Zodiacs were being launched for ice tours. The ship was divided into two groups and drivers and Zodiacs were standing by for a ride through the icebergs towards the glacier, and hopefully a closer look at this otherworldly environment. The Zodiacs were loaded with warmly dressed guests and away we traveled, making short stops for mountain goats that were traveling carefully and slowly up the steep walls of this fjord. Waterfalls were visited from water level, and cameras were busy capturing these sights. Slowly we picked our way through the ice that had already descended from the face of Sawyer glacier. We came within one third of a mile of the glacier, and there we found several inhabitants of this cold and austere environment. Harbor seals were camped out on the icebergs that were close to the face of the glacier. A safe place for these marine mammals to give birth to each new years population of Harbor seals. As the ice crackled, rolled and moved around the Zodiacs we watched the wall of blue ice in front of us…..would we see a calving? What would the sound of white thunder be like from water level? As if the glacier were reading our minds, a small rumbling occurred on the right side, and a cloud of spray appeared as pieces of ice hit the water! Then all was quiet except for the constant creaking and snapping of ice moving against ice in the aqua colored water around us. All along the passage moving towards the face of these two glaciers we had seen the pattern of primary succession in the growth of the plant communities of the temperate rainforest. Here close to the face of the glacier, the trim line was sharp and showed the earliest stages of successional plant development. We talked with our naturalists about the raw land we watched, and wondered in awe that this bare rock would attract lichens, mosses then shrubs and trees and someday, hundreds of years from now an old growth forest would breath its elemental whisper across these rocky shores.
