As the Coral Princess came abeam to the Reid Glacier, I was hoping, I was praying for, some kind of vessel to come along and give a visual perspective of its size......chug, chug, chug along comes this black and white boat. It's a miracle. Cruise ships have a choice of routes as they enter Glacier Bay NP; Glacier Bay or Tracy Arm. What is the difference between Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm? Tracy Arm stands out because the fjord is narrower than Glacier Bay with high, craggy rock walls on either side. Your scenic cruise in and out of Tracy Arm will be marked by stunning waterfalls; you'll also be in better position to spot wildlife on land than in the wider Glacier Bay. Glacier Bay National Park is the mack daddy of all the scenic cruising sites. So much so that cruise lines need to submit applications in advance and compete to garner the coveted use-day spots. Holland America and Princess have historical rights to nearly half the spots, and cruise lines that fail to secure access can only try again every 10 years. Ships that visit Glacier Bay will spend approximately nine hours in the park, entering the bay from Icy Strait and sailing to either the John Hopkins glacier or the Grand Pacific and Margerie Glaciers at the bay’s farthest ends. Park rangers join each cruise ship from the park headquarters near Glacier Bay’s entrance and offer live narration about the park and its sights, as well as answer questions. Keep your binoculars at the ready, and scan the sea, sky, and slopes for bears, mountain goats, bald eagles, sea lions, seals, and sea otters. Even if you don’t spot any wildlife, your time on deck will be rewarded when the ship cuts its engines and slowly revolves, so everyone can ogle at the gigantic ice-blue glaciers that run down to the sea. Since we've visited both, I'll show you both views. Stay tuned.
This chunk of ice was so big, I could not get all of it in the frame. So, I did a pano and stitched the 5 images together. To show the size of this glacier you need something to compare it to. A boat would do it. Maybe a boat will appear for the photo? The Reid Inlet: This quiet inlet is a destination for many a kayaker or recreational boater. The calm waters provide safe anchorage and the size of the cove and its beaches invite exploration. On the western end of the inlet Reid Glacier spills down from the Brady Icefield. Named for Harry Fielding Reid, one of the first scientists to study how glaciers move, this glacier moves slowly enough that expert mountaineers can traverse it to reach the Brady Icefield and peaks of the Fairweather Mountains. Visitors to the shore and beach meadows immerse themselves in a landscape of change. Hardy pioneer plants like dryas, silverweed, fireweed, lupine, and strawberries cover the valley sides. Some willows and alders have crept in, but larger trees like spruce and hemlocks are mostly absent. An exception are the large spruce trees at the inlet’s entrance, planted by early homesteaders. History Reid Glacier and Inlet are named for Harry Fielding Reid, an American geologist who visited Glacier Bay in 1890 and 1892. During his first visit, Reid focused on mapping and study of the Muir Glacier. On his second trip, he turned his attention to glaciers in what is now known as the West Arm of the bay. At the time he was a faculty member at the Case School of Engineering. He later joined the faculty of his alma mater, Johns Hopkins University, and the focus of his work turned from glaciers to earthquakes. He is considered America’s first geophysist. Reid named many features in the bay, but the glacier that bears his name was named by members of the Harriman Expedition that came to the bay in 1899. The glacier flows from the Brady Icefield and is no longer considered tidewater other than at extreme high tides. In the mid-1920s, Joe and Muz Ibach found gold in the mountains above the inlet and later built a cabin on the shore. They had a more substantial cabin on Lemesurier Island, just outside the mouth of Glacier Bay. The Ibachs worked their claim intermittently through the 1940s.
We'll spend the next two weeks exploring Glacier Bay NP. I've been to it four different times so you will notice the difference in weather in the photos. It is one of the most beautiful places on earth with mountains, still waters, ice and glaciers and all kinds of birds. You're going to love this. Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is an American national park located in Southeast Alaska west of Juneau. President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the area around Glacier Bay a national monument under the Antiquities Act on February 26, 1925.[4] Subsequent to an expansion of the monument by President Jimmy Carter in 1978, the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) enlarged the national monument by 523,000 acres (817.2 sq mi; 2,116.5 km2) on December 2, 1980, and created Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.[5] The national preserve encompasses 58,406 acres (91.3 sq mi; 236.4 km2) of public land to the immediate northwest of the park, protecting a portion of the Alsek River with its fish and wildlife habitats, while allowing sport hunting. Glacier Bay became part of a binational UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, and was inscribed as a Biosphere Reserve in 1986. The National Park Service undertook an obligation to work with Hoonah and Yakutat Tlingit Native American organizations in the management of the protected area in 1994.[6] The park and preserve cover a total of 3,223,384 acres (5,037 sq mi; 13,045 km2), with 2,770,000 acres (4,328 sq mi; 11,210 km2) being designated as a wilderness area.[7] Wikipedia
