Le Conte Bay & Wrangell Narrows
This morning I felt as if I were in a glass sculpture gallery, wandering close to the art, and seeing how the light changes and bends from different views. The ‘glass’ was white, blue, or perfectly clear ice, and the ‘exhibit’ was constantly changing, moving very, very slowly, and melting. We cruised in Zodiacs amongst chunks of ice – growlers, bergy bits and icebergs – that had broken off the Le Conte glacier, 4 miles up the bay. This is the southernmost tidewater glacier in the hemisphere, and ice which calves from its face drifts down the 8-mile long fjord. What I viewed as wondrous artwork had been highly valued for shipping fish to the lower 48 in the days before refrigeration.
We left the fjord, past icebergs grounded on the terminal moraine at the fjord’s entrance, and headed towards Petersburg. Here we turned southwards into Wrangell Narrows, the narrow channel separating Mitkof and Kupreanof Islands. The ship maneuvered through the narrow channel marked by red and green buoys, day markers and ranges. It is said to be ‘lit up like a Christmas tree’ at night by the blinking red and green lights. Bald eagles perched atop several of these navigation aids.
Larry Hobbs gave a presentation on marine mammals, and then the excited announcement went out: humpback whales had been sighted! Two or three whales lunged at the surface, turning over on their backs. Ahead of us, at least half a dozen more whales surfaced together in the channel called Snow Pass. We watched carefully, and observed that they were cooperatively feeding, surfacing together with mouths open! We had seen this behavior on the first day of the voyage, and to see it twice, and here, is incredibly good fortune. Just as we were preparing to go to the dining room for dinner, we saw killer whales nearby! We watched as a pod of killer whales swam past some feeding Steller sea lions. There was no obvious hunting . . . and our own dinner was put on hold as well. Not only were there cooperatively feeding humpbacks and a pod of killer whales, but sunshine was now streaming through the clouds, and the sky was taking on sunset colors. We were so delighted and excited, we did not know where to look. Chefs came out on deck to soak in the glimpses of sun, humpbacks and orcas. We guessed we might have our dinners as midnight snacks. What could top all of this?! ‘Perhaps wolves,’ we chuckled. And then we saw them: four wolves were walking along the shore, behind the orcas. Now nearly all crewmembers were on deck. We watched in disbelief at the wolves on shore, killer whales close by us, feeding humpback whales and sunset colors on the other side of the ship. This was truly more than we could ever hope for.
On this unforgettable date, we experienced the joy and excitement of these incredible gifts from nature. I am so very grateful.
This morning I felt as if I were in a glass sculpture gallery, wandering close to the art, and seeing how the light changes and bends from different views. The ‘glass’ was white, blue, or perfectly clear ice, and the ‘exhibit’ was constantly changing, moving very, very slowly, and melting. We cruised in Zodiacs amongst chunks of ice – growlers, bergy bits and icebergs – that had broken off the Le Conte glacier, 4 miles up the bay. This is the southernmost tidewater glacier in the hemisphere, and ice which calves from its face drifts down the 8-mile long fjord. What I viewed as wondrous artwork had been highly valued for shipping fish to the lower 48 in the days before refrigeration.
We left the fjord, past icebergs grounded on the terminal moraine at the fjord’s entrance, and headed towards Petersburg. Here we turned southwards into Wrangell Narrows, the narrow channel separating Mitkof and Kupreanof Islands. The ship maneuvered through the narrow channel marked by red and green buoys, day markers and ranges. It is said to be ‘lit up like a Christmas tree’ at night by the blinking red and green lights. Bald eagles perched atop several of these navigation aids.
Larry Hobbs gave a presentation on marine mammals, and then the excited announcement went out: humpback whales had been sighted! Two or three whales lunged at the surface, turning over on their backs. Ahead of us, at least half a dozen more whales surfaced together in the channel called Snow Pass. We watched carefully, and observed that they were cooperatively feeding, surfacing together with mouths open! We had seen this behavior on the first day of the voyage, and to see it twice, and here, is incredibly good fortune. Just as we were preparing to go to the dining room for dinner, we saw killer whales nearby! We watched as a pod of killer whales swam past some feeding Steller sea lions. There was no obvious hunting . . . and our own dinner was put on hold as well. Not only were there cooperatively feeding humpbacks and a pod of killer whales, but sunshine was now streaming through the clouds, and the sky was taking on sunset colors. We were so delighted and excited, we did not know where to look. Chefs came out on deck to soak in the glimpses of sun, humpbacks and orcas. We guessed we might have our dinners as midnight snacks. What could top all of this?! ‘Perhaps wolves,’ we chuckled. And then we saw them: four wolves were walking along the shore, behind the orcas. Now nearly all crewmembers were on deck. We watched in disbelief at the wolves on shore, killer whales close by us, feeding humpback whales and sunset colors on the other side of the ship. This was truly more than we could ever hope for.
On this unforgettable date, we experienced the joy and excitement of these incredible gifts from nature. I am so very grateful.
