Glacier Bay is an iconic destination, a keystone of Alaska’s natural history. The entire ecosystem is so pristine, wild, and unspoiled that it was declared a National Park in 1980. Carved thousands of years ago by ice thousands of feet thick, glaciers moved like slow-motion juggernauts, pulverizing everything in their path, leaving the Earth’s crust deeply cleaved. As recently as 1750, the entire bay was filled with glacial ice. Since that time, the ice has receded and the ocean has filled the fjords, creating a bay that appears designed by nature to explore by small ship.
The National Geographic Sea Bird’s guests enjoyed a quiet night as the ship was tied up at the National Park Service docks in Bartlett Cove. Before 0600, our Park Rangers and guides were aboard, and the order was given to cast off. It’s 52 nautical miles from the entrance of the bay to the Margerie Glacier at the north end, so an early start was in order to make the most of our daylight hours.
Undaunted by an overcast gray sky, guests with hot coffee gathered on the bow and enjoyed views of the Fairweather Range to our northwest, with at least four peaks over 13,000 feet high. Around the ship various marine mammals and seabirds mustered for their daily forage.
As the breakfast dishes were cleared, the ship paused next to Marble Island, a haul-out for Steller’s sea lions and a known haunt for tufted puffins.
The next stop was at a large nude dome of rock known as “Gloomy Knob,” poking about 1,300 feet above the water. The local rangers say that it got its name from the persistent shroud of fog or mist that hovers over the knob, but today’s gloom remained high up, affording everyone excellent views of some mountain goats that were grazing in places that seemed impossible for any animal to reach. Their ability to climb steep, sheer and almost smooth rocks was thrilling to watch, and once again, the wildlife of Glacier Bay was close enough to afford decent photos.
Soon, it was time to head north towards our ultimate destination—Margerie Glacier. Very little happened for a while, but out patience was rewarded when two enormous chunks of ice calved, crashing into the water with an epic splash!
The rest of the day was spent relaxing as National Geographic Sea Bird sailed south and returned to Bartlett Cove after dinner to drop off our park guides and have a chance for an evening constitution on shore. Another glorious day of adventure comes to a close…
