This morning National Geographic Sea Lion docked at Bartlett Cove, the gateway to Glacier Bay National Park. Intrepid photographers left the ship at the crack of 4:00 a.m. and explored the shores of the cove, basked in both the light of early morning sun and moon and loons calling. Picking up National Park Ranger Brad and Faith, a cultural interpreter, we began our journey into the heart of a landscape that not long ago was completely covered in ice.
Our first stop was South Marble Island where we got our first look at puffins (amongst other bird species) and observed quite a congregation of Steller sea lions both in the water and hauled out on the rocks. A humpback whale passed us as we steamed south for Tidal Inlet just to add to the mélange of wildlife sightings of the morning. In Tidal Inlet a bear was spotted but chose to hide from our seeking, but we were rewarded as we came out of the inlet and rounded the bend towards Gloomy Knob. A beautiful coastal brown bear combed the shores with a determined pace and soon took to the hills where another bear was then spotted. With not a cloud in the sky, an incredibly rare event for this wet corner of Alaska, most everyone took advantage of the morning either on bow or stern.
Travelling 60 miles into the fjord we were bestowed a cloudless day and views of Mount Fairweather (15,300’/4663m), one of the world's highest coastal mountains and the highest peak in British Columbia. It is located 12 miles east of the Pacific Ocean on the border of Alaska and western B.C. Most of the mountain lies within Glacier Bay National Park, while the summit is located in Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park, B.C. The mountain was named on May 3, 1778 by Captain James Cook apparently for the unusually good weather encountered at the time. Despite its name, Mount Fairweather has generally harsh weather conditions. It receives over 100” of precipitation each year (mostly snow) and clouds usually hide the summit from view.
Approaching the face of Margerie Glacier we saw bald eagles and harbor seals on ice. Sitting amidst epic surroundings on a sunny day at the face of a tidewater glacier in Alaska one has to wonder if life gets any better.
