Tracy Arm and Williams Cove
Misty mountains lie ahead while water falls from the invisible heights above the vertical rock faces sliding by us. Unspeakably blue bergs of glacial ice drift near the hull as we emerge on deck with our hands wrapped around early morning mugs of hot coffee to view the awesome scenery in Tracy Arm. The Sea Lion slows and turns toward a mudflat exposed by the lowering tide and we are totally captivated by a mother black bear feeding on intertidal invertebrates and watching over her three frolicking cubs of the year.
The Zodiacs carve a slalom course through the icy water, stopping to admire the miniature wildflower rock gardens of arnica and dwarf fireweed and to breathe in the misty air that floats up from the base of each waterfall. Sawyer Glacier’s blue spires rise in front and then above us - cracking, groaning, and dropping icy cascades that make white spray fly up as they strike the water in front of the glacier.
Later, at anchor in Williams Cove, we step through the seemingly solid wall of Sitka alders into the soft green magical rainforest light and stand on a thick mossy carpet gently enclosed by the tall trunks of Sitka spruce and western hemlock. Far above us in the forest canopy the trees vie for light. We taste a few of the bears’ Alaskan blueberries and find them rather tart. Those who ventured out a bit further by foot or by kayak were astonished and delighted by the sight of pink salmon spawning in a stream so small we could step across it.
It was a quintessential Southeast Alaska day and I do not think we could have wanted more.
Misty mountains lie ahead while water falls from the invisible heights above the vertical rock faces sliding by us. Unspeakably blue bergs of glacial ice drift near the hull as we emerge on deck with our hands wrapped around early morning mugs of hot coffee to view the awesome scenery in Tracy Arm. The Sea Lion slows and turns toward a mudflat exposed by the lowering tide and we are totally captivated by a mother black bear feeding on intertidal invertebrates and watching over her three frolicking cubs of the year.
The Zodiacs carve a slalom course through the icy water, stopping to admire the miniature wildflower rock gardens of arnica and dwarf fireweed and to breathe in the misty air that floats up from the base of each waterfall. Sawyer Glacier’s blue spires rise in front and then above us - cracking, groaning, and dropping icy cascades that make white spray fly up as they strike the water in front of the glacier.
Later, at anchor in Williams Cove, we step through the seemingly solid wall of Sitka alders into the soft green magical rainforest light and stand on a thick mossy carpet gently enclosed by the tall trunks of Sitka spruce and western hemlock. Far above us in the forest canopy the trees vie for light. We taste a few of the bears’ Alaskan blueberries and find them rather tart. Those who ventured out a bit further by foot or by kayak were astonished and delighted by the sight of pink salmon spawning in a stream so small we could step across it.
It was a quintessential Southeast Alaska day and I do not think we could have wanted more.
