Exploring Alaska (Part Five)

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is one of the most unique of the national park system.  That is saying a great deal considering the spectacular nature of the park system.  Glacier Bay cannot be reached by road.  There are only two ways to see this breathtaking park; by air and by boat.  By far the most common way to enjoy the park is by boat.  Most of the 400,000 visitors that arrive each year do so by cruise ship; however, this is not the only way to see the bay by ship but is the one we are going to explore today.

Upon entering the park, Park Rangers are ferried to the ship.  Once on board the ship, the Park Rangers present the history and remarkable nature of the bay.  They do a wonderful job of pointing out the interesting features of the park and answer the most common questions regarding the park, its size, and how it was founded.  The presentation is quite informative, and for park nerds like me, a highlight of the experience.

The glaciers, of course, are the complete star of the show.  The park boasts multiple tidewater glaciers, thus named because the reach the water of the bay and calve directly into the water.  Not all of the glaciers in the park are tidewater glaciers and they are just as spectacular.  The fun behind the tidewater glaciers is watching them clave into the bay.  The most actively calving glaciers in the bay are Margerie Glacier and Lamplugh Glacier.  Margerie Glacier is advancing at the galloping speed of 5 to 7 miles per day.  It is not uncommon for this glacier to calve multiple times per hour.  The sheer size is difficult to comprehend and even on a large cruise ship one feels quite small in the presence of a glacier.

The calving process is truly a site to behold.  The first indication of action is a loud crack.  A quick scan of the glacier’s face will reveal where the ice has broken free.  If you miss the initial fall of the ice from the glacier, the resulting fountain of water and waves is equally spectacular.  I was determined to get a picture of the ice actually falling from the glacier and the only way I could accomplish that was to keep my camera on auto focus.  For all the slowness of the glacier’s advance, the falling ice moves quite rapidly and can be tricky to capture.

If you arrive by cruise ship, be sure to see if the ship has a naturalist on board.  These specialists are a wealth of information and can help to bring the park alive even more than the Park Rangers.  We were able to see whales, otters, and seals, as well as water foul with the help of the naturalist who knew exactly where to look and at what times.  It became a bit of a game to search out the naturalist and find what creature was hiding all around us.  They are not hard to find.  They usually appear like the pied piper with a crowd of eager people following them around to see what they might have otherwise missed.

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is truly a gem and well worth the cost and time to visit.  Any trip to Alaska needs to have at least one glacier experience in it.  They are beautiful, majestic, and awe-inspiring.  The good news is that not all glaciers in Alaska are retreating.  Many of the glaciers pouring out of the Fairweather Range are advancing while the Chilkat Range glaciers are receding.  Be sure to talk to your travel agent about how you can visit this beautiful national park.