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For information on the Harriman Retraced Expedition e-mail: harriman2001@science.smith.edu |
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Weather is overcast with a
light rain at times. Passengers, scholars, and crew
boarded the Clipper Odyssey today at 4:30 P.M.
I have never been on a large cruise vessel before, and
although this is a relatively small one by today's
standards, I can't help but make comparisons to the
George W. Elder of the 1899 expedition. It
seems to me that there are quite a few similarities.
Even though the technological advances over the past hundred
years create differences such as increased speed and
navigational abilities, the Odyssey and the
Elder represent the finest of luxury passenger
ships. I settle into my room which looks out over the
sea, and it reminds me of being in a very nice hotel.
There is a gymnasium, a pool, several dining rooms, and lots
of deck space in which to enjoy the great outdoors.
(Hopefully the rains of Southeast Alaska will let up and
allow us to use these great decks.) The dinner call has been made
and after looking at a menu consisting of steak, seafood,
and vegetables, it appears we are in for the first of many
outstanding meals.
Weather is overcast with
light rain. We awoke today in Cape Fox and
were greeted by the sounds of ravens and eagles chattering
in the trees of the not-too-distant shore. We had come
here to bring back the objects that were removed from this
Tlingit village site 102 years ago. We were greeted by
three Tlingit women and participated in a small but very
powerful ceremony in which the women welcomed back their
elders who had been absent for so many years. The
smoke from the tiny fire drifted down the beach while the
women sang songs. Their voices carried on the same breeze as
the smoke into the forest and out to sea. When they
finished, the silence left in the wake of their song was
broken by the sounds of the ravens calling in the trees
above. Later, in a ceremony in
Ketchikan, a Tlingit elder said, "Although this day will
soon pass, you will continue to remember it in your
dreams."
Weather is overcast with
sporadic rains. We spotted our first humpback
whale this afternoon while passing through Wrangell
Narrows. By the end of the day we had seen several
whales, harbor seals, and many seabirds such and common
murres, tufted puffins, and marbled murrelets.
Winding our way through the
narrow waterway, we were followed by the Alaska State Ferry.
This ferry is the major source of transportation to the
communities along the inside passage as only three Alaskan
towns in Southeast are connected by road to the
Alaska-Canada Highway. The advent of the state ferry
system is a major change since Harriman first came to this
place, and has played a major role in the development of the
communities along its route. As we are followed into
Petersburg by what some folks refer to as the "blue canoes,"
because ferry boats have a blue hull, clear-cut areas of
forest show the significant role that logging has played
over the past century.
Weather is
overcast. We awoke around 5:00A.M. to
watch as the Odyssey navigated the glacial fiord of
Tracy Arm. We were seemingly alone as we passed
through the early morning fog, surrounded by huge granite
cliffs on both sides. The beauty is stunning and I am
reminded a bit of the waterways of Prince William Sound
where I have lived for the past six years. Harbor seals bask
on ice flows as we approach the Sawyer Glacier at the head
of the arm and Bonaparte Gulls fly overhead. The color
of the ice is a deeper blue than in any glacier I have seen
before. This evening we had a reception
at the Governor's Mansion in Juneau. While there, the
members of the expedition presented the governor and the
people of Alaska with a silver bowl commemorating this
retracing of Harriman's expedition. Designed by Paul
Revere and made of silver, it was placed next to the bowl
that was originally given to Harriman by his shipmates upon
completion of the first expedition. The differences
between the two bowls (one smooth and elegant, the other
carved and intricate) as they sat there upon the piano
provided a perfect metaphor for the changes that had taken
place in Alaska since the time of the first expedition.
Weather is overcast with
clouds finally lifting in the evening to provide beautiful
views of the mountains towering over Lynn Canal as we depart
Skagway. Skagway, boomtown, gold rush
fever. John Muir described Skagway in 1899 by saying
it looked like an anthill that someone had stirred with a
stick. Twenty thousand people inhabited this tiny
geographic area 100 years ago. The lure was
gold, and whether they were there to mine the gold or "mine
the miners" they came in throngs. Today the days of
the gold rush are long past but another boom has sprung up
in its place. As we moored up at the Skagway
docks we were surrounded by five cruise ships,
dwarfing what I had previously considered to be our
relatively large ship. Sitting next to these massive
floating structures it appeared as if our boat, the
Odyssey, would suffice as no more than a life raft
for these cruise ships. It was obvious that Skagway's
gold rush has been transformed into a tourist rush. In
fact on this particular day, these cruise ships had
increased the population of Skagway from its approximately
800 year round residents to a town of ten thousand.
Peoples' reasons for coming to Skagway may have changed, but
Muir's observations of a century ago still ring
true.
Weather is overcast with
patches of blue sky occasionally opening over the
water. Our journey to Sitka today was
framed by incredible wildlife encounters. Early in the
morning we stood on deck and watched a small Steller sea
lion repeatedly toss a salmon into the air while swallowing
small chunks of its flesh. Gulls hovered above catching
smaller bits of salmon as the sea lion ate.
A half-hour later we
spotted our first brown bear of the trip, slowly making its
way across the grasses on a nearby shore. As the bear
moved up the shoreline we noticed a second- year cub that
had been obscured from view was ambling along beside
its mother. Watching these two move up the beach was
an incredible way to start the day. In the evening, as we departed
Sitka, we passed a nearby island with thousands of nesting
seabirds. Common murres, thick-billed murres, tufted
puffins, pelagic cormorants, gulls, and rhinoceros auklets
were spotted as the sun finally broke through the thick grey
curtain of clouds that has accompanied us for most of the
trip.
Weather overcast at Point
Adolphus, clearing above the Fairweather Range as we enter
Glacier Bay's fiords. We awoke at 5:20A.M. at Point
Adolphus to the largest concentration of humpback whales I
have ever seen. Cruising along the point, the whales
were feeding on a rich food source brought about by the
mixing of several large bodies of water. A group
of around eight appeared to be bubble feeding, a technique
by which the whales encircle small fish with a "net" of
bubbles and then swim up through the column of water they
have trapped the fish within. Watching the water
bubble and boil with whales was spectacular to
witness. Although our boat was stationary the feeding
activity of the whales brought these creatures close
enough to smell the air being exhaled through their
blowholes. Let me tell you it is not a pleasant smell
but rather something akin to morning breath mixed with
rotting fish. Today we were also treated with
a clearing in the weather just as we came within sight of
the Fairweather Range. Looking up at what was
sometimes as much as 15,000 feet of elevation difference
between our ship at sea level and the surrounding mountains
kept almost every ship member on deck for the length of our
stay. A cry heard from one
enthusiastic member of the expedition well before 6:00A.M.
as we watched the full body breaching of an adult humpback
encapsulated the feeling of the entire day.
"WAAAHOOOOO!!!!!!" he screamed at the top of his lungs,
while dancing a little jig in front of the bridge.
Weather is overcast.
We arrived in Yakutat this
morning and were greeted by a group of students and
community members. This was the first time our Young
Explorer Team had an opportunity to meet other young people
on the expedition. Their chemistry was great and shy
introductions quickly led to energetic conversation.
The personal tour of the Odyssey was a big hit and
all the Young Explorers quickly disappeared with their
Yakutat counterparts in tow. We had a scenic visit to
Hubbard Glacier and an informative presentation by the young
people of Yakutat. This was all over shadowed by the
enthusiasm shown by two of the Yakuta young folks whom I
found out on the back deck with very large grins on their
faces. After asking what the smiles were about they
replied, "Can you believe it, the pop is free, and you can
have all you want!!!" We convened that evening in the
Yakutat Community Hall to watch the Yakutat Tlingit Dancers
and later set sail further into the Gulf of Alaska bound for
Kayak Island where Bering first landed on Alaskan soil and
Steller conducted his first naturalist survey.
Weather is overcast with high
clouds, clearing in the afternoon. As we approach Kayak Island this
morning, the bird life is abundant. Crossing the Gulf
of Alaska we have already seen quite a few black-footed
albatross. A low fog hangs over the cliffs of Cape St.
Elias and the towering spike of Pinnacle Rock seems to float
eerily just beyond the reaches of the point. Thousands
of seabirds are gathered to feast on the schools of fish
that extend a mile out from the Cape. Of these birds the most striking
is the parasitic yeager, which Fuentes illustrated so
vividly on the original expedition. This bird makes
its living harassing other birds until they regurgitate
their fish. What impresses me most about this bird is
that in order to get other birds to cough up their meals,
the yeager must be an incredible flyer. Lightning fast dives
and swift banking, the yeager makes these acrobatics seem
effortless. Later the throng of seabirds was
joined by a group of humpbacks who entertained us by driving
upwards through the schools of fish and bursting through the
surface with their mouths agape, splashing into the water,
and then diving back down to do it all over
again.. We had landed on Kayak Island at
the spot where Bering put Steller ashore. The steep
cliffs are heavily vegetated with many waterfalls butting
right up against the beach. In the low grasses we see
tracks of a fox and river otter. The tracks are lines drawn
in the sand by their tail terminating at the water
line. Just off-shore a swarm of gulls and kittiwakes
congregate. Harbor seals have hauled out on shallow
rocks and seem to be hovering just above the water.
Sea lions frolic in groups as the dive for fish and
playfully throw their small catches about. This is a
wild and peaceful place. I think Steller would have found it
familiar.
Weather is light rain in the
morning clearing to overcast skies with high clouds in the
afternoon. We entered Prince William Sound
this morning, docking in Cordova. These waters have
been home to me for several years now and waking up this
morning in the sound felt a little like coming home.
The tranquil bays with spruce coming right down to the
waters edge, overshadowed by the giant spine of the Chugach
Range. Just outside Cordova we spot
moose grazing on willows, beaver swimming in small streams,
and Marsh hawks scouring the wetlands for prey.
There is a human presence here
as well, which becomes evident as we enter the shipping
lanes of Valdez. Here five tankers are lined up
waiting their turn to dock at the terminus of the Alyeska
Pipeline and fill up with North Slope crude oil bound for
the lower forty-eight. The pipeline terminus is a huge
facility nestled on a hill on the east side of the
bay. Even from a distance you can observe the
continuous bustle of the oil plant. Although this Sound had a much
larger population at the time of the Harriman Expedition a
century ago, much has changed in this area. Salmon
fisheries are still active, but no longer are there active
copper mines or fox farms. Instead other resources, such as
timber and oil, are the basis of industry of today. In
the last fifty years this area has faced both human and
natural disasters of enormous magnitude. As we sail
along the sounds northern shores you begin to realize the
resiliency of this place and its amazing capacity for
recovery. However, if you look deep enough you
can still recognize the wounds left behind by such events as
the 1989 oil spill and gain an understanding that even
places with strength such as this cannot withstand the
effects of our carelessness.
Weather is clear skies and
sunny. We arrived in College Fiord
early this morning and boarded zodiacs for a closer look at
Harvard Glacier. As we approached the face of the
glacier, the ice loomed 300 feet above us. We pulled
to within a mile of the glacial front, shut off the motor
and waited to see if the glacier would calve. While we
sat in silence we could hear the ice in the water crackle
and pop as air that had been trapped in the ice for
thousands of years was released. Just in front of us a
huge chunk of ice broke off from the face. The ice
crashed in the water and was shortly followed by the slower
moving but extremely powerful sound waves. The roar was
deafening and the sight spectacular. Later that day, we sailed up
Barry Arm bound for Harriman Glacier. Standing on the
bridge as we crossed Point Doran, the charts showed depths
as shallow as one fathom along the submarine terminal
moraine left behind as Barry Glacier retreated. This
is the site of an historic moment for the original Harriman
Expedition, as it marks the area where John Muir and
Harriman made a crucial decision. In 1899, as the
Elder approached the end of Barry Arm it appeared
that Barry Glacier would halt any further exploration.
Added to this, according to their U.S. Coast survey map,
they were at the end of navigable waters. Only a
narrow passage-way existed between Point Doran and the face
of Barry Glacier. John Muir was convinced that if only
the Elder were to pass through this gap the waters
would open up giving way to new territory to explore.
The captain, knowing that the narrow gap must contain
dangerously shallow waters, refused to take the Elder any
further. Harriman, siding with Muir, ordered the
captain to continue. "Go ahead, captain," he ordered, "I
will take the risk." As we know, the Elder was
successful in navigating the gap and was able to explore the
fiord beyond. They gave the fiord its name,
ÏHarriman. Looking at Point Doran a century later, from
a bridge with current charts and instruments, it is clear
that the captain of the Elder was right in his
refusal to take his vessel forward. With only one
fathom showing on the charts it becomes readily apparent
that the Elder was extremely lucky to have come away
from the experience with only a damaged prop. It is a
fine line that separates discovery from disaster.
Weather is clear skies and
sunny. Wind picking up to a light breeze in the
evening. This morning we arrived at the
south end of Knight Island. This is an amazing island
with its towering spires and snow-capped peaks. Our
trip off the Odyssey this morning, however, wasn't focused
on the larger grandeur surrounding us, but on the smaller
areas that are often overlooked. We spent a fair amount of time
poking the nose of our zodiac into the small crevasses and
nooks of the intertidal zones. A close look revealed
the amazing diversity of life that exists in these
areas. We noted eight different types of sea stars,
various jelly fish ( although that's not the correct
scientific reference), and examined a number of
plankton. The complexity of these creatures is
incredible and their adaptations seem beyond the
imaginations of even the most imaginative science fiction
author. The thing that struck me as most significant
about our excursion was simply the abundance of life in the
intertidal area. At any point we could dip a bottle
over the side of the boat, fill it with sea water, and
marvel at our catch. What we found were several types
of plankton, the beginning stages of life for many of
the creatures present in these areas, floating in our
specimen bottle. Before we knew it, the entire
morning had passed and we hadn't traveled but a couple of
miles. Completely ignoring the larger terrain which
had monopolized our attention for a majority of the past few
days, we were quickly reminded that there is no environment
too small for careful consideration.
Weather is overcast with
light rain. Today is my last day aboard the
Clipper Odyssey as tomorrow we dock in Homer and
change out the male Young Explorers Team for our female
counterparts. We arrived in the Chiswell Islands this
morning off the coast of Kenai Fiords National Park.
We traveled by zodiac along the granite cliffs amongst
rookeries of kittiwakes, puffins, murres, and
cormorants. Later in the day we sailed up into Harris
Bay to examine an old village site and beach
comb. Although this was another day
filled with scenery and wildlife what struck me as most
significance was our lunch conversation. For the past two weeks during
lunch we have had lively discussions with many of the
scholars on board. Much like the original expedition,
these informal conversations represent the best sharing of
ideas. Through our lunches we have heard stories of
anthropologists hunting polar bear with Native Alaskans in
the arctic, marine biologists tagging belugas in the Chukchi
Sea, ornithologists camping on remote cliffs trying to mist
net birds, and geologists flying over glaciers. This afternoon, we had lunch
with Robert Peck, a historian who works for the Academy of
Natural Sciences. His job is to chronicle scientific
expeditions, and, as a result, he has been on many
adventures throughout the world. Over dessert, he
launched into a story where he had been part of an
expedition to study hummingbirds in the Amazon Basin along
the border of Peru and Ecuador. After they had started
their studies, the local Natives, who are infamous for their
techniques in head-shrinking, decided to revoke the
expedition's permission to be in the area. The Natives
sent out a war party to execute the researchers, who,
luckily caught wind of this and were able to escape before
the war party arrived. Unfortunately the only way out
of the jungle was down the river through hostile territory,
so they took a grueling journey over the mountains with food
or proper clothing. Although this story doesn't
pertain to Alaska or the Harriman Expedition, it illustrates
the rich knowledge and experience that the scholars of this
expedition bring onboard. And it is through this
informal sharing of past experiences that we are all better
able to synthesize our daily experiences. Tonight we set sail for Homer
and the end of my voyage.
For information on the Harriman Retraced Expedition e-mail: harriman2001@science.smith.edu
Sunday, July
22, 2001
Monday, July
23, 2001
Tuesday,
July 24, 2001
Wednesday,
July 25, 2001
Thursday,
July 26, 2001
Friday, July
27, 2001
Saturday,
July 28, 2001
Sunday, July
29, 2001
Monday, July
30, 2001
Tuesday,
July 31, 2001
Wednesday,
August 1, 2001
Thursday,
August 2, 2001
Friday,
August 3, 2001
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