Tracy Arm and Williams Cove
Just before 6 AM the ship crossed over ‘the bar,’ the shallow area at the entrance to Tracy Arm. The fjord is barely a mile wide and 25 miles long, and mountains surrounded us on both sides. Evidence of the glaciers’ work showed up in the smooth, rounded mountaintops and U-shaped valleys between them. A few trees clung precariously to steep hillsides, and shrubs filled lower valleys. Down at the shoreline a black bear was investigating something near the tide line; perhaps it had come down for a meal of barnacles. Icebergs in the emerald water hinted at what was ahead.
After breakfast we arrived near the end of Tracy Arm, but our way was stopped by ice. Some were as large as cars, others the size of small houses, and some were serving as resting platforms for harbor seals. We saw many seals on distant pieces of ice, and a few mothers already had tiny seal pups. We could see South Sawyer Glacier in the distance, but we spent time in Zodiacs to take closer looks at Sawyer Glacier. The blue and white ice wall occasionally spilled boulders of ice, and made loud, thunderous noises as it adjusted itself. Arctic terns flew over us; they’ll soon be raising chicks on the gravel near the glacier’s face. We admired the ice, like expensive glass sculptures in shades of white and blue. Tall waterfalls spilled off the bare rock walls, bringing melted snow from above. Higher still, we noticed jagged peaks where glaciers had never rounded the mountain peaks.
During the afternoon, we cruised out of the dramatic fjord, and we had one more opportunity to explore in a spot called Williams Cove. Kayakers and Zodiac cruisers went across the quiet bay to visit a small waterfall, where a mink scurried along the low tide zone, looking for something to eat. Hikers found bear tracks, and even wolf tracks. This is wilderness, and we are the visitors.
