Glacier Bay National Park
It was a picture perfect day in Glacier Bay National Park.
The evening before, we had picked up our Glacier Bay Ranger, which allowed us to head into the park at midnight. At 4:30am, early risers saw the first glimpse of alpenglow on the Fairweather Range at John Hopkins inlet. A purple bathrobe, P.J.’s and even bare feet were all witness to this spectacular morning sunrise. Blue skies set the stage for our day.
Soon we spotted our first bears of the day, a brown bear with a large cinnamon cub as they meandered down the shoreline. We continued on to view Marjorie and Grand Pacific glaciers and hopefully witness a calving. We listened to the shotgun-like cracks and booms of the glaciers, watching fragments break and fall off the dramatic 200’ high wall of ice. The cascades of tumbling ice made enormous splashes with rolling waves rocking our boat a quarter mile from the glacier’s face.
Near the glaciers we enjoyed wonderful views of tufted puffins (photo) and the less often seen horned puffins. Down the shore, we found more brown bears. Two of them were displaying an interesting behavior. A smaller one was ahead, running at times, keeping its distance, looking back, then moving ahead again. Perhaps a female being pursued by a male... Our ranger, Jessica, explained that it is the mating season.
As we approached Gloomy Knob we found seven mountain goats on its rocky ledges. There was a mother and small kid, and also a larger youngster that appeared to be “in a pickle,” stuck in a steep-sided chasm. After numerous aborted scrambles, it finally gathered up its courage and its hind end, and leapt to a more navigable slope (to our collective sigh of relief). With that youngster safe, we turned our attention to the mother and kid. Two bald eagles flew across the face of the cliff, and the mother goat quickly nudged its tiny kid into the protection of a nearby overhang. It then stepped to cover its baby as the eagles soared nearby.
With the sun beating down on us, we turned into Tidal Inlet where we sighted a solitary black bear, but it soon slipped into the cover of the forest. Just as lunch finished on the upper deck, we sighted more bears. This time it was four brown bears, possibly a large male pursuing a sow with two large cubs. We continued on back down the bay, pausing at South Marble Island to watch throngs of Steller sea lions on the rocky shores. Puffins and kittiwakes reeled about the area, and a humpback whale cruised lazily past. Ultimately we docked at Bartlett Cove for walks ashore in the moss-laden forest, and along the shoreline meadows amid myriad wild flowers.
This endless day drew to a close with a terrific orange sunset that lingered until after 10:00 pm over the Fairweather Mountain range far in our wake.
It was a picture perfect day in Glacier Bay National Park.
The evening before, we had picked up our Glacier Bay Ranger, which allowed us to head into the park at midnight. At 4:30am, early risers saw the first glimpse of alpenglow on the Fairweather Range at John Hopkins inlet. A purple bathrobe, P.J.’s and even bare feet were all witness to this spectacular morning sunrise. Blue skies set the stage for our day.
Soon we spotted our first bears of the day, a brown bear with a large cinnamon cub as they meandered down the shoreline. We continued on to view Marjorie and Grand Pacific glaciers and hopefully witness a calving. We listened to the shotgun-like cracks and booms of the glaciers, watching fragments break and fall off the dramatic 200’ high wall of ice. The cascades of tumbling ice made enormous splashes with rolling waves rocking our boat a quarter mile from the glacier’s face.
Near the glaciers we enjoyed wonderful views of tufted puffins (photo) and the less often seen horned puffins. Down the shore, we found more brown bears. Two of them were displaying an interesting behavior. A smaller one was ahead, running at times, keeping its distance, looking back, then moving ahead again. Perhaps a female being pursued by a male... Our ranger, Jessica, explained that it is the mating season.
As we approached Gloomy Knob we found seven mountain goats on its rocky ledges. There was a mother and small kid, and also a larger youngster that appeared to be “in a pickle,” stuck in a steep-sided chasm. After numerous aborted scrambles, it finally gathered up its courage and its hind end, and leapt to a more navigable slope (to our collective sigh of relief). With that youngster safe, we turned our attention to the mother and kid. Two bald eagles flew across the face of the cliff, and the mother goat quickly nudged its tiny kid into the protection of a nearby overhang. It then stepped to cover its baby as the eagles soared nearby.
With the sun beating down on us, we turned into Tidal Inlet where we sighted a solitary black bear, but it soon slipped into the cover of the forest. Just as lunch finished on the upper deck, we sighted more bears. This time it was four brown bears, possibly a large male pursuing a sow with two large cubs. We continued on back down the bay, pausing at South Marble Island to watch throngs of Steller sea lions on the rocky shores. Puffins and kittiwakes reeled about the area, and a humpback whale cruised lazily past. Ultimately we docked at Bartlett Cove for walks ashore in the moss-laden forest, and along the shoreline meadows amid myriad wild flowers.
This endless day drew to a close with a terrific orange sunset that lingered until after 10:00 pm over the Fairweather Mountain range far in our wake.
