Endicott Arm/Williams Cove
Last night, the Sea Lion departed Juneau and cruised south through Stevens Passage. We entered Endicott Arm, a 30-mile-long scenic fjord in the Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness. Those who were out on deck early were afforded a glimpse of a black bear before it disappeared into the shrubs. We marveled at the dramatic mountainous scenery as we approached Dawes Glacier. This tidewater glacier calves directly into the head of Endicott Arm. The falling ice makes a tremendous splash and boom. The local Tlingit people had an appropriate term for this,“White Thunder.”
After breakfast we donned layers of warm clothes and stepped into the inflatable Zodiacs with our cameras for a closer (but not too close) look at the face of Dawes Glacier. We were rewarded with several calvings, including a spectacular “shooter” (when ice breaks off below the surface and surges up). A group of mountain goats was spied on steep slopes high above us and harbor seals were seen closer to eye-level, resting on icebergs or bobbing up and down in the cold water. Pregnant females come here in the spring and give birth to their pups on the icebergs – safe from predators such as bears and killer whales. Earlier in the season wilderness rangers counted over 1,100 seals here. Now, most of the pups have been weaned and have moved out of the bay.
As the Sea Lion cruised back down the fjord, we looked for more wildlife. We were so successful that our afternoon plans kept being delayed. First, a black bear was found foraging in the intertidal zone. A little further on, we had a good look at a brown (grizzly) bear. When the bear walked into a cove, a mink came scampering out. Birdlife included bald eagles, scoters, loons, gulls, pigeon guillemots and many marbled murrelets. To top it off, a humpback whale gave us a show.
We arrived at Williams Cove in the late afternoon and had a chance to go ashore for hiking and kayaking. It was a good introduction to the vegetation in the temperate rainforest ecosystem of the Tongass National Forest and a fine way to cap the first day of our adventure aboard the Sea Lion.
Last night, the Sea Lion departed Juneau and cruised south through Stevens Passage. We entered Endicott Arm, a 30-mile-long scenic fjord in the Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness. Those who were out on deck early were afforded a glimpse of a black bear before it disappeared into the shrubs. We marveled at the dramatic mountainous scenery as we approached Dawes Glacier. This tidewater glacier calves directly into the head of Endicott Arm. The falling ice makes a tremendous splash and boom. The local Tlingit people had an appropriate term for this,“White Thunder.”
After breakfast we donned layers of warm clothes and stepped into the inflatable Zodiacs with our cameras for a closer (but not too close) look at the face of Dawes Glacier. We were rewarded with several calvings, including a spectacular “shooter” (when ice breaks off below the surface and surges up). A group of mountain goats was spied on steep slopes high above us and harbor seals were seen closer to eye-level, resting on icebergs or bobbing up and down in the cold water. Pregnant females come here in the spring and give birth to their pups on the icebergs – safe from predators such as bears and killer whales. Earlier in the season wilderness rangers counted over 1,100 seals here. Now, most of the pups have been weaned and have moved out of the bay.
As the Sea Lion cruised back down the fjord, we looked for more wildlife. We were so successful that our afternoon plans kept being delayed. First, a black bear was found foraging in the intertidal zone. A little further on, we had a good look at a brown (grizzly) bear. When the bear walked into a cove, a mink came scampering out. Birdlife included bald eagles, scoters, loons, gulls, pigeon guillemots and many marbled murrelets. To top it off, a humpback whale gave us a show.
We arrived at Williams Cove in the late afternoon and had a chance to go ashore for hiking and kayaking. It was a good introduction to the vegetation in the temperate rainforest ecosystem of the Tongass National Forest and a fine way to cap the first day of our adventure aboard the Sea Lion.
