Tracy Arm
We awoke this morning in a geological wonderland. The granite walls of the fjord rose thousands of feet above the water, but the rounded tops were evidence that, at one point in time, they were covered by ice. Bobbing on the water surface around the ship were the offspring of South Sawyer glacier, an active tidewater glacier. Without a cloud in the sky, the glacier was mirrored in the calm water. Just after breakfast, we deployed the Zodiacs for a ride amidst the ice bergs. Adrift in front of the glacier, the sound of ice krispies or bergy seltzer, the rushing water of the falls, and the thunder of the glacier captured us in an auditory delight. In the distance, harbor seals were hauled out on the ice undergoing their annual molt or shedding of their fur coat. In recent years, there has been no shortage of ice for the seals; South Sawyer glacier has been in rapid retreat calving large quantities of ice and exposing bare bedrock as it gallops up the mountain. We were fortunate enough to witness this calving, riding out the waves created by the influx of large pieces of ice into the water. When we returned to the ship, we were greeted with the distinctive smell of a BBQ. It is a rare day in Southeast Alaska when you can enjoy a deck BBQ in front of a tidewater glacier and be concerned that you may be getting a sunburn.
Just as we were finishing our ice cream sundaes, we journeyed into the view of Sawyer glacier, the smaller of the two glaciers in the area, and viewed the small cascading waterfalls streaking the walls of the fjord. Our afternoon was just beginning. Just off of Sawyer Island, we boarded the sea kayaks for a paddle amongst the ice bergs. The colorful kayaks trailed behind the Sea Bird like ducklings as they waited for passengers to be loaded. The teal water was no longer dotted only by ice but adventuresome kayakers as well. On our journey out of Tracy Arm, we stopped by Icy Falls, a bedrock cascade gushing with water. In Holkham Bay, we crossed the bar, the remains of the terminal morraine of the Sawyer glaciers, and said farewell to Tracy Arm.
We awoke this morning in a geological wonderland. The granite walls of the fjord rose thousands of feet above the water, but the rounded tops were evidence that, at one point in time, they were covered by ice. Bobbing on the water surface around the ship were the offspring of South Sawyer glacier, an active tidewater glacier. Without a cloud in the sky, the glacier was mirrored in the calm water. Just after breakfast, we deployed the Zodiacs for a ride amidst the ice bergs. Adrift in front of the glacier, the sound of ice krispies or bergy seltzer, the rushing water of the falls, and the thunder of the glacier captured us in an auditory delight. In the distance, harbor seals were hauled out on the ice undergoing their annual molt or shedding of their fur coat. In recent years, there has been no shortage of ice for the seals; South Sawyer glacier has been in rapid retreat calving large quantities of ice and exposing bare bedrock as it gallops up the mountain. We were fortunate enough to witness this calving, riding out the waves created by the influx of large pieces of ice into the water. When we returned to the ship, we were greeted with the distinctive smell of a BBQ. It is a rare day in Southeast Alaska when you can enjoy a deck BBQ in front of a tidewater glacier and be concerned that you may be getting a sunburn.
Just as we were finishing our ice cream sundaes, we journeyed into the view of Sawyer glacier, the smaller of the two glaciers in the area, and viewed the small cascading waterfalls streaking the walls of the fjord. Our afternoon was just beginning. Just off of Sawyer Island, we boarded the sea kayaks for a paddle amongst the ice bergs. The colorful kayaks trailed behind the Sea Bird like ducklings as they waited for passengers to be loaded. The teal water was no longer dotted only by ice but adventuresome kayakers as well. On our journey out of Tracy Arm, we stopped by Icy Falls, a bedrock cascade gushing with water. In Holkham Bay, we crossed the bar, the remains of the terminal morraine of the Sawyer glaciers, and said farewell to Tracy Arm.
