This morning the ship traveled up Endicott Arm, weaving its way through floating ice to arrive at the face of Dawes’ Glacier, deep within the Tracy Arm Ford’s-Terror Wilderness Area. Dawes’ Glacier terminates in the water as a sheer wall of ice, allowing for stunning views of its cool, blue color. The glacier is actively calving, dropping massive chunks of ice into the water below. We boarded our zodiacs for a closer look and encountered cascading waterfalls, curious harbor seals, arctic terns, and a thunderous show from the glacier itself.
8/1/2019
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National Geographic Venture
Baranof Island
After exploring the glaciers and open waters of the northern Inside Passage, we sailed south through the night and returned to the starting point of our journey, Baranof Island. This island, along with Admiralty to the east and Chichagof to the north, is home to one of the highest densities of brown bears in the world. To search for evidence of the bears as they begin their yearly salmon feast and continue our exploration of the temperate rainforest, we anchored in Kelp Bay to kayak and hike the shoreline throughout the morning. Later in the afternoon, we welcomed Dr. Andy Szabo of the Alaska Whale Foundation to learn more about ongoing research taking place in Alaska on the unique bubblenet feeding behavior we witnessed earlier in the trip. Only in Alaska can you experience the forest, salmon, bears, and whales all in one day.
