Jagged icy spires known as seracs rose from the sea at the face of Margerie Glacier, a spectacular place to wake up. A National Park Service Naturalist, Andrea Eide, and Faith Grant, a Tlingit Interpreter with Alaska Native Voices, boarded our ship last night to join us for our day here. Crossing the park boundary at midnight allowed us to travel all the way to the northern limit of the bay by early morning. We watched and lingered in front of the blue-white Margerie with dappled sunlight on the adjacent ridges. Black-legged kittiwakes flew to and from the nearby cliffs. We basked in the glory of this glacial scenery for about an hour. The ship then turned towards Lamplaugh Glacier and on to Jaw Point for a breathtaking view of Johns Hopkins Glacier and snow-capped peaks of the Fairweather Range. Floating ice dotted the still water near the glaciers, and as we continued on our way, a variety of seabirds, numerous sea otters, and a few harbor seals watched us pass.
The scenery changed dramatically throughout the day as we time-traveled from past frozen landscapes to those of the present. From bare rock and ice we started to see alder-covered terrain, then slopes with an occasional Sitka spruce or cottonwood tree. By the time we neared the entrance to the bay at Bartlett Cove, spruce-western hemlock forest enveloped the land, and low wispy clouds laced the sky.
We arrived at the park dock and visitor center area for hikes ashore and an opportunity to see the visitor center, gift shop, and displays. A humpback whale skeleton gave us a new appreciation for the size of these massive creatures. Several trails wind through the forest, along the coastline, or beside a river, and walkers took off in different directions for a fast-paced long hike, a photo walk, a forest loop or independent exploration. Mushrooms of all types, like the Russula pictured, poked up through the moss that blanketed the young forest.
Kim Heacox is a well-known author, National Geographic photographer, and storyteller and lives in the nearby community of Gustavus. It was a real treat for us to have Kim come on board to spin some yarns, sing, and play guitar. As he headed for home, the ship pulled away from the dock towards Icy Strait and new adventures.
