We started early and picked up the Park Ranger at Bartlett Cove and sailed into the park as the day was just starting. The only real way to see this park is by boat and the park is very strict on the number of boats let into the park. Per day, only 2 large cruise ships, 3 tour boats (this is what our boat is classified as) and a handful of small private charters and privately owned boats are allowed into the park. It a large park and the limited numbers make it feel as if you have the park to yourself. Plus, in order for those large boats to enter, they must pick up a Park Ranger who accompanies the boat throughout it's 24 hour time limit in the park.
It didn't start out as a nice day with dark clouds hanging over us, but we ventured into the park with our ranger. First up was a small island where we found numerous Stellar Sea Lions and birds of all sorts. This was our first view of the Tufted Puffin and we saw quite of few of these cute little birds flying near the rocks and just floating in the water. I did manage to get some nice shots of a puffin in the water near our ship's bow and a sequence of a puffin taking off from the water (not the most graceful of actions for the less than aerodynamic puffin). Also on this island was a lone sea otter still on its back on shore. I have only seen this guys in the water, so seeing one on shore lying out like it was suntanning was a treat.We left the island and continued on along a series of cliffs where we spotted a lone moose and
black bear off in the distance. Specks in the camera lens. Then came the mountain goats and we saw plenty of these guys quite close. How they ever manage to cling to those tall cliffs is bewildering, but it is easy to see how they survive the cold Alaska winters with their thick furry white coats.The sun finally came out as we approached the far end of the park, 60 miles from where we had started that morning and the ship's crew surprised us with peppermint schnapps laced hot chocolate out on the deck to keep us warm as most of the passengers stayed outside enjoying the scenery and animals. That was also a nice treat and one of many we got while on board the Sea Lion.
At the end of that 60 miles, we came to a spot where two Glaciers flow out into the bay; the Grand Pacific and the Margorie Glacier. The Grand Pacific Glacier was the glacier responsible for carving out most of Glacier Bay and was all black and sooty with the silt and sediment it had carved up and pushed forward along its journey. The Margorie glacier was a little cleaner having flowed down from a nearby mountain top. These two glaciers were not a pretty as Dawes Glacier we had seen at the beginning of the trip, but the wide vistas of Glacier Bay created a stunning atmosphere.After lunching near these two glaciers, we headed back down the bay dipping into several other arms of the bay to look at other glaciers and the beautiful, snow-capped mountain ranges that
line the bay. We saw porpoise, dolphins, whales and sea otters swim or float past us as we continued down the bay.We finished the day in Bartlett Cove where we dropped off our park ranger and got off the ship to take a short hike around the cove. This was my first hike and it was nice to get a bit of activity in other then the kayaking I had only done up to this point. The photography wasn't that good on the hike due to the quickly dimming light and my lack of a tripod, but I enjoyed the hike around the lakes and woods of Bartlett Cove.
We sailed out of the park that evening and headed back down Chatham Straight for our final full day on the ship.
Glacier Bay National Park Photos
Photo Sequence of Calving Glacier
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