Glacier Bay
We came on deck this morning surrounded by ice and mountain magic. The gnarly face of the Johns Hopkins glacier loomed 250 feet above our ship, spitting chunks of ice into the grey-green water. On our left Mt. Abbe soared another 8750 feet into the blue sky and sunshine above. On our right a roaring cascade of melt water tumbled down the bare-rock mountainside. We patiently waited for the calving show to begin. The glacier teased us with greyhound bus sized blocks that boomed into water. Finally we got what we wanted. Linda’s serac, a 150’ blade of ice identified by Ms. Burback as the most likely candidate for calving, suddenly crashed from the face creating a 200’ splash and a 20’ shock wave that rocked the Sea Bird as if she were a rowboat.
After breakfast we cruised up the inlet to Jaw Point for an awe-inspiring view and an opportunity to contemplate the existential significance of our location right in the middle of the Late Mesozoic suture zone between the Alexander and Chugach terranes. Continuing up Tarr Inlet, we came across a trio of brindled brown bears searching for their breakfast in the intertidal zone. According to our ranger, Kevin Richards, these were a group of three year old siblings that had just been sent off by their mama to make their own living. Brother bear, by far the largest of the three, displayed an interesting foraging style. He prowled along the beach casually flipping over 300-400 pound boulders hoping to find a bounty of crabs or gunnels underneath.
Returning back down the Bay we stopped at Gloomy Knob to view some mountain goats. Most of them were sprawled out on the rocks, demonstrating their considerable snoozing skills. As an added attraction we learned the story of far-traveled terranes written in the stone. At nearby Tidal Inlet the geologic story was about the potential for a catastrophic rockfall from the cliffs to the water that could generate a wave as much as 300 feet high and sink any ship in the vicinity.
The birders on board got their due at the South Marble Islands where we got close up views of tufted and horned puffins, along with murres, kittiwakes, pigeon guillemots and black oystercatchers. Just for good measure we cruised by the Boulder Islands to see rafts of ultra-cute sea otters doing their backstroke—some with pups along for the ride.
As we departed the ship for our evening hikes at Bartlett Cove another brilliant sunset was in the making, providing a hint that tomorrow could possibly continue our amazing streak of blue sky days in Southeast Alaska.
