National Park Service Ranger Cati Campbell led our exploration of the truly magnificent Glacier Bay National Park today. Early morning fog and mist slowly dissipated as we made our way up the bay revealing the snow and glacier covered Fairweather Mountains soaring into clear blue and sunny skies.
Our morning began early with a 6:00 a.m. walk with our naturalists and photo instructors along the beaches and into the rain forest at Bartlett Cove near Park Service headquarters. We started in the gloaming of near dawn darkness and hiked into the light of early morning before breakfast and departing for our exploration of Glacier Bay. Ranger Cati presented an introduction to the bay and our itinerary for the day as we began our journey up bay.
Tlingit people of the native village of Hoonah consider Glacier Bay their spiritual homeland. Various clans called Glacier Bay home for perhaps many hundreds of years until the advance of a glacier pushed them across Icy Strait to Hoonah perhaps four or five hundred years ago at the advent of the Little Ice Age. Their culture is and was highly sophisticated, quite complex, and intricately balanced. Our cultural interpreter, Yolanda, began a moving presentation with words in her native Tlingit language and sang her welcoming song also in her native Tlingit language, then shared personal aspects of her native culture with us in a passionate presentation.
We soon entered John Hopkins Inlet, the most spectacular part of a most spectacular park on a spectacular day! Abreast of Lampugh Glacier, killer whales (known in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska as orca) were spotted, a rare sighting this far into Glacier Bay. Oohs, aahs, and probably a couple thousand shutter clicks followed as we observed and photographed these magnificent whales for a half hour or so.
Describing the John Hopkins Glacier and Inlet in mere words is somewhat hopeless. The scenery is so stunning it defies accurate description. Several thousand more shutter clicks worked at describing photographically the wondrous scene. Lunch was served but many lingered outside to extend this most delightful experience.
Another presentation by Ranger Cati followed lunch, then mountain goats at Gloomy Knob, followed by hundreds of Steller sea lions and thousands of birds at South Marble Island (including the sought after horned puffins) highlighted the journey back to Bartlett Cove where we finished the day with dinner and a late evening walk at Bartlett Cove.
Glacier Bay National Park is perhaps the premier tour destination of Southeast Alaska and to experience such a place on a beautiful autumn day such as today is indeed a delightful pleasure. Perhaps it was just lucky, perhaps it was good karma – whatever, it was a fine, fine day in Glacier Bay!
