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Iceberg from kayak, Williams Cove
Intertidal zone, with Sea Bird, Williams Cove
Iceberg from kayak, Williams Cove
Waterfall from kayak, Williams Cove
Our overnight travelling on board the Sea Bird was southwards from Juneau through the beautifully calm but icy cold glacial waters of Stephen’s Passage.
At 6.00 a.m. we awoke to find ourselves now heading up into Tracy Arm, a 35 km long fjord which in some places is only 100 m wide. On either side of the boat we had incredibly steep mountains with smooth near vertical cliffs plunging in some places 600 m into the fjord. With plenty of recent rain, these glacial carved fjord walls were dominated by numerous waterfalls.
When we reached sight of South Sawyer glacier we stopped. With the depth of water being on average 300 m deep, dropping an anchor was not a possibility.
The four zodiacs were unloaded from the top deck area and we prepared for our visit by dressing in thermals, thick jumpers, beanies, gloves, parkas and gumboots.
With ten people in our zodiac we headed up towards the glacier’s toe taking a weaving path in amongst the icebergs that were dotted here, there and everywhere. Some icebergs were very large but most were small and of fascinating sculpted shapes with some having slender stems and large tops making them look like gigantic ice mushrooms.
The ice floes just off the toe of South Sawyer glacier were home to a large number of harbour seals that seemed oblivious to our presence. The zodiac took us to a point where we were quite close to the iceberg but sufficiently clear if there was to be a large calving where massive waves can be produced.
South Sawyer glacier was impressive with its deep blue ice walls and the pendulous cliffs of ice overhanging the sea. We were informed that the toe of the glacier extends underwater to a depth of over 60 m.
On three or four occasions, massive blocks of ice, some the size of a multi-storey building tumbled into the sea and the deafening sound associated with these falls echoed around the fjord. The forces of nature were certainly on display this morning and our guide said that these were amongst the best calving ice falls he’d seen this summer.
We returned to the boat and after lunch moved down the fjord to near the entrance to Tracy Fjord and went into a side branch called Williams Cove.
We took a zodiac into shore and with Gretchen as our naturalist guide, did a one hour walk in the rain forest following a so called ‘bear trail’ in amongst the giant western hemlock and arctic spruce trees.
After our walk we kayaked (in a two person kayak) out into Williams Cove and photographed a reasonable sized iceberg being acutely conscious of the dangers in being too close and of icebergs rolling without warning. We then ventured another kilometre or so across to the furthest shore to view an impressive waterfall that due to the recent rains was in full flow.
With rain being a near constant for much of the day, it was then nice to return to our cabin and dry out a bit before cocktail hour started in the lounge at 6.00 p.m.
Despite the rainy weather today we’ve had some amazing experiences and look forward to many more to come as the activity lists for future days looks equally enthralling.