Alaska Trip Notes - Glacier Bay/College Fjord

[nitrah55]

The cruise ship spent two days in the Gulf of Alaska, and each of those days we sailed up locations where we could get up-close looks at glaciers.

The first day we entered Glacier Bay National Park. It's a large bay surrounded by land uninhabitable by humans. Glaciers are big, and cold, and if it's not too sunny, blue. It was not at all sunny, in fact, it was raining both days. But there's something about sailing up a bay among ice floes that gives one pause, and makes the weather less of an obstacle.

The ship picked up two Park Service Rangers, part of whose job is to interpret and explain the glacier environment to folks such as us. Another part of their job is to transfer from a small boat to a cruise ship while both are moving through frigid waters. All of this impresses me.

The ship got no closer than a quarter of a mile to any glacier, and parked there while we took in the scene. The most impressive glacier was Margarite Glacier in Glacier Bay. About 250 feet tall, and about a quarter mile wide at the front, it protrudes from a valley which it has cut through the mountains.

You stare at it for its beauty. You stare because it's unlike anything you've seen before. You stare because you want to see it fall apart.

Sections fall off glaciers all the time; it's callled "calving." So, this is more than just looking at scenery- it's waiting to see something crash. Try to imagine a cross between the Grand Canyon, a Frigidaire and NASCAR. Sound like fun?

What's cool is, you can sometimes hear the ice crack.

There was some small calving while we were watching. There was one big one when we weren't. The captain was turning the ship, and we were walking below decks to get to the other side- it was easier than doing it outside- when a chunk about 250 feet high and wide fell off the front of the glacier. The resulting wave rocked the boat. The rangers said they had not seen anything that big calve in 10 years of visits.

[MarleysGh0st]

The first day we entered Glacier Bay National Park. It's a large bay surrounded by land uninhabitable by humans. Glaciers are big, and cold, and if it's not too sunny, blue. It was not at all sunny, in fact, it was raining both days. But there's something about sailing up a bay among ice floes that gives one pause, and makes the weather less of an obstacle.

What's a little rain to an intrepid Alaskan explorer?

I spotted the first whale during my Alaskan cruise in Glacier Bay, because I was standing out by the bow while everyone else was huddled inside, just because of a little drizzle!