Tracy Arm, South Sawyer Glacier and Williams Cove
“No ice work that I have ever seen surpasses this… everywhere icebergs abound and the water spaces between the bergs were as smooth as glass, reflecting the unclouded sky:” -John Muir, 1879
Glorious Morning! Today was the first day on our Alaska adventure and the weather was fabulous! Sunshine illuminated the glacial ice, creating sparkles of blue in all shades imaginable. The denser the ice the more intense the blue! We traveled by Zodiac around the floating ice, occasionally the sound of ‘white thunder’ would interrupt us and we would crane our heads in anticipation of falling ice… calving! Little round black heads bobbed up and down in the water, following our every move… several more harbor seals were hauled out on the floating ice, basking in the sunshine.
Continuing on down Tracy Arm, the scenery of waterfalls cascading over the towering cliffs of granite enthralled us. We searched the rocks for mountain goats and found a nanny and her kid resting in the nook of the rock face. Captain Kay steered the National Geographic Sea Bird up close and personal with a waterfall named ‘Hole in the Wall’, the spray showered those standing in the front of the bow.
Later that afternoon, we anchored at Williams Cove and had our first hike in the Tongass National Forest and kayaked in the glacially fed waters of Sawyer Glacier. It was a great start to our Alaska Adventure!
