Tracy Arm, Williams Cove
For our first full day aboard the Sea Bird we explored the entire length of Tracy Arm. One of the worlds most wild and dramatic fjords, the Arm stretches 21 miles from Holkam Bay to the Sawyer and South Sawyer glaciers. Evidence of the flowing ice that sculpted this landscape surrounds us – steep canyon walls, rounded mountain tops in the foreground with ragged peaks behind, and horizontal scour marks on the rock faces. As we traveled up the fjord, the forest thinned from mature spruce and hemlock to a brief cover of pioneer plants in the recently deglaciated areas. Then we reached the glacier. The unimaginable color of this dense ice was aptly described by John Muir as, “the most startling, chilling, almost shrieking vitriol blue.” Several large chunks of ice and cascades of smaller pieces fell from the glacier’s snout, sending waves crashing against the shoreline and radiating out to our ship.
Turning around and heading back down Tracy Arm, we took a close look at this stunning cascade before motoring on to our afternoon’s anchorage. After lunch, we went ashore for walks in the rainforest and sea kayaking in ideal conditions. A large berg had beached itself near the entrance to the bay, and acted like a magnet for the kayakers. The sculpted ice was spectacular from water level, but we were glad for the warning to keep our distance when a large shelf broke off and the berg rolled. Small waterfalls, goldeneyes with ducklings, large rafts of scoters and a few curious harbor seals added to the serenity of paddling in Alaska. Walking along bear trails through the forest, we found ample sign of some of the larger mammalian residents – bears and a wolf.
After a day in the wilds, we returned to the Sea Bird for a regional wine and food tasting party hosted by our hotel manager. Recap turned guests into glaciers and showed barnacles feeding. Struggling to remember the beginning of this glorious day, we stepped out on deck after dinner for one last look – and then slept.
For our first full day aboard the Sea Bird we explored the entire length of Tracy Arm. One of the worlds most wild and dramatic fjords, the Arm stretches 21 miles from Holkam Bay to the Sawyer and South Sawyer glaciers. Evidence of the flowing ice that sculpted this landscape surrounds us – steep canyon walls, rounded mountain tops in the foreground with ragged peaks behind, and horizontal scour marks on the rock faces. As we traveled up the fjord, the forest thinned from mature spruce and hemlock to a brief cover of pioneer plants in the recently deglaciated areas. Then we reached the glacier. The unimaginable color of this dense ice was aptly described by John Muir as, “the most startling, chilling, almost shrieking vitriol blue.” Several large chunks of ice and cascades of smaller pieces fell from the glacier’s snout, sending waves crashing against the shoreline and radiating out to our ship.
Turning around and heading back down Tracy Arm, we took a close look at this stunning cascade before motoring on to our afternoon’s anchorage. After lunch, we went ashore for walks in the rainforest and sea kayaking in ideal conditions. A large berg had beached itself near the entrance to the bay, and acted like a magnet for the kayakers. The sculpted ice was spectacular from water level, but we were glad for the warning to keep our distance when a large shelf broke off and the berg rolled. Small waterfalls, goldeneyes with ducklings, large rafts of scoters and a few curious harbor seals added to the serenity of paddling in Alaska. Walking along bear trails through the forest, we found ample sign of some of the larger mammalian residents – bears and a wolf.
After a day in the wilds, we returned to the Sea Bird for a regional wine and food tasting party hosted by our hotel manager. Recap turned guests into glaciers and showed barnacles feeding. Struggling to remember the beginning of this glorious day, we stepped out on deck after dinner for one last look – and then slept.
