LeConte Bay & Petersburg
We started our day at the mouth of LeConte Bay. LeConte Bay ends at the LeConte Glacier, the southernmost tidewater glacier in the Northern Hemisphere. This glacier flows extraordinarily quick, pumping out huge quantities of ice, and since it is standing in deep water, many of its bergs are of great size. A terminal moraine stretches across the mouth of LeConte Bay. This shallow bar marks the glacier’s greatest recent advance, catching the big bergs floating out from the glacier.
We readied Zodiacs to go see icebergs, but as we were getting into the boats, a pair of killer whales swam by! With a quick change of plans, our Zodiacs were paralleling the whales, hoping for a closer view. The whales were only partially cooperative. They were clearly transient whales, the whales that hunt seals and porpoises. Since their prey has good hearing and the smarts to understand what they hear, these killer whales must be stealthy. Thus, transient whales spend a lot of time under the water. After some time, we broke away to go see icebergs, which spend much more time on the surface!
We found bergs of every shape and size. Some were diminutive, easy to scoop up from the sea one-handed. Others were huge, and might have made a spacious dry-dock for our ship. They called to mind swans, whales, castles and caves. They were frosty white and the deepest sapphire.
Though bergs were a highlight, one group was lucky enough to spot a wolf trotting along the beach! Intent on its daily rounds, the wolf allowed a close approach before turning off into the forest.
By afternoon we reached Petersburg. Petersburg was founded in the late 1800s as a fishing town. Off the cruise ship circuit, it retains its work-a-day charm. Despite the sometimes-impressive rain, many stretched their legs in town. Some went for a walk through muskeg, the unusual, park-like environment created by sphagnum moss. Others went flightseeing, viewing the whole of the LeConte Glacier from an eagle’s point of view.
At last, we made our way south. Petersburg lies at the end of Wrangell Narrows. This winding passageway is famously tight, and is marked by so many red and green navigational markers that it is nicknamed “Christmas-tree Lane.” During dinner, the lights were flashing merrily around us.
Southeast Alaska brims with scenery, wildlife and culture. Today we enjoyed a rich taste of them all.
