After running all night around the northern tip of Admiralty Island and down Stephens Passage, we “crossed the bar” at Holcomb Bay at 5 a.m. in order to reach our destination at the South Sawyer Glacier in Tracy Arm-Ford’s Terror Wilderness Area in Southeast Alaska. “The Bar” is a term for the terminal moraine where the bottom of Stephens Passage rises from the depths to around 40 feet and indicates where the Sawyer and South Sawyer Glaciers once formed a magnificent face of ice. We cruised throughout the morning, stopping briefly at the place where the face of Sawyer Glacier now resides, and then moved closer to the South Sawyer Glacier where we disembarked on our expedition landing craft to view waterfalls, icebergs, harbor seals, and glacial calving.
6/14/2025
Read
National Geographic Quest
Southeast Alaska
On the last full day of our voyage, we woke in Endicott Arm near the Dawes Glacier. We spent the morning enjoying Zodiac tours to the face of Dawes Glacier and watched multiple calving events. We were also able to spot several harbor seals, waterfalls, and a couple harbor porpoises on the way. After lunch we had the opportunity to participate in a polar plunge. Forty people decided to brave the frigid water for a short swim. Those of us not eager to jump into glacier water were able to watch from the bow. After the polar plunge, we warmed up on board as we started transiting towards Juneau. On the way, we stopped at a beautiful waterfall to once again admire the amazing natural beauty of Alaska. During our farewell recap, we were treated to a quick visit by a humpback whale. We ended our day with a slideshow made up of our favorite photos and memories of an amazing week on board National Geographic Quest .
