Fog greeted the National Geographic Sea Bird as it docked briefly this morning in Bartlett Cove to pick up park ranger Nicole Schuab and cultural interpreter Bertha Franulovich. The fog clung tenaciously to the water’s surface as we made our way past South Marble Island, completely obscuring the view of the nesting seabirds and groaning Steller sea lions. We were left with no visual data, but rich waves of sound washed over our ship as we made our way north in Glacier Bay.
A few miles travel further north gave the strong September sun a chance to burn off the marine layer just in time for us to see Gloomy Knob where a bear, multiple bald eagles, a great blue heron, and seven mountain goats were observed along with numerous surf scoters and other water birds.
During lunch our ship made its way towards the beautiful Margerie and massive Grand Pacific Glaciers. The Margerie Glacier was very reserved today with only some small calving events towards the edges of the ice.
Having reached the northern most navigable point of the park, National Geographic Sea Bird turned south and began making the 65-mile trek back towards the entrance to Glacier Bay while Nicole and Bertha presented on the natural and cultural history of the park.
Our luck with South Marble island was much better on the way out of the park and we were able to observe many Steller sea lions, tufted puffins, pelagic cormorants, common murres, and glaucous-winged gulls under beautiful evening light on glassy calm seas.
During some of the natural history interpretation today ranger Nicole Schuab mentioned that many of the glaciers along with some of the peaks in the park do not have names, reminding me of a wonderful poem by Robert Service:
There’s a land where the mountains are nameless,
And the rivers all run God knows where;
There are lives that are erring and aimless,
And deaths that just hang by a hair;
There are hardships that nobody reckons;
There are valleys unpeopled and still;
There’s a land— oh, it beckons and beckons,
And I want to go back— and I will.
From ‘Place With No Name ‘ by Robert Service.
