What a rare treat it was this morning to wake up to clear blue skies in Glacier Bay, with snow-capped peaks in every direction. As we made our way north, we stopped to watch (and smell) the spectacle of sea lions hauled out on South Marble Island. We saw a variety of sea birds here as well, including the horned puffin – an exciting find! In each new area we explored we found more and more wildlife: a mother brown bear and her cub exploring the intertidal zone, mountain goats perched on precarious cliffs, sea otters munching on echinoderms, and humpback whales sending spray into the sun.
By lunchtime we had made our way to the face of the John Hopkins Glacier. We listened to the thunderous sounds of shifting and cracking ice and admired the complex patterns of folded ice and rocky debris. Throughout the afternoon, our cultural interpreter Lee and our ranger Molly told us stories about the human history and natural history of Glacier Bay National Park.
We watched the bare rock turn to alder thickets and then to spruce forests as we made our way south, tracing the development of the temperate rain forest over time. To cap off an amazing day, we got off the ship in Bartlett Cove to walk around in the old-growth forests near the mouth of the bay.
