Expedition
Log
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Expedition Log: July
28, 2001
Melanie and Kim
Heacox
Glacier Bay
Thar she blows! Our expedition leader
Mike Messick promised that if whales were sighted he'd sound the alarm
and wake us from our slumber. And that he did. At 5:30 a.m. the Clipper
Odyssey was surrounded by humpback whales. It was the beginning of
what would be an incredible day. We learned from our many experts the
various terms that describe whale behavior -- flipper flapping, tail lobbing,
spy-hopping, sounding, lunge-feeding and the grandest of them all, breaching.
It was hard to imagine how a 40-ton whale could possibly propel itself
clear out of the water, but it did. Not many caught it on camera as it
came as such a surprise. But many witnessed the exciting event that left
a huge splash. We spent an hour and a half in the presence of these gentle
giants, so close you could hear them breathing. Point Adolphus was touted
as a hot spot for whales, but even that did not prepare us for the wonderful
viewing we had that morning. Amazing that we would actually thank Mike
for waking up us so early, but we did, heartily.
At 8:00 a.m. the National Park
Service patrol boat, the Serac, came along side and
seven new passengers joined us for the day. We quickly met
the distinguished guests who would present a panel
discussion later that day. But our time for introductions
was cut short when we sighted puffins ahead. Park Ranger
Rosemarie Salazar invited us out on deck for a look at South
Marble Island. This small dot on the map is one of Glacier
Bay's many bird sanctuaries, and this was our first look at
puffins - bright colorful birds that look like the invention
of a child's imagination. Exceeding our expectations were
200 plus Steller sealions clustered in a bachelor colony
alive with action, posturing, and smell. We were close
enough to have an excellent view (and whiff).
Then it was onto the glaciers.
The morning had begun a bit dim and gray, but by lunchtime
the skies cleared as we arrived at the Margerie Glacier, our
first close up view of a tidewater glacier (under blue sky
no less). Hats and gloves came off, sunglasses and brimmed
hats went on, and gaiety filled the decks. We tried to watch
for icefalls and listen for the sound of "white thunder" but
a huge golden brown bear walked next to the glacier and
stole our attention. Everyone had a good long look, even
without binoculars. The hump between its shoulder blades and
the dished face (and its bulk) told us that we had left the
black bears behind and we were now in the company of a brown
bear. Just like E.H. Harriman, over 100 years before us,
finding a brown bear was much anticipated. But unlike then,
we would capture the bear only on film. We traveled into
Johns Hopkins Inlet to view the glacier of the same name,
then passed by Lamplugh Glacier on our route south, back
down the bay to Bartlett Cove and Icy Strait.
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The jumbled
ice, bare bedrock, and emerald waters at the
terminus of Margerie Glacier. (Photo by National
Ocean Service, NOAA).
Click
image for a larger view.
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That afternoon our guest
panelists discussed the many serious issues facing Glacier
Bay National Park & Preserve: commercial fishing, Native
rights, vessel management, tourism, and wilderness
preservation.
We dropped off our guests at
7:00 p.m., enjoyed yet another excellent dinner, and that
evening heard from a panel of experts on subsistence in
Alaska, a seemingly intractable issue that could change the
state constitution. As we bedded down for the night, the
Clipper Odyssey passed Port Althorp, where George
Vancouver anchored in 1794. We turned past Cape Spencer,
entered the Gulf of Alaska on flat calm seas, and left
behind the Inside Passage on our journey north.
(View
the day's photos: glaciers)
(View
the day's photos: the natural world)
(top)
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