Today was the kind of day we came to Glacier Bay to experience. Ryan woke up before 6 and got us underway early. The water was like a mirror, reflecting the mountains lining Glacier Bay, and the sun was shining.
By 7AM we were stopped front of Lamplugh Glacier.
The ice wasn’t too bad and we enjoyed the first glacier of the day a while before continuing towards Johns Hopkins Glacier. The scenery was fantastic, larger than life, and amazing in every direction and from every vantage point. Here’s a picture of the view from the head - a loo with a view!
Sadly, the ice was too thick to get very close to Johns Hopkins Glacier. We had breakfast among the icebergs, looking up the inlet toward the glacier. We even climbed up into the dinghy on the roof for a comfortable spot from which to enjoy the view and the sunshine.
The glacier is so huge it makes the distance appear much shorter than it is. The two pictures above were taken from 6 miles away, but it looked much closer.
Midmorning we left Johns Hopkins Inlet and headed to Tarr Inlet, home of the Grand Pacific and Margerie Glaciers. I know I’m repeating myself, but the scenery was stunning everywhere we looked.
A cruise ship came up behind us on our way to Tarr Inlet and passed us shortly after we entered, so we had to share the scenery with another boat. (gasp!)
Luckily, the ice wasn’t as bad in Tarr Inlet as Johns Hopkins, so we could make it all the way to the top. This is the furthest north we will go this trip. The Grand Pacific Glacier wasn’t much to look at, hidden behind a gravelly moraine, but the Margerie Glacier was amazing. The ice face is tall and jagged and the mountains behind tower dramatically above the trail of ice that is the glacier. We spent over an hour taking pictures, listening to the ice crack, watching the glacier calve, and making and eating second breakfast. Sightseeing is a hungry business.
While we were in Tarr Inlet, we saw our first puffins of the trip. Such funny little birds!
Glacier Bay has jaw-dropping scenery, but what feels just as amazing is that there is almost no one else here with us. The national park limits the number of commercial vessel and has a permit system for private boats (limited to 25 per day). I don’t know if the private boaters fear the ice or if it was just a fluke, but the only other boat we’ve seen all day today in these crazy gorgeous glacial fjords is one cruise ship, and we only shared the water with them for an hour before they headed off again. This is not the only place in Alaska with this kind of scenery, but Glacier Bay wins for immensity, isolation, and serenity.
Once we had our fill of ice, we headed south to our planned anchorage in Russell Island Passage. This is a cute little anchorage protected by reefy islands on 3 sides, and surrounded by beautiful scenery.
A hungry sea otter spent the afternoon sharing the bay with us while he dove for mussels. We took the dinghy out, and Ryan rowed today since the little islands were so close.
When we explored the closest islet, we saw several oyster catchers. They were not happy with us at all, I assume because they had young somewhere nearby, so we moved inland to give them space. Their beady red and orange eyes are a little freaky, to be honest.
Dinner steak grilled on the boat BBQ, salad, and ice cream for dessert. A perfect end to the day!
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