Endicott Arm
At dusk National Geographic Sea Lion left Juneau and headed south in Stephens Passage heading for our morning destination of Holkham Bay. Our ship cruised throughout the night arriving very early in the morning at Holkham Bay, which marks the entrance to Tracy Arm Fords Terror Wilderness area. National Geographic Sea Lion continued on a slow bell making her way up and into Endicott Arm
Before breakfast, this morning the bow of our ship had a few intrepid souls in full rain gear including a pair of binoculars, scanning the waters for wildlife. Soon, close observation was rewarded with the sighting of transient Killer whales. Moving gracefully amongst the icebergs these quiet and stealth hunters were on the prowl. We were located approximately five miles from the face of Dawes Glacier, which marks the eastern end of Endicott Arm. The first sighting claimed four animals, but as we remained on the bow longer it was apparent that there were at least nine killer whales hunting most likely for Harbor seals. In the icy waters at the faces of the glaciers throughout Southeast Alaska, mother Harbor seals take refuge during the birthing season. Transient Killer whales know this and often make their way very quietly among the ice searching visually for Harbor seals.
After a short exit from breakfast, our group returned to the dining room and fortified ourselves for the morning, which was spent in Zodiacs seeing Dawes Glacier. It was a typical and classic day in this coastal temperate rain forest; grey on grey with shades of dark green. It was as if the clouds were actually touching us, at sea level, as we traveled east towards the face of the Glacier. A soft but dense rain was all around everything! One of the advantages of moving about in this kind of weather is how it affects the colors we see around us. On a sunny day sunlight reflects off of objects. On a cloudy, misty day, light is absorbed into every object projecting a rich and saturated color. The mosses, lichens and flowers on the fjord walls, the blue ice and in particular the face of Dawes Glacier all were showing off a myriad of varying colors. Even the crevices of the face of the glacier were a deep blue with just a hint of violet. The icebergs floating freely in 800 feet of water were a dense, deep light blue. The Willow herb a relative of Fireweed decorated the fjord walls with brilliant pink flower that stood out in the muted light. Our entire morning was spent exploring the far eastern end of Endicott Arm just a short nine miles from the Canadian border. National Geographic Sea Lion had followed our Zodiacs closer to the face of the glacier for an easy transfer of the second round of tours. Just before lunch everyone returned for a much-appreciated hot lunch and a chance to get into dry clothing and warm up before our next outing.
During lunch National Geographic Sea Lion moved west down Endicott Arm to the entrance of a smaller fjord called Ford’s Terror. These narrows were named for Harry L. Ford who served as a draftsman and recorder aboard the Patterson a vessel exploring this area from 1888 to 1896. Mr. Ford was sent by HB Mansfield to explore this small fjord in a rowboat! He entered the narrows in slack tide but returned in the middle of the outgoing tide when large rapids and powerful whirlpools made for a terrifying passage! Our exploration was thankfully much calmer. Just after lunch we entered the narrows by Zodiac at the beginning of slack water and had plenty of time to explore inside the tiny fjord. The mists were once again on the surface of the water adding to the sound of many small and large waterfalls on both sides of the fjord. After just over an hour the trade out was made back at National Geographic Sea Lion and the second group re-entered the narrows just as the tide began to change. It would be a little over two hours before the waters would be raging through this narrow passage, just enough time to explore this magical land of waterfalls. As if to give a gift for taking the time to explore Ford’s Terror two Harbor porpoises presented themselves to both groups, a small reminder of the rich and diverse waters that are but a small part of this enormous and unique coastal temperate rain forest.
