Imagining the anticipation and trepidation (or disappointment in not finding the Northwest Passage) that Captain George Vancouver experienced when he worked his way up Endicott Arm in 1794 was one of the interesting deliberations on our inflatable boat as we contemplated the imposing blue ice face of Dawes Glacier this morning. Nearly a century later, in October of 1879, an elated John Muir arrived here with a group of Tlingit paddlers in a carved cedar canoe and finally knew for certain the glacial origins of his beloved sculpted mountains in Yosemite.
Today, these southernmost tidewater glaciers flowing out of the Stikine ice field are trapped in a dramatic retreat. In 2010, local scientists flew over the centerline of the glacier using a laser altimeter and found that the Dawes Glacier had lost 75 meters of thickness over one warm year; among the most dramatic ice loss in the world.
The vast raw beauty of the jagged blue ice seracs winding up the mountain into the snowy heights of the coastal mountains and the waterfalls that spill foaming water over the steep narrow fjord walls are spectacular, and a grand way to cap our time together in Southeast Alaska’s coastal wilderness. Mid-trip, warming cups of chocolate were handed out from the “coco boat” on this chilly fall morning and many of our guests posed for portraits in front of the beautiful glacial face.
A small nearly circular fjord at the base of Ford’s Terror offered a secluded and calm place for kayaks this afternoon. Surrounded by high granite walls and more incredible waterfalls, everyone had an opportunity to enjoy a more solitary time paddling in this remarkable wild and protected place.
