Tracy Arm
In the very early morning, the Sea Lion started motoring up the 25 miles of Tracy Arm while everyone was still asleep. At 7a.m. Cindy’s gentle wake up call included inviting people up to the deck to see the North Sawyer Glacier. Sunlight, warm weather and glistening blue ice greeted everyone! Harbor seals, harbor porpoises, artic terns, Bonaparte gulls, and mountain goats added to this amazing sight! After breakfast, Zodiac trips were offered for tours among the thick “bergies” and “growlers” of ice with the objective of getting closer to South Sawyer Glacier. This glacier was actively calving and we were greeted with many loud cracks and booms as ice fell. This is also a rookery for about 300-400 harbor seals. We watched spellbound by the prolonged roar of the ice falls and the heavy swells that rocked and rolled the seals on the ice bergs. This is the first time we have seen the intense deep blue of dense glacial ice.
Leaving Sawyer Glaciers, we made our way down the fjord, the naturalists pointing out glacially carved valleys, moraine scratches on the high granite walls, pigeon guillemots in the water, cascading waterfalls, and trees growing on the ancient terminal moraines of the many glaciers.
After lunch, everyone went shopping at the ship’s gift shop making the ship’s lounge into a changing room for trying on sweatshirts, t-shirts, shorts, hats, pins, scarves, and flannel vests. Meanwhile, the second mate was busy maneuvering the ship toward a tall, plummeting waterfall, which we enjoyed in spectacular fashion (you had to be there to believe it!).
The afternoon was spent in Williams Cove with kayaking, Zodiac tours, short hikes into the forest and long hikes as far as a muskeg. The kayakers paddled over to a very large iceberg for an up close and personal look (but not too close!). The hikers encountered the many signs of bear, especially scat with evidence of berries and mussels being eaten. The weather couldn’t have been lovelier with blue sky, warm temperatures, and flat calm water.
In the very early morning, the Sea Lion started motoring up the 25 miles of Tracy Arm while everyone was still asleep. At 7a.m. Cindy’s gentle wake up call included inviting people up to the deck to see the North Sawyer Glacier. Sunlight, warm weather and glistening blue ice greeted everyone! Harbor seals, harbor porpoises, artic terns, Bonaparte gulls, and mountain goats added to this amazing sight! After breakfast, Zodiac trips were offered for tours among the thick “bergies” and “growlers” of ice with the objective of getting closer to South Sawyer Glacier. This glacier was actively calving and we were greeted with many loud cracks and booms as ice fell. This is also a rookery for about 300-400 harbor seals. We watched spellbound by the prolonged roar of the ice falls and the heavy swells that rocked and rolled the seals on the ice bergs. This is the first time we have seen the intense deep blue of dense glacial ice.
Leaving Sawyer Glaciers, we made our way down the fjord, the naturalists pointing out glacially carved valleys, moraine scratches on the high granite walls, pigeon guillemots in the water, cascading waterfalls, and trees growing on the ancient terminal moraines of the many glaciers.
After lunch, everyone went shopping at the ship’s gift shop making the ship’s lounge into a changing room for trying on sweatshirts, t-shirts, shorts, hats, pins, scarves, and flannel vests. Meanwhile, the second mate was busy maneuvering the ship toward a tall, plummeting waterfall, which we enjoyed in spectacular fashion (you had to be there to believe it!).
The afternoon was spent in Williams Cove with kayaking, Zodiac tours, short hikes into the forest and long hikes as far as a muskeg. The kayakers paddled over to a very large iceberg for an up close and personal look (but not too close!). The hikers encountered the many signs of bear, especially scat with evidence of berries and mussels being eaten. The weather couldn’t have been lovelier with blue sky, warm temperatures, and flat calm water.
