Touring Tracy Arm

Up at 6AM so we can be on board our tour boat by 7:30. We're going on a tour of Tracy Arm which is a large fjord with twin glaciers at the end. The Adventure Bound with Cap’t Steve will take us 50 miles southeast of Juneau. They had coffee ready as we left the dock in the cool morning air. Annie & Thomas will be our crew and there are several other folks on board.

We motor down the Gastineau Channel and into Stephens Passage which provides spectacular mountain views and we watch the shoreline for wildlife. It’s a gorgeous morning and we’re standing on the back deck. Off to our left is a point of land thick with Sitka Spruce and a rocky ledge… it is literally covered with Bald Eagles! There are so many in the trees their white heads look like Christmas ornaments.

We pass 2 cruise ships heading for Juneau. Turning out of Stephens Passage and into Holkum Bay there are magnificent sheer walls of granite on both sides of us. We are entering the fjord and the walls are so high you feel like you will fall over backward to see the top. As we sail further up the bay there was a cruise ship in front of us. We sailed around them as they unfortunately were too big a ship to go any further. While they turned around we headed for the glaciers and there are lots of bergs floating past us now. Capt Steve told us these are some of the largest bergs in Alaska. We dodged, bumped and slid our way over and around. Now inside the ’arm’ beautiful glacial valleys appear and we think about being able to go and explore them. They look very mysterious. The Cap’t took us past spiraling waterfalls and right into and through others. As we looked at the rock walls we saw a Mountain Goat on the side of a sheer wall walking like it was on a sidewalk!

We sailed our way up the “arm” through jade green waters to Big Sawyer Glacier which is the bigger of the twins, but the ice hadn’t opened enough for us to get through. We could see the glacier but we continued on to Little Sawyer and were able to get within ¾ miles of it. It took 3 1/2 to 4 hours to reach the glacier. It was awesome and we saw a small calving, heard the splash and about 5 minutes later the wave reached our boat! Having lunch on the back deck the air is clear with the chill of the last ice age. We spent about an hour watching the glacier. In the distance there were Harbor Seals on the bergs closer to the glacier and we saw 2 through the binoculars. Every time you get close they slide off the berg and into the water…not cooperative at all.
We would have spent more time, but the ice was filling in and we had to go. On the way out a berg had just ‘rolled’ and it was a magnificent glacial blue with what looked like gold flecks which was the sun’s reflection. We could see the water running down the ridges.

This trip was unbelievable! Back up the Stephens Passage we could see Admiralty Island which is home to a very large Brown Bear population. You can only go out to the Island by boat or plane and during July & August you need permits. This time of year you won’t see many bears there as they are still sleeping…

The Capt called our attention to a humpback playing in the water and then it disappeared. A little further along another whale appeared in front of us. He was playing in the water, flapping it’s side flippers together and rolling, then it dived and we watched the tail disappear - suddenly the whale launched itself out of the water! It was heart stopping! Then he decided to roll on his back and raise it’s flippers slapping the water and making arcs in the air. He did this several time and then he dove--- and breached again! We were camera ready this time as Capt Steve maneuvered the boat closer. The whale entertained us for about 30 minutes and treated us to blow sounds and another breach - then quickly dove and disappeared. What a treat!

We pulled into dock about 6PM. Hungry we stopped at Pizzeria Roma again and then headed back to camp.

It was a fantastic day, the scenery, views, wildlife and feeling of wilderness is something we can’t describe in words.

Pictures:Adventure Bound , The 1st berg, Jakes Falls (2), Glacial Valley, Entering the fjord, Fjord sheer walls, mouth of fjord, spiraling falls, stranded berg, Big Sawyer glacier (2), ice relections, Little Sawyer, Jade Sea Falls, Leaving Tracy Arm, Icy colors, Holkum Bay diamonds, just rolled berg, glittering in the sun, 1st fluke, the wave, whale high five, the breach, arching flippers.