Glacier Bay
Seen only by a few night owls, the National Geographic Sea Bird picked up our ranger, Kelly Vandenberg, from the Gustavus dock at midnight and traveled through the night 65 miles up Glacier Bay. This gave our expedition leader, Jen Martin, an opportunity to give the morning wake-up call as our ship was sitting directly in front of the craggy blue face of the Margerie Glacier.
After breakfast we moved on to Johns Hopkins Inlet, where the sun made an appearance illuminating the many glaciers to be found here. The star of the ice show was the Johns Hopkins Glacier, which looked a bit like chocolate marble ice cream, with twisted black stripes of morainal rock interspersed with the ice. Near the terminus, we spotted hundreds of harbor seals hauled out on blocks of ice that had been recently calved from the glacier. We packed the bow of the National Geographic Sea Bird, hoping to see calving in action, but were disappointed until we went to the stern for a group picture--just in time to see a giant ice block drop. Fortunately the captain had just turned the ship around to provide a good backdrop for the photo, so nearly everyone got a good look.
At Gloomy Knob we heard a tale of “traveling terranes”. Geologists believe that the rock here originated in the South Pacific as a tropical reef and has been transported to Southeast Alaska by hitching rides on the conveyor system of subducting oceanic plates. All we could tell for sure by looking is that there were a couple of mountain goats and a whole lot of noisy kittiwakes. Geologists also believe that there is a “clear and present danger” lurking above nearby Tidal Inlet. You can actually see the landslide scar of a huge mass of rock hanging above the water. If it cuts loose, it could create a splash and tsunami hundreds of feet high. Fortunately today the only large masses we saw moving on the mountain were six (!) brown bears apparently grazing on berries.
The South Marble Islands featured feathers and fur. Several dozen sea lions draped themselves in various states of repose on the rocks. Several hundred birds, including puffins, cormorants, pigeon guillemots, oystercatchers, gulls, and common murres filled the sky and a myriad of nests on the cliffs.
Our day ended at Bartlett Cove, where we did a power hike through the spruce and hemlock forest that has grown here since the ice retreated only 200 years ago. This was a good reminder of just how dynamic the Southeast Alaska landscape can be.
Seen only by a few night owls, the National Geographic Sea Bird picked up our ranger, Kelly Vandenberg, from the Gustavus dock at midnight and traveled through the night 65 miles up Glacier Bay. This gave our expedition leader, Jen Martin, an opportunity to give the morning wake-up call as our ship was sitting directly in front of the craggy blue face of the Margerie Glacier.
After breakfast we moved on to Johns Hopkins Inlet, where the sun made an appearance illuminating the many glaciers to be found here. The star of the ice show was the Johns Hopkins Glacier, which looked a bit like chocolate marble ice cream, with twisted black stripes of morainal rock interspersed with the ice. Near the terminus, we spotted hundreds of harbor seals hauled out on blocks of ice that had been recently calved from the glacier. We packed the bow of the National Geographic Sea Bird, hoping to see calving in action, but were disappointed until we went to the stern for a group picture--just in time to see a giant ice block drop. Fortunately the captain had just turned the ship around to provide a good backdrop for the photo, so nearly everyone got a good look.
At Gloomy Knob we heard a tale of “traveling terranes”. Geologists believe that the rock here originated in the South Pacific as a tropical reef and has been transported to Southeast Alaska by hitching rides on the conveyor system of subducting oceanic plates. All we could tell for sure by looking is that there were a couple of mountain goats and a whole lot of noisy kittiwakes. Geologists also believe that there is a “clear and present danger” lurking above nearby Tidal Inlet. You can actually see the landslide scar of a huge mass of rock hanging above the water. If it cuts loose, it could create a splash and tsunami hundreds of feet high. Fortunately today the only large masses we saw moving on the mountain were six (!) brown bears apparently grazing on berries.
The South Marble Islands featured feathers and fur. Several dozen sea lions draped themselves in various states of repose on the rocks. Several hundred birds, including puffins, cormorants, pigeon guillemots, oystercatchers, gulls, and common murres filled the sky and a myriad of nests on the cliffs.
Our day ended at Bartlett Cove, where we did a power hike through the spruce and hemlock forest that has grown here since the ice retreated only 200 years ago. This was a good reminder of just how dynamic the Southeast Alaska landscape can be.
