We began our daily expedition by riding Zodiacs to Dawes Glacier. There, we saw several harbor seals, numerous massive waterfalls, more picturesque fjords, and of course, the breathtaking edge of Dawes Glacier amidst hundreds of floating ice chunks of various sizes and shapes. Dawes Glacier is a tidewater glacier, meaning that it ends in the water. A section of this glacier was high above in the fjords, almost falling off into a U-shaped valley below, thus given the name a hanging glacier. As if the incredible scenery wasn’t enough, we also witnessed some calving, and a huge iceberg split in half, rolling around causing huge waves!
Later, we cruised out to a place with icy 40°- 50° water—perfect for an Arctic plunge! Several brave souls dove into the freezing water, and nearly everyone else watched from the bow, laughing & cheering as one by one they tested themselves against several seconds of the salty Alaskan ocean. Amongst the crazy few who leapt in the water were the young, the old, the crazy, the bold, the freezing, and the cold. Overall, we were all ecstatically happy.
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.
