Tracy Arm
We crossed the bar early in the morning and were cruising into the fiord of Tracy Arm as most of us awoke. It was overcast, but the views of mountain tops were clear. Captain Graves took the ship in close to a waterfall called Hole-in-the-Wall. This feature was formed by stones that rolled around eroding the hole, as seen in the photo. Water fell through space as we poked in and felt the light spray.
“There’s a black bear,” one of our naturalists announced. We made out a bear near a waterfall that was trying to cross a small stream. The only problem was that the stream was nearly vertical and was made up of a series of long cascades. The animal found a snow field that bridged the obstacle and was soon out of sight in the thick alders.
Fantastic glacially carved scenery surrounded us as we made our way toward the Sawyer Glaciers. It’s difficult to ride through Tracy Arm without thinking about how much fun it would be to explore every valley, hike the ridges your eyes follow, and sit with the mountain goats we saw from afar. Hanging valleys entered from the sides, ridge lines ended abruptly where they had been truncated to form the “U” shaped fiord, and deep scratches on nearby rock walls were features that revealed what carved this masterpiece.
Our midday was spent watching masses of ice fall from Sawyer and later South Sawyer Glaciers. Over 550 harbor seals lay on the ice with their pups. This area provided protection so the pups could grow to fat sausages before weaning.
During the afternoon we kayaked and hiked in Williams Cove. The quiet waters offered peace and solitude and a way to be on your own. Others walked in a forest full of Sitka spruce and western hemlock. Both activities were great introductions to our unfolding adventure.
We crossed the bar early in the morning and were cruising into the fiord of Tracy Arm as most of us awoke. It was overcast, but the views of mountain tops were clear. Captain Graves took the ship in close to a waterfall called Hole-in-the-Wall. This feature was formed by stones that rolled around eroding the hole, as seen in the photo. Water fell through space as we poked in and felt the light spray.
“There’s a black bear,” one of our naturalists announced. We made out a bear near a waterfall that was trying to cross a small stream. The only problem was that the stream was nearly vertical and was made up of a series of long cascades. The animal found a snow field that bridged the obstacle and was soon out of sight in the thick alders.
Fantastic glacially carved scenery surrounded us as we made our way toward the Sawyer Glaciers. It’s difficult to ride through Tracy Arm without thinking about how much fun it would be to explore every valley, hike the ridges your eyes follow, and sit with the mountain goats we saw from afar. Hanging valleys entered from the sides, ridge lines ended abruptly where they had been truncated to form the “U” shaped fiord, and deep scratches on nearby rock walls were features that revealed what carved this masterpiece.
Our midday was spent watching masses of ice fall from Sawyer and later South Sawyer Glaciers. Over 550 harbor seals lay on the ice with their pups. This area provided protection so the pups could grow to fat sausages before weaning.
During the afternoon we kayaked and hiked in Williams Cove. The quiet waters offered peace and solitude and a way to be on your own. Others walked in a forest full of Sitka spruce and western hemlock. Both activities were great introductions to our unfolding adventure.
