A Perfect Day in Glacier Bay

Early this morning the foghorn was working overtime again and we are fearful of fog in glacier bay which would greatly diminish the experience.

Fortunately, the skies clear as we arrive at the entrance to Port Althorp, which gives us access to the fjord which is glacier bay. 


Conditions are looking pretty good as we enter the port



Glacier Bay is a National Park, and we pick up 2 rangers at the entry to the park near the visitors centre marked on the map above. They become our guides throughout the cruise up and down the bay for the next 8 hours approx. 

In the late 1700's, the whole bay was covered by the grand pacific glacier. Today the head of the bay is where this glacier has receded to.

It is a beautiful day with the outside temperature in the mid teens, but still can be chilly when the ship is underway.

The scenery is stunning in every direction.





We reach our first glacier, the Reid Glacier and stop for a good viewing.


Reid Glacier

Wildlife sightings are regular, mainly sea otters, and the occasional seal. The rangers tell us there are around 8,000 sea otters in the bay.


A pair of sea otters floating along on their backs



We are beginning to see floating ice "growlers" shed by glaciers further into the bay


There is a Holland America ship ahead of us, so we have to slow down, until they finish their time at our next viewing spot, the Margerie Glacier. Directly ahead of us, at the head of the bay, we can see the dirty face of the receded Grand Pacific Glacier.




The Grand Pacific Glacier

By 12.30pm our turn to visit the Margerie Glacier had arrived and the ship stood off close to the glacier face, whilst the rangers provided commentary. 



Margerie Glacier comes into view


The face of the glacier is about the same height as the Viking Orion



On the other side of the bay, there is a moraine indicating a glacier was once there

After using up our hour at Margerie Glacier looking at it from every angle (we went to lunch and looked through the restaurant window after a while), we turned around and headed back out of the bay.

On the way back we saw a small ship possibly just doing a day trip.





There is plenty of ice in the water


There is still a bit of a chill on deck when the ship is moving

We have one last glacier to see before we concentrate on returning to the park entrance point. The Lamplugh Glacier is another quite impressive one.


Lamplugh Glacier

The tide has gone out quite a bit, it was high tide when we arrived this morning and the tidal range here is about 12 feet, so a "beach" of rubble is visible at the base of this glacier.


Viewed from the stern as the ship rotated to ensure everyone got a good view


More otters and seals were spotted as we cruised back to the entrance of the bay. We decided to do our laps of the deck for our daily exercise and take in the stunning scenery in perfect weather.


More great scenery





By 7 pm we were back at the entrance to Glacier Bay, dropped off our Rangers and headed back out to see towards our next destination, Sitka where we will dock tomorrow morning.

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