This morning we woke up sailing between the majestic fjords of Tracy Arm. This magnificent scenery is part of the Tracy Arm – Ford’s Terror Wilderness area. Note that Wilderness is spelled with “capital W,” since it is the highest level of protection that any land can have in the United States. The walls rise from the water’s surface all the way up above the low clouds, making us feel small while surrounded by the immensity of it all.
We deployed our landing craft to take a look at the icebergs and Sawyer Glacier. We maneuvered through the ice as we made our way closer to the glacier, and, well bundled up, we enjoyed the peace of this natural space. On one occasion, we heard the “white thunder,” as the Tlingit people would call it. This was the impressive sound of a large part of the glacier falling into the water. These massive calving events are a true phenomena of nature, and today we were lucky to witness one of the most impressive expressions of the earth’s force.
After lunch, we deployed our colorful kayaks to discover some of the hidden corners of the fjord, and the multiplicity of shapes of floating ice. Regardless of the intermittent rain, the most adventurous souls that were out there kayaking discovered the sense of freedom and wilderness of paddling through Tracy Arm. It is very true that there is no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong attire.
