Glacier Bay
This morning the National Geographic Sea Lion entered Glacier Bay and before most of us had dawned our rain gear a ranger had boarded the ship in Bartlett Cove. From the mouth of the bay we made our way (65 miles) to the end of Glacier Bay and John Hopkins Inlet.
Plowing through pristine waters we first stopped at the Marble Islands to visit with the creatures that find comfort on the high and dry rocks from their otherwise pelagic lives. In the presence of puffins, murres, guillemots and cormorants we listened to the ruckus of the Steller sea lions who apparently have a few issues with personal space. With many rocks to choose from, it seems they take comfort in closeness and the warmth of their brethren nearby. A marine mammal endangered in parts of its range we felt both blessed and concerned by the presence and future of this amazing creature. Heading north we made our way past Tlingit Point combing the shoreline for creatures big and small. At Gloomy Knob we found two mountain goats and contemplated the precarious slopes surrounding them and their ability to maneuver in steep terrain. We learned that a mountain goat hoof has hard, sharp edges surrounding a soft inner pad. The hoof’s two halves can move independently, and the inner pad acts as a suction cup when weight is applied and the skid proof pads provide excellent grip and traction.
Moving further down the fjord we could not help but wonder what it was like when Captain George Vancouver arrived in 1794 to find a wall of ice at the entrance of the bay. Hard to imagine the veil of ice that once covered all of Southeast Alaska let alone the 65 mile recession that has occurred in the last 200+ years from the fjords of today’s explorations. The fastest recession ever recorded, it is no wonder this national park is used as a living classroom for the studies of succession and recession.
After lunch we approached the face of John Hopkins glacier and were struck not only by the color, the size of the mile wide face but the fact that unlike most glaciers this one is advancing. As a tidewater glacier advances, it pushes a mound of debris called a moraine in front of its terminus, protecting it from deep tidal water. If glacier dynamics force the glacier’s terminus to retreat from its moraine, the deeper water causes the glacier to calve, triggering its retreat.
Brave wet souls embraced the day on bow, port and starboard, enduring the elements that make this corner of Alaska the rainforest we will dream of when back in the climes we call home.
This morning the National Geographic Sea Lion entered Glacier Bay and before most of us had dawned our rain gear a ranger had boarded the ship in Bartlett Cove. From the mouth of the bay we made our way (65 miles) to the end of Glacier Bay and John Hopkins Inlet.
Plowing through pristine waters we first stopped at the Marble Islands to visit with the creatures that find comfort on the high and dry rocks from their otherwise pelagic lives. In the presence of puffins, murres, guillemots and cormorants we listened to the ruckus of the Steller sea lions who apparently have a few issues with personal space. With many rocks to choose from, it seems they take comfort in closeness and the warmth of their brethren nearby. A marine mammal endangered in parts of its range we felt both blessed and concerned by the presence and future of this amazing creature. Heading north we made our way past Tlingit Point combing the shoreline for creatures big and small. At Gloomy Knob we found two mountain goats and contemplated the precarious slopes surrounding them and their ability to maneuver in steep terrain. We learned that a mountain goat hoof has hard, sharp edges surrounding a soft inner pad. The hoof’s two halves can move independently, and the inner pad acts as a suction cup when weight is applied and the skid proof pads provide excellent grip and traction.
Moving further down the fjord we could not help but wonder what it was like when Captain George Vancouver arrived in 1794 to find a wall of ice at the entrance of the bay. Hard to imagine the veil of ice that once covered all of Southeast Alaska let alone the 65 mile recession that has occurred in the last 200+ years from the fjords of today’s explorations. The fastest recession ever recorded, it is no wonder this national park is used as a living classroom for the studies of succession and recession.
After lunch we approached the face of John Hopkins glacier and were struck not only by the color, the size of the mile wide face but the fact that unlike most glaciers this one is advancing. As a tidewater glacier advances, it pushes a mound of debris called a moraine in front of its terminus, protecting it from deep tidal water. If glacier dynamics force the glacier’s terminus to retreat from its moraine, the deeper water causes the glacier to calve, triggering its retreat.
Brave wet souls embraced the day on bow, port and starboard, enduring the elements that make this corner of Alaska the rainforest we will dream of when back in the climes we call home.
