Southeastern Alaska, famously fjord-rent, boasts a seemingly endless variety of impressive topography, but perhaps nowhere is the scenery finer than in Tracy Arm. Here, glaciers have carved not the comparatively crumbly rock smeared onto North America by the accretionary process, but the roots of volcanoes. Granite and gneiss, resistant to erosion, form soaring cliffs that ascend to domed summits, and fjords that drop straight to astonishing depths.

We made our way into Tracy Arm early in the morning, and were at its head by breakfast. Since John Muir’s time, glacial retreat has split Tracy Arm’s glaciers in two: Sawyer and South Sawyer glaciers. We chose the latter as the more active glacier. Hopping into our inflatables, we negotiated the ice-studded fjord. Bergs here come in endless variety. Some are gigantic, others tiny and delicate. They resemble swans, trolls, castles or newly-plowed fields. Their color is like snow or mud or sapphire.

At the end of the inlet we beheld a remarkable scene. Craggy cliffs of ice rose thirty stories from the sea, which was choked with bergs. All around lay a chaos of bare rock, tumbling gravelly slopes and mountaintops lost in fog. Though forbidding to us, the place is perfect for seals. What better for a natal couch than four hundred year old ice? The seals lay all around us. Though seemingly abundant, these creatures are diminishing, and we took great care not to disturb them.

Meanwhile, National Forest Rangers, visiting our ship, spoke about the role of National Forests, the Tongass, and their work in this wilderness.

While preparing for the second round of glacier viewing, many other small boats arrived. Wanting a bit more seclusion, we opted to move to Sawyer Glacier. This proved to be a good decision. Once all four of our boats were in place, the glacier began to crumble. Tiny chunks fell here and there, indicating a loosening of a much larger piece. And then it came. A great serac slowly began to lean, then to topple, and finally it fell with a huge splash, followed by colossal rolling swells. But more fragments dropped. And then an even greater pair of pillars pealed from the glacier’s face, then accelerated to smash into the sea with even more powerful spray and rollers. Staff and officers driving our boats, representing perhaps a century of experience in Alaska, agreed that this was one of the greatest calving events they had ever seen.  

Just before lunch, we offered a cold water swim. A few, possessed perhaps of more fortitude than sense, jumped into berg-strewn water – then made a frenzied exit!

During the afternoon, we made our way back down Tracy Arm. We visited a couple out of the many hundred waterfalls that spill down the fjord’s sides.

At last, we joined Stephen’s Passage to start our slow ride to Juneau.

Southeast Alaska is rich with scenery and natural and cultural history. Today’s experience was an apt conclusion to our exploration of this extraordinary part of the world.