Steaming into Glacier Bay National Park in the middle of the night, guests aboard National Geographic Sea Bird woke to the 250 foot sheer ice wall of the face of Margerie glacier. We admired the blue-white pinnacles of ice called seracs jutting from its surface and the black banded striations of sediment and rocks trapped in the ice flows that adorn its lower reaches. The occasional piece of ice “calved” from the face with a resounding crack to plummet to the tidal inlet below.
After breakfast we continued to the Lamplugh glacier to admire its stunning blue hues before continuing southward in search of wildlife. On our way to Russell Cut we passed two icebergs drifting from the nearby glaciers onto which sea otters had hauled out to groom themselves. Farther along what at first appeared to be a flock of birds in the low fog revealed itself to be an enormous raft of nearly 30 otters all huddled together in the middle of the bay. As we approached the dramatic dolomite cliffs of Gloomy Knob we spotted flocks of surf scoters and tufted puffins with their candy corn bill diving in search of food near the shore. As the low-lying clouds thinned a small group of mountain goats appeared high on the cliffs above. Three goats quickly became six, then ten, then 14 as we honed our search image for these well-camouflaged mountaineers.
After lunch we arrived at South Marble Island, jutting up from the heart of Glacier Bay. Common murre, the northern hemisphere’s answer to penguins, stood serenely on the cliff face amongst the gulls and pelagic cormorants while horned puffins wheeled through the air doing laps around the ship. The stars of the show, however, were the Steller sea lions hauled up in the hundreds and huddled in cuddled mass for warmth and company. Their croaking groans as they protested wet newcomers attempting to join the pile had an almost unearthly quality. Just as we pulled away from South Marble a pod of transient killer whales appeared to comb the seas for hapless sea lions. As we watched them swim around the ship, a massive humpback whale emerged seemingly from nowhere spreading its gaping maw to devour a group of krill.
In the evening we arrived at Bartlett Cove to explore the moss-laden forest. A few brave souls dared the frigid waters taking the “polar plunge” after dinner before all retired to hear the delightful stories of local author, musician, and conservationist Kim Heacox.
