Sunday, August 15: Two Hikes

 

I was unceremoniously awakened at 4 AM as we hauled anchor to head for Bartlett Cove at Glacier Bay.  I tried to get back to sleep but never really did.  There was an early hike scheduled at 6 AM anyway, so I headed into the lounge and enjoyed a frosted scone with my early-bird breakfast.  (I had a second one with my regular breakfast when I got back.)  

And this is just the EARLY breakfast.  Eggs, bacon and other necessities followed later.  We ate well.

We were the only tourists in Bartlett Cove and were free to wander the trails.  We were reminded that the entire area had been under a thick sheet of ice only 300 years ago.  A nearby totem pole told the story of how the Tlingit were forced to abandon their settlements as the glacier advanced and, after it had receded enough for them to return, the US government locked them out of the area and told them they could no longer fish, hunt or live there.  The government eventually allowed them back in.

This totem pole tells the story of the Tlingit being locked out of their lands.  (Note the chain.)  The image represents the government: "Many hands but no eyes".  An eloquent observation.

And this is why the area is classified as a "temperate rainforest".

Glacier Bay is on the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites and there are many restrictions on the number of people, boats, ships, etc. that can be in the area on a given day.  We were not even permitted to stop and observe whales if we saw any while in transit (we didn’t) and excursions were limited to 12 people.  That meant that we had to specify our first and second choice in the afternoon; I selected another kayak paddle as first choice and a forest walk as second.  I got the forest walk, which I enjoyed- a lot of bushwhacking but no notable elevation gain.  A guide had done a presentation the night before about the area and made the point that on this trip we’d be able to see the progressive changes in the landscape after the glaciers retreated, and at various stages depending on our location.  The area near the water, which would have been the most recent spot laid bare, had rocks covered by lichens, which break the rocks up into finer particles and allow progressively larger vegetation to thrive.

 

The skiff back to the boat.

 

Kittiwake.

There was a “ridge walk” which would have included a 500-foot elevation gain and I knew that, unfortunately, it was beyond my limits.  When we signed up for Monday’s activities we were also asked to specify a first and second choice.  I was happy that they volunteered that those who didn’t get their first choice today would get priority tomorrow.  It was probably better to have given my arms a rest, anyway.

 

I managed a nap before lunch and one after lunch before my hike.

 

Dessert at dinner.  It was described as flourless chocolate cake but was served almost frozen and was dense and delicious.  Sometimes you just have to savor every molecule of sugar and fat.  Did I mention that we were fed well? :-)

After dinner most of us went on deck as we approached Margerie Glacier.  It was impressive from far away and even more impressive as we drew near to its face.  The brown streaks along the bottom and the sides contained rocks and soil scrubbed from the surface of the mountain by the heavy ice sheet as it advanced.  When we got very close (but not too close for the ship to be threatened by a chunk of ice “calving” off of it), the bow became a popular spot for photo opps.

The crew never gets tired of the beautiful surroundings!