So this is why we came. Glacier Bay – “one of the wildest and most dynamic landscapes on earth”. Access is limited – boats of any size are only allowed in these waters after September first when the harbour seal pups, born on the icebergs away from dangers of wolves and orca whales, are old enough to be on their own. Weather is also a big factor – 100 feet of snow falls here annually (hence the glaciers) – the rest of the time it is rain – thus clouds or fog make viewing the glaciers rare. The day started out with low clouds and rain but by the time we arrived at the entrance to the bay, the clouds lifted and we had a calm, clear day.
We picked up a couple of rangers stationed at a remote outpost at the mouth of the Bay as well as a Tlingit Elder who spent the day with us. They climbed up a rope ladder to come on board. Grey whales surfaced and blew all around us as we slowly entered the bay. We were able to slowly sail right up to the glacier – its face as tall as our ship. We found a good spot on the bow of the ship and watched huge parts of the front of the glacier “calve off” with sounds like rifle cracks and thunder booms accompanying them. As we approached the glacier, we realized that the hundreds of black dots on the ice bits in the water were harbour seals. On our return out of the bay, I spotted a sea otter in a kelp bed rolling on his back to have a snack. We also passed a female Alaskan Brown Bear and her two yearling cubs - (they are called this because they are considered to be a different group from mainland grizzly bears because they feed on salmon and end up with huge bellies at the end of the summer (kind of like cruisers!).
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