Glacier Bay National Park
At 6 AM we had an unusually early wake-up call; brown bears were on shore near the ship - and wolves, too! As we quietly emerged on deck, we watched a total of five brown bears and three wolves feed on pieces of a whale carcass that had washed ashore months ago. I felt so very privileged to see this, for only in true wilderness can one observe bears and wolves in close proximity to each other, tearing at pieces of a dead whale, at dawn. The light on jagged, snow-covered mountains was glorious. Finally the sun peeked over the mountains and hit the beach, and the two bears that were still eating were illuminated in golden light. They looked very rotund.
From Jaw Point, five miles away from Johns Hopkins Glacier, the view was spectacular: a ribbon of ice flowing and curving downhill toward the fjord. As we approached its face, it looked like a giant wall of fudge swirl ice cream - but it was 25 stories tall. The water had the color of murky mocha. Harbor seals rested on bits of ice floating near the glacier. We heard rumbles like thunder, and now and then, ice crashed down with a splash. There were bright blue skies overhead, spiky mountain peaks more than 10,000 feet tall, and rounded mountains where glaciers had already retreated.
Just as we approached the Grand Pacific Glacier, we sighted a brown bear sow with two cubs running on shore. We watched very quietly, and then the ship moved over towards Margerie Glacier, which is a very white, clean-looking glacier. Tall spires of ice give it a jagged appearance
At Gloomy Knob, mountain goats were lying low, and challenging to locate on the rocky terrain. After we turned into Tidal Inlet, we found several more mountain goats high on green mountain slopes. The birders were delighted with harlequin ducks, scoters and loons in the protected waters of the bay.
We approached South Marble Island in calm conditions – quiet enough to hear the groans and mumbles of the Steller sea lions. Black legged kittiwakes perched on their nests on rock cliffs. Pelagic cormorants perched lower down on the rocks, and a tufted puffin flew low in front of the ship, beating its wings quickly.
What a perfect, beautiful, full day in Glacier Bay. It ended with Park Ranger Emily playing the violin, as we reflected on the glaciers, the amazing retreat of ice over last 200 years, and the return of life – so much of which we saw today.
