In the still of the morning, before the sun found the sky, we entered Glacier Bay National Park. The ease with which Alaska can take one’s breath away is known, but few places in Southeast Alaska do so with such majesty. Boasting the highest coastal mountain range upon our planet, one can spin endlessly viewing the variety of ways that the rocks rise out of the sea. Treated to new company, we had a park ranger on board to share her personal knowledge of the area, as well as a native Tlinget cultural interpreter to speak toward the rich history that her people have with the area.
Our first encounter was at South Marble Island—a fixture of the park, touted for its mass of bird life. On our approach we began to hear the cacophonous roars of Steller sea lions hauled out upon the rocks. Soon the puffins began to appear bobbing along the rocks edge and nesting in the crevasses of the rocks, even great blue herons and bald eagles circled above frightening the kittiwakes from their perch.
Travelling to Gloomy Knob, we put our binoculars to search mode and were rewarded by sightings of mountain goats clinging to the merest of perches. Throughout the day sea otters dotted the waters–chewing on recent acquisitions that they had foraged from the seafloor. But, as always, the star of the day was Margerie Glacier, the northernmost point of the park. It was simply fantastic, and our guests could not get enough of the serac spires at its top and the bracing anticipation of the next calving event. Not one to disappoint, the glacier shed huge chunks of ice to cause wonder and noise, enough to etch into our memories. As if this were not enough, as we headed south toward Bartlet Cove for an evening hike, we encountered a small group of humpback whales. It was a day of encounters that will not soon to be forgotten.
