Search results

Friday | July 15

Endicott Arm & Dawes Glacier

“The earth, that is sufficient I do not want the constellations any nearer, I know they are very well where they are, I know they suffice for those who belong to them.” --Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, “Song of the Open Road” (1855)

We lift anchor at 0500 at Wood Spit and enter Holkham Bay, the outlet of both the Tracy and Endicott Arm fiords. We take the route up the Endicott in a thick fog. I assure guests that we should see a clearing close to the glaciers. High pressure is usual near the icefield surrounding the peaks of the Coast Range.

The cold, heavy air sinks down and pushes away the Low Pressure system from the face of the tidewater glacier. As soon as we get within a couple of miles, the fog lifts and we see blue skies and sunshine!

Very little brash ice is seen…mainly growlers with only a few bergy bits and ice-bergs near the spectacular Dawes Glacier. We disembark for small boat tours and stop about ¼-mile away from the 200-foot face of the tidewater glacier. Several small calvings produce the surprisingly loud “white thunder”. The Tlingit Indians had a tribe named after the sound made by the dropping of ice: Sumdum.

We enjoy seeing Arctic Terns diving down for small fish or resting on growlers. Seals were seen frolicking in the white-water of cascading waterfalls.

Two Tongass National Forest Service wilderness kayak rangers paddle over and come aboard for answering questions. Kevin Hood talks about the history of the Wilderness Act and answered questions about harbor seal census counts.

The most amazing thing Ranger Hood shared during his excellent talk was the 2009-2010 studies of the Dawes Glacier. Laser altimetry showed that the Dawes Glacier had thinned or deflated 70 meters in one year, making it one of the fastest wastage and melting areas in the world. Change is happening at a dramatic pace here in the 100-mile long Stikine Icefield!

After dropping the kayaks and the rangers off of our swim-step aft of the vessel, we search hard along the shoreline for four-legged furry animals. We see hundreds of Surf Scoters, otherwise known as the “poor-mans’ puffin” for the similar appearance to the Tufted Puffin. The latter is typically found nesting on protected islands closer to the Gulf of Alaska or in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. On the north shoreline, we see the beautiful blooms of the fireweed.

Outside of the Endicott Arm in Stephens Passage, we are lucky to find a pod of killer whales.

We are happy to see many kinds of behavior such as spy-hopping, lob-tailing and breaching.

A young orca was seen surfacing next to its mother.

We suspect these orcas are residents as it looks like they are surrounding and echo-locating for fish. We watch them for quite some time as they happen to be swimming north at the same slow pace that we are motoring.

Anchorage for this evening is just outside of the Taku Inlet. It is the Captains’ Dinner tonight and Marce introduces all of the crew to the rousing applause of our friendly guests.

A bit of sadness is felt as it was time to pack suitcases after a slide show presentation in the lounge shows all of the highlights over the last week of cruising.

is bustling this morning as we dock alongside the pier adjacent to large cruise ships and a float plane dock

A local tells me that the recent U.S. Census had between 5 and 6,000 people moving out of the capital city of Juneau, a drop from around 31,000 to 25k over the last 10 years.

Crew work hard in anticipation of another group that will board in less than 8 hours.

Friday | July 1st

The Green Flush and an Ice Swim

Speaking of plankton, I awake and visit the head (bathroom) without turning on the light and shout “Wow” several times, loud enough to awaken my cabin-mate. I couldn’t contain my enthusiasm.

You’ve heard of the green flash? Been there, seen that. You have to see the green flush! I will have to take a picture of it next time I see it. You see, our septic system works on sea water. In just a few liters, you can have tens of thousands of microscopic organisms. On rare occasions, the entire bowl in the head is awash with a blue-green light. When the head is flushed, hundreds of miniature lights sparkle and swirl. It’s as if you are in the beginning of a Star Trek or Star Wars movie with distant stars moving quickly past the camera.

I run out of my room and start inviting my fellow shipmates over to see it, but it sure does take a lot of coaxing to get anyone interested. Perhaps it’s because the area inside our bathrooms are so small…standing in the center with your arms akimbo is all the room you have to maneuver.

What I learned years ago is that the light is caused by a luciferin-luciferace enzymatic reaction, a luminescence of a biological kind, otherwise known as bio-luminescence. If I remember correctly, the organisms that cause this are often Noctiluca, Gymnodinium, Ceratium and Gonyaulax. What’s amazing is that 80% of the organisms that live in the bathy-pelagic or deep water realm of the ocean exhibit some type of bioluminescence in order to attract mates, lure food or just communicate amongst each other.

The M/V Wilderness Discoverer motors into Endicott Arm to the Dawes Glacier. A commotion suddenly erupts at the stern of the vessel. A large group convenes near the swim step for the newest rendition of the Polar Bear Club. I grab a pair of swim trunks, and squeeze my way forward to the platform. I dive in and swim out to the nearest “growler” ice-berg. I climb up, imitate a harbor seal by laying down on the ice and look back at the ship. The water clears out of my ears and I hear all the cheering and invitations to join folks in one of the ships hot tubs. I dive back in and enjoy the sensation of the thirty-something degree Fahrenheit water.

In case you haven’t guessed, I am a pagophilic or ice-loving mammal just like the walruses, seals and whales that inhabit waters in Alaska. I may not have as much blubber, but the feeling of cold water is fabulous, like drinking 20 cups of coffee without having any jitters. A clean, invigorating sensation, for sure!

The other highlight of the day is motoring up Fords Terror, a spectacular fiord that John Muir named “Many Yosemite”.

In his book “Travels in Alaska” Muir wrote: “…we found ourselves on a smooth mirror reach between granite walls of the very wildest and most exciting description, surpassing in some ways those of the far-famed Yosemite Valley. We drifted silent and awe-stricken beneath the shadows of the mighty cliffs…a grander array of rocks and waterfalls I have never yet beheld in Alaska…one of my brightest and best of all my Alaska days.”

Small boats are the best way to see so much grandeur in so short a time. Waterfalls were everywhere along with sheer cliffs and outstanding scenery. Fords Terror would be well worth a longer visit, preferably several days via sea kayak.

Friday | June 17  

“I DATED YOUR SISTER!”

This is what I jokingly tell my guests on my 2nd small-boat tour after meeting Tongass National Forest wilderness ranger Solan Jensen.  We could see his food hanging in a tree above his camp adjacent to where we drop off guests for a low-tide circumambulation. Solan greets us and introduces us to fellow ranger Iris Neary. I knew Solans’ name had sounded familiar!  I met his sister back in the mid-90’s in Juneau.  We worked for the Glacier Bay Tours and Cruises (bankrupt since 2006) and I have not had the good fortune to work with her since that bygone era.

 

Aleria now works as the NOAA marine mammal stranding coordinator for the Alaska region.  Her brother Solan is an expert naturalist and is working another year as a kayak ranger.  One of our guests recognized Solan as the naturalist he had on a vacation to the Antarctic region years earlier.  During the northern hemisphere winter (Austral summer), Solan works for Quark Expeditions.  Feels like a small world today!

We tour the biologically diverse tide-pools.  Folks are mesmerized watching the standing waves of the outgoing tide that passes through this narrow part of the fiord.

Later we cruise up to the Dawes Glacier, a tide-water glacier that discharges 1000’s of tons of ice each day during calving events.  Harbor seals “surf” the bergs as they are carried away from the 250-foot wall of ice on the outgoing tide.