The National Geographic Sea Lion entered Glacier Bay National Park early this morning and proceeded to the dock in Bartlett Cove, the site of park headquarters, lodge and campground. At 6:00 a.m. Park Service Ranger Nicole and Cultural Interpreter Faith embarked the vessel to spend the day in the bay with us to relate the dramatic story of this area. There is much scenic, biological, geological and cultural interest in the dynamic 3.3 million acre park comprised of mountains, glaciers, forest, and waterways.
The day was bright and sunny – a lucky treat for us! We first made a slow pass by South Marble Island, home to nesting seabirds and Steller sea lions. It was busy today, with sightings of horned and tufted puffins, black-legged kittiwakes, glaucous-winged gulls, common murres, pigeon guillemots, and pelagic cormorants. Steller sea lions roared and growled as they adjusted themselves on the rocks. A few sea otters floated nearby and a humpback whale popped up suddenly, delighting us with a pass by the ship and a fluke-up dive.
We continued up-bay while in the lounge there was a formal introduction and orientation to Glacier Bay by Nicole and Faith. When we reached Tidal Inlet, a brown bear was found just inside the entrance. We observed it walking along the beach before it disappeared into the shrubbery.
We admired the snowy Fairweather Mountains as we headed toward Gloomy Knob. Mountain goats were quite easy to find on this mound of transformed limestone, which has sparse vegetation. There were nannies with frolicking kids and shaggy animals still shedding their winter coats. It was impressive to see one standing on the ridgeline silhouetted against the blue sky.
At the end of Tarr inlet, our passage was blocked by the Grand Pacific Glacier, which once filled the entire bay with ice, and then retreated 65 miles within historic time. Now it sometimes goes unrecognized, quiet and covered with dark debris, snaking back into Canada. The Margerie glacier enters from the west here, tumbling 21 miles from the Fairweather peaks. It was this active tidewater glacier that rewarded our patience with several large calving events, creating waves around out boat.
This was the northernmost extent of our voyage and we now turned to cruise back down the bay. We turned into Johns Hopkins Inlet as far as Jaw Point to look up to the Johns Hopkins Glacier and the lofty mountains above – a stunning view! We also passed by Lamplugh and Reid Glaciers to complete our glacier viewing for the day.
It was hard to leave the outside decks on this beautiful day, but everyone wanted to attend the programs that Faith and Nicole had to share with us in the lounge. At recap, Ranger Nicole swore in five new Junior Rangers who promised to protect our public lands, places such as Glacier Bay National Park. The young travelers worked hard throughout the day to earn this honor.
After dinner we stopped again in Bartlett Cove and said our goodbyes to our visitors. We had time to visit the skeleton of the humpback whale called Snow, check out the lodge and walk the forest trail. Some guests met a large porcupine along the pathway and birdsong heard in the forest brought a peaceful culmination to our day in this magnificent segment of our planet.
