Glacier Bay National Park
After a slightly earlier wake up call, we started our new day sailing through Glacier Bay National Park. Our Park Ranger and Tlingit Native interpreter were already on board and ready to lead us through Glacier Bay with their knowledge through the day.
South Marble Island was our first destination. The first creatures we could see and hear as we approached were the Steller’s sea lions, which are known to have increased in numbers through the last years. The highlight of South Marble is the birds. Here, hundreds of black-legged kittiwakes build their nests on the small ledges that they can find on the steep walls. Glaucous –winged gulls also nest here, and they typically choose the highest parts of the island. Common murres, tufted puffins, black oystercatchers, and other wonderful birds could be seen on the rocks and flying all around the ship.
Shortly before we reached Gloomy Knob, we had one of the most sought-after sightings that anyone who visits Glacier Bay can wish for. A couple black wolves stood near a salmon spawning stream. Then one by one, three more adults were seen. The stream was active with spawning salmon that would jump at the mouth of the bay, and these wolves were certainly there for that reason. In complete awe, we watched those wolves, and at the same time, two brown bear mothers and their cubs turned rocks on the shoreline. From a single spot we saw a total of nine wolves and seven brown bears! At the last moment, as we were leaving towards Gloomy Knob, four cute wolf pups walked out of the forest wagging their little tails. All the wolves, except for one of the pups showed the typical black coloration of the population around Glacier Bay. One of the pups was light brown and particularly cute. It was still early in the morning, and our wildlife sightings had already been outstanding.
Once sailing near Gloomy Knob, we spotted a handful of mountain goats and even a hoary marmot. Here, mountain goats find protection on the steep ledges, which are not accessible for terrestrial predators.
We kept sailing North through Russell Cut, towards Tarr Inlet, where we started seeing chunks of ice on the water. All that ice announced the proximity of Margerie and Grand Pacific Glaciers. We arrived at the massive faces of those majestic rivers of ice, where we spent some time. The National Geographic Sea lion stood patiently between the two glaciers, and we were lucky enough to see Margerie calving into the sea water a couple times.
Geikie Inlet was the last place where we searched for wildlife. This inlet is stunningly beautiful and also a good place to scan the shorelines with our binoculars. We had a brief sighting of a very large brown bear that slowly headed into the privacy of the woods.
After dinner we tied alongside the dock at Bartlett Cove. We could explore the loop trail, to either stretch our legs, enjoy the temperate rain forest…or maybe both.
