Glacier Bay National Park
The ever-changing weather of Southeast Alaska was good to us this fine silvery morning. Warm breezes mixed with very high thin clouds provided great visibility for our entrance into Glacier Bay National Park. Our entire day would be spent cruising, sixty-five miles north heading for Tarr Inlet where we would visit Margerie and Grand Pacific Glaciers, both located just a few miles from the British Columbian border. We would then return, south, to the headquarters of Glacier Bay National Park at Bartlett Cove. According to the official map and guide “Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve began its history as a National Monument in 1925. The purpose was to preserve the glacial environment and plant communities for public enjoyment, scientific study, and historic interest. Expanded several times, Glacier Bay was redesignated as a national park and preserve in 1980. In 1986 the park was named a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. In 1992 it was listed as a World Heritage Site, the principal international recognition given to natural and cultural areas of universal significance. This dual status shows that the international community values the uniqueness of this dynamic glacial landscape, a major ecosystem that protects the diversity of life.”
The Sea Lion began her morning activities with a slow cruise past South Marble Island a well-known bird colony and haul-out area for Stellar Sea lions.It was a red-letter day for the informal group of birders—self-styled “the bird brains.” We spotted the greatest number of species this trip so far! Many among our group recorded life list additions to the list of birds seen during our lives.
For those of us not engrossed in our feathered friends, the scenery of majestic mountain ranges on all sides was consuming. As we moved north, to the right were the Beartrack Mountains and to the left lay the Fairweather Range. The thin high layer of cloud cover gave us a wonderful and muted look at Glacier Bay surrounded by mountains. The Sea Lion continued her passage north making her second stop at Gloomy Knob, a favorite habitat for mountain goats. As we approached, our spotters on the bow announced the presence of female goats with their new offspring. These goats give birth near the end of May and the beginning of June. We were blessed to see many new mothers keeping their young kids close to their sides. The first mate aboard the Sea Lion made a close pass alongside Gloomy Knob, and we counted at least thirty mountain goats foraging along the narrow cliff edges, making a living in an extremely precarious environment.
Today’s ultimate destination was at the northern end of Tarr Inlet and the face of Margerie Glacier. Just before lunch we arrived in front of a wall of ice! Margerie Glacier sits some two hundred feet above the water, another one hundred feet below the water while moving or calving, forward some three to five feet per day. For the next hour we inched our way closer to the face of this spectacular wall of ice. Small bits of ice fell from the face of the glacier, a large splash and wave appeared followed by a reverberating sound described by the Native Tlingit peoples as white thunder.
We cruised past a kittiwake colony, watched horned puffins and floating sculptures of ice that had peeled away from the face of Margerie Glacier. Braided streams flowed into Tarr Inlet from melting ice, and early plants were exploding from freshly thawed ground, in the warm spring air… the world newly developed after glaciation was everywhere, waiting to be discovered, and the words of Wordsworth as quoted by John Muir upon his many travels in this raw land called Alaska came to mind:
The Sea Lion returned, south through Tarr Inlet into Glacier Bay proper, made a short trip into Geikie Inlet looking for brown bears and then continued on course towards Barttlet Cove. A small group of killer whales were cruising these southern waters of Glacier Bay making our seventh sighting of these marine mammals for this trip! As the day drew to an end the Sea Lion pulled into the dock at Barttlet Cove and we all had a chance to walk in the woods near the main lodge. Less than two hundred years ago, this area of Glacier Bay was covered in a thick layer of ice. Tonight as we disembarked the light was soft along with the rain as we made our way ashore to enjoy a walk in a young developing forest.
The ever-changing weather of Southeast Alaska was good to us this fine silvery morning. Warm breezes mixed with very high thin clouds provided great visibility for our entrance into Glacier Bay National Park. Our entire day would be spent cruising, sixty-five miles north heading for Tarr Inlet where we would visit Margerie and Grand Pacific Glaciers, both located just a few miles from the British Columbian border. We would then return, south, to the headquarters of Glacier Bay National Park at Bartlett Cove. According to the official map and guide “Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve began its history as a National Monument in 1925. The purpose was to preserve the glacial environment and plant communities for public enjoyment, scientific study, and historic interest. Expanded several times, Glacier Bay was redesignated as a national park and preserve in 1980. In 1986 the park was named a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. In 1992 it was listed as a World Heritage Site, the principal international recognition given to natural and cultural areas of universal significance. This dual status shows that the international community values the uniqueness of this dynamic glacial landscape, a major ecosystem that protects the diversity of life.”
The Sea Lion began her morning activities with a slow cruise past South Marble Island a well-known bird colony and haul-out area for Stellar Sea lions.It was a red-letter day for the informal group of birders—self-styled “the bird brains.” We spotted the greatest number of species this trip so far! Many among our group recorded life list additions to the list of birds seen during our lives.
For those of us not engrossed in our feathered friends, the scenery of majestic mountain ranges on all sides was consuming. As we moved north, to the right were the Beartrack Mountains and to the left lay the Fairweather Range. The thin high layer of cloud cover gave us a wonderful and muted look at Glacier Bay surrounded by mountains. The Sea Lion continued her passage north making her second stop at Gloomy Knob, a favorite habitat for mountain goats. As we approached, our spotters on the bow announced the presence of female goats with their new offspring. These goats give birth near the end of May and the beginning of June. We were blessed to see many new mothers keeping their young kids close to their sides. The first mate aboard the Sea Lion made a close pass alongside Gloomy Knob, and we counted at least thirty mountain goats foraging along the narrow cliff edges, making a living in an extremely precarious environment.
Today’s ultimate destination was at the northern end of Tarr Inlet and the face of Margerie Glacier. Just before lunch we arrived in front of a wall of ice! Margerie Glacier sits some two hundred feet above the water, another one hundred feet below the water while moving or calving, forward some three to five feet per day. For the next hour we inched our way closer to the face of this spectacular wall of ice. Small bits of ice fell from the face of the glacier, a large splash and wave appeared followed by a reverberating sound described by the Native Tlingit peoples as white thunder.
We cruised past a kittiwake colony, watched horned puffins and floating sculptures of ice that had peeled away from the face of Margerie Glacier. Braided streams flowed into Tarr Inlet from melting ice, and early plants were exploding from freshly thawed ground, in the warm spring air… the world newly developed after glaciation was everywhere, waiting to be discovered, and the words of Wordsworth as quoted by John Muir upon his many travels in this raw land called Alaska came to mind:
“One impulse from a vernal wood
“May teach you more of man,
“Of moral evil and of good,
“Than all the sages can”
The Sea Lion returned, south through Tarr Inlet into Glacier Bay proper, made a short trip into Geikie Inlet looking for brown bears and then continued on course towards Barttlet Cove. A small group of killer whales were cruising these southern waters of Glacier Bay making our seventh sighting of these marine mammals for this trip! As the day drew to an end the Sea Lion pulled into the dock at Barttlet Cove and we all had a chance to walk in the woods near the main lodge. Less than two hundred years ago, this area of Glacier Bay was covered in a thick layer of ice. Tonight as we disembarked the light was soft along with the rain as we made our way ashore to enjoy a walk in a young developing forest.
