Tracy Arm/Williams Cove, Southeast Alaska
In 1879 John Muir traveled down a narrow winding fjord now known as Tracy Arm. Much of what he saw reminded him of the landforms in Yosemite Valley, where he had spent so much time. In fact, he sought to prove that the geological forces at work in creating California’s now famous national park were those of glaciation, a new concept at the time. Seeing glaciers at the head of this Alaskan waterway convinced him that it was indeed the work of massive rivers of ice that created both landscapes:
“The upper half of the fjord is…wide, and shut in by sublime Yosemite cliffs, nobly sculptured, and adorned with waterfalls and fringes of trees, bushes, and patches of flowers…a display of novel beauty.”
The Sea Lion followed in the wake of Muir today, coursing through the same spectacular 25-mile glacial canyon, now part of a 653,000-acre wilderness virtually unchanged since the Sierra Club founder’s visit. Today we were able to surpass Muir’s penetration in Tracy Arm, given the continuing retreat of these glaciers that flow from the Stikine Icefield. (Last night we learned of the legendary mountain man’s adventure over glaciers and crevasses with the dog Stickeen during a recitation of Muir’s charming novella at recap.)
Our ship was able to make an early morning close approach to one of the two glaciers that carved the fjord and still sits in tidewater. While we stood three miles off from the other, due to ice pack, we launched our fleet of reliable Zodiacs and were able to navigate our way close to the beautiful South Sawyer Glacier. Traversing a path through the brash and bergs we were observed by harbor seals that use the deep icy confines of fjords like these to birth, nurse and wean their pups in early summer.
Sitting in the Zodiacs at a safe distance from South Sawyer Glacier, we were amazed at the loud noise the glacier made during calving. The Tlingit people had an appropriate descriptive term for this that translates as “white thunder”. A “shooter” also broke off the glacier from below and came roiling up to the surface in a spectacular visual and auditory “iceworks” display.
After picking up two Wilderness Area kayak rangers to learn more of this beautiful protected place, our ship’s officers nosed the Sea Lion up to one of the dozens of large waterfalls that plunge into the waters of Tracy Arm. Towering above was a prominent granitic dome that must have sent exhilaration through John Muir when he set eyes upon it given the resemblance to Yosemite’s Half Dome.
In the late afternoon we hiked and kayaked across from the old Sumdum village site that Muir visited, in a peaceful thumb off Tracy Arm named Williams Cove. Flocks of scoters, harlequin ducks and goldeneyes buzzed around the bay. A black bear had recently rooted around the flowered meadow along the shore.
After Captain’s farewell dinner, we pulled anchor and navigated the same submerged terminal moraine that John Muir and his native Tlingit guides paddled in difficult swirling waters over a century ago. Safely across, the Sea Lion rendezvoused with another ship for Fourth of July fireworks. Guests on deck cheered the pyrotechnics, a paradoxical display seemingly out of place, time and context with the stunning wilderness that both John Muir and the Sea Lion explored.
