Endicott Arm, Dawes Glacier & William’s Cove
The National Geographic Sea Lion left her slip last night in Juneau at approximately 11:30pm. She was making a short journey of 72 miles south to the Tracy Arm, Fords Terror Wilderness area where we would be spending the day. Just before sunrise the National Geographic Sea Lion was crossing the bar or the terminal moraine created by the glaciers of Tracy and Endicott arms. Our first day in Southeast Alaska would be spent in the heart of one of Alaska’s premier wilderness areas. This 653,179-acre preserve holds one of the most outstanding opportunities for solitude, the primary characteristic of wilderness. In 1964 our nation’s leaders formally acknowledged the immediate and lasting benefits of wild places to the human spirit and fabric of our nation. That year, in a nearly unanimous vote, Congress enacted landmark legislation that permanently protected some of the most natural and undisturbed places in America. The Wilderness Act established the National Wilderness Preservation System to “secure for the American people of present and future generations the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness.”
Through out the early morning the National Geographic Sea Lion continued making her way up Endicott Arm, arriving at the face of Dawes Glacier just before breakfast was served. As soon as our hearty morning meal was finished, we all made our way to the bow of our ship to experience our first glacier in a wild place. The soft diffused light of slight grey skies brought us a visual feast of the intensely reflected blue and ever so slightly violet colored ice in places of the front of the face of Dawes Glacier. As a celebration for our first day we called our youngest travelers to the bow to document what indigenous peoples call our greatest resource. Twenty-nine of our guests on board are under eighteen years of age; each and every one was celebrating their great fortune at seeing (for many) their first glacier! While we watched small pieces calved into the sea and the reverberated sound (called white thunder by indigenous peoples) echoed past the National Geographic Sea Lion and down Endicott Arm. Though there is a great deal of daylight this time of year at this northern latitude, we still had to budget our time, and begin the return passage down the 32 miles returning towards the entrance at Holkham Bay. Our Captain made good time on the return with little ice in Endicott Arm and made a brief stop at Fords Terror, an extremely narrow passage where huge amounts of water rush through, with the changing tides of the day. We could see the white water in Fords Terror as we stopped briefly inside the small bay just below its entrance.
Continuing on, the National Geographic Sea Lion made her way towards our afternoon destination of Williams Cove located closer to Tracy Arm on the northern side of Holkham Bay. As lunch was finishing we were on approach to our anchorage and with speed and obvious practice, the officers and crew of the National Geographic Sea Lion dropped Zodiacs and kayaks and made ready for our afternoon ashore. We would have an opportunity to hike on an old and well-established bear trail, while the other half of our group kayaked and then the groups would exchange activities. This year's late spring brought many wild flowers still in bloom both along the outer edge of the forest and just underneath the Sitka alder barrier or outer canopy. The floor of this temperate rain forest was decorated with delicate blooms all showing off for the benefit of their respective pollinators and the joy of observant passers-by. We followed a well-used bear trail along just under the outer edge of the forest that led us into Williams Cove, across a small creek passing many of the accustomed residents of a northern rain forest. Western hemlock, Sitka spruce, huckleberry, false azalea, a myriad of ferns, lichens and mosses, are all making a very successful living in the long hours of the Alaskan summer. Meanwhile kayakers were exploring the waters of Williams Cove. A highlight for all paddlers was a very large grounded iceberg. Gravity had turned this iceberg revealing a sculpted side with shades of blue and violet backlit by a deep gray afternoon sky. Squalls of rain passed over us, both on land and over our kayaks, followed by sun breaks adding raindrops to the wildflowers and patterns to the sea… each adding to the magic of experiencing one of the last wild places in North America.
The National Geographic Sea Lion left her slip last night in Juneau at approximately 11:30pm. She was making a short journey of 72 miles south to the Tracy Arm, Fords Terror Wilderness area where we would be spending the day. Just before sunrise the National Geographic Sea Lion was crossing the bar or the terminal moraine created by the glaciers of Tracy and Endicott arms. Our first day in Southeast Alaska would be spent in the heart of one of Alaska’s premier wilderness areas. This 653,179-acre preserve holds one of the most outstanding opportunities for solitude, the primary characteristic of wilderness. In 1964 our nation’s leaders formally acknowledged the immediate and lasting benefits of wild places to the human spirit and fabric of our nation. That year, in a nearly unanimous vote, Congress enacted landmark legislation that permanently protected some of the most natural and undisturbed places in America. The Wilderness Act established the National Wilderness Preservation System to “secure for the American people of present and future generations the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness.”
Through out the early morning the National Geographic Sea Lion continued making her way up Endicott Arm, arriving at the face of Dawes Glacier just before breakfast was served. As soon as our hearty morning meal was finished, we all made our way to the bow of our ship to experience our first glacier in a wild place. The soft diffused light of slight grey skies brought us a visual feast of the intensely reflected blue and ever so slightly violet colored ice in places of the front of the face of Dawes Glacier. As a celebration for our first day we called our youngest travelers to the bow to document what indigenous peoples call our greatest resource. Twenty-nine of our guests on board are under eighteen years of age; each and every one was celebrating their great fortune at seeing (for many) their first glacier! While we watched small pieces calved into the sea and the reverberated sound (called white thunder by indigenous peoples) echoed past the National Geographic Sea Lion and down Endicott Arm. Though there is a great deal of daylight this time of year at this northern latitude, we still had to budget our time, and begin the return passage down the 32 miles returning towards the entrance at Holkham Bay. Our Captain made good time on the return with little ice in Endicott Arm and made a brief stop at Fords Terror, an extremely narrow passage where huge amounts of water rush through, with the changing tides of the day. We could see the white water in Fords Terror as we stopped briefly inside the small bay just below its entrance.
Continuing on, the National Geographic Sea Lion made her way towards our afternoon destination of Williams Cove located closer to Tracy Arm on the northern side of Holkham Bay. As lunch was finishing we were on approach to our anchorage and with speed and obvious practice, the officers and crew of the National Geographic Sea Lion dropped Zodiacs and kayaks and made ready for our afternoon ashore. We would have an opportunity to hike on an old and well-established bear trail, while the other half of our group kayaked and then the groups would exchange activities. This year's late spring brought many wild flowers still in bloom both along the outer edge of the forest and just underneath the Sitka alder barrier or outer canopy. The floor of this temperate rain forest was decorated with delicate blooms all showing off for the benefit of their respective pollinators and the joy of observant passers-by. We followed a well-used bear trail along just under the outer edge of the forest that led us into Williams Cove, across a small creek passing many of the accustomed residents of a northern rain forest. Western hemlock, Sitka spruce, huckleberry, false azalea, a myriad of ferns, lichens and mosses, are all making a very successful living in the long hours of the Alaskan summer. Meanwhile kayakers were exploring the waters of Williams Cove. A highlight for all paddlers was a very large grounded iceberg. Gravity had turned this iceberg revealing a sculpted side with shades of blue and violet backlit by a deep gray afternoon sky. Squalls of rain passed over us, both on land and over our kayaks, followed by sun breaks adding raindrops to the wildflowers and patterns to the sea… each adding to the magic of experiencing one of the last wild places in North America.
