Petersburg and Le Conte Bay, Southeast Alaska
This morning we woke up in the small fishing village of Petersburg. Established about one hundred years ago, the town has a fine harbor near rich fishing grounds, and is also near Le Conte Glacier, a perfect source of ice for preserving the catch in the days before large-scale refrigeration units were available in this remote area. We tied up amongst the local fishing fleet, and prepared for our morning’s activities. A large group headed off across Wrangell Narrows to enjoy a walk to a bog in Tongass National Forest. On the way to the bog we walked through a lovely temperate rainforest and were fortunate to see a black-tailed deer very close to the trail. Soon the trees thinned out and gave way to a dense mat of mosses and grasses, as well as some pretty flowers. In the bog it paid to “look small” and we found numerous carnivorous plants called sundews. A small, energetic group decided to try and hike up Petersburg Mountain and by the time they arrived back they seemed to have had quite an adventure climbing over two thousand feet of elevation.
A few guests opted for a flight seeing tour of Le Conte glacier. They reported thrilling views of the Stikine Ice Field and were interested to see large crevasses and other glacial features from this unique perspective. Also of interest was Petersburg itself, we had ample time to explore town and to do some shopping along the main street.
The Le Conte glacier is the southernmost tidewater glacier in North America. It flows out of the Stikine Ice Field, thousands of feet up in Alaska’s Coastal Range. Known for the massive icebergs that it produces, the glacier is named after famed nineteenth century geologist Joseph Le Conte. The ice conditions were in our favor and Captain Kay took the Sea Bird over the shallow bar at the mouth of Le Conte Bay. The large icebergs were widely scattered and we were able to navigate further up the bay than we have been in the past. We made it far enough to have a view of the glacier meeting the sea, and then we launched the Zodiacs, cruising through a maze of ice, to the glacier. In the above picture a Zodiac is framed by a delicate ice arch. There was a cold breeze coming off the glacier and the hot chai served up in the Zodiacs with warmed us up. After all the Zodiacs were back, we gathered in the lounge for recap and then had a Dungeness crab feast capped off crab shell sculpture contest.
This morning we woke up in the small fishing village of Petersburg. Established about one hundred years ago, the town has a fine harbor near rich fishing grounds, and is also near Le Conte Glacier, a perfect source of ice for preserving the catch in the days before large-scale refrigeration units were available in this remote area. We tied up amongst the local fishing fleet, and prepared for our morning’s activities. A large group headed off across Wrangell Narrows to enjoy a walk to a bog in Tongass National Forest. On the way to the bog we walked through a lovely temperate rainforest and were fortunate to see a black-tailed deer very close to the trail. Soon the trees thinned out and gave way to a dense mat of mosses and grasses, as well as some pretty flowers. In the bog it paid to “look small” and we found numerous carnivorous plants called sundews. A small, energetic group decided to try and hike up Petersburg Mountain and by the time they arrived back they seemed to have had quite an adventure climbing over two thousand feet of elevation.
A few guests opted for a flight seeing tour of Le Conte glacier. They reported thrilling views of the Stikine Ice Field and were interested to see large crevasses and other glacial features from this unique perspective. Also of interest was Petersburg itself, we had ample time to explore town and to do some shopping along the main street.
The Le Conte glacier is the southernmost tidewater glacier in North America. It flows out of the Stikine Ice Field, thousands of feet up in Alaska’s Coastal Range. Known for the massive icebergs that it produces, the glacier is named after famed nineteenth century geologist Joseph Le Conte. The ice conditions were in our favor and Captain Kay took the Sea Bird over the shallow bar at the mouth of Le Conte Bay. The large icebergs were widely scattered and we were able to navigate further up the bay than we have been in the past. We made it far enough to have a view of the glacier meeting the sea, and then we launched the Zodiacs, cruising through a maze of ice, to the glacier. In the above picture a Zodiac is framed by a delicate ice arch. There was a cold breeze coming off the glacier and the hot chai served up in the Zodiacs with warmed us up. After all the Zodiacs were back, we gathered in the lounge for recap and then had a Dungeness crab feast capped off crab shell sculpture contest.
