Glacier Bay National Park
We awoke in Glacier Bay National Park with low clouds and mist swirling amidst the islands and providing peek-a-boo looks at the mountains rising from the sea. After breakfast and an introduction to Brenda, Andrew and Jennifer, our rangers for the day, we arrived at the South Marble Islands. The rocks here are fragments of an ancient continent that existed 400 million years ago that has been fragmented and dispersed to various parts of the world including localities in Southeast Alaska. Right now the South Marbles are a mecca for a myriad of bird species. The steep rock walls provide protection from predators and a perfect jumping off point for food forays out to sea. The rock also serves as a stratified nesting condo. The kittiwakes, pigeon guillemots and common murres occupy notches in the cliff just above the water. Glaucous-winged gulls prefer the high ground and puffins seek out scraps of soil where they can build their nests in burrows. Pelagic cormorants distribute themselves all over the available rock outcrops. Sound effects are provided by sea lions hauled out on small islets and the occasional sea otter drifts by on its back exhibiting an air of insouciance to contrast with the all-around cacophony of sound.
At Gloomy Knob (another piece of the ancient continent that contains fossils indicating a coral reef) we made an unsuccessful search for goats in the mist, but did get a good look at eagles in their nest. Just a little further. Next came the bears! A mama and three cubs were spotted foraging their way up a rocky slope. They stopped underneath a tall spruce tree and there commenced one of the most remarkable displays of bear behavior that any of us had even seen in the wild. It started with mama using the spruce like a cat’s scratching post to sharpen her claws. Then she turned around and performed what looked like a Las Vegas pole dance as she thoroughly scratched her back on the bark. For the finale she laid down on her side and the cubs came rushing in to nurse. Wow!
After lunch we picked our way through a flotilla of icebergs to a viewpoint in front of the Johns Hopkins Glacier. There was not much calving action, which was fortunate because just in front of the 250 foot high terminus of the glacier two people were paddling a kayak that was in imminent danger of being crushed by a falling block of ice or swamped an impact tsunami. Even the harbor seals who hang out in the vicinity were smart enough to stay much further away.
The afternoon was highlighted by Junior Ranger activities, an ice cream sundae glacier demonstration by Marca, an introduction to the Tlingit History of Glacier Bay by Interpretative Ranger Bertha and an amusing perspective on the Glacier Bay experience by Ranger Andrew.
After dinner we docked at Bartlett Cove and hiked the interpretative trail to the lodge where a bluegrass band played a foot-stomping musical end to our Day in the Bay.
