Rocks on the outwash plain at Baird Glacier. In 2015 a glacial outburst flood called a jokulhlaup broke the glacier away from its terminal moraine. The landscape was completely changed. A friend said another outburst flood happened in September. We’re looking forward to seeing what changes the glacier made to its landscape. It’s what we love about spending time around glaciers. They always are up to something.
Join us in Alaska for a chance to see and learn more about this incredible and dynamic landscape. For our most in-depth trips, we suggest either Trip #336, AdventuresNW Magazine’s Photography Workshop or Trip #339, Ecology of Southeast Alaska with naturalist and killer whale researcher John McInnes.
The good bears at Pack Creek would like to remind you that a couple minutes of plank every day will help build good strong core muscles.
If you love bears, come on one of our Alaska cruises. In 2019 we are teaming back up with Pack Creek Bear Tours to visit the Pack Creek Bear Viewing Area. This is a special experience where you get to closely observe coastal brown bears. We have two trips that include Pack Creek in our 2019 schedule:
Brown bear at Pack Creek in Alaska.
Trip #334: Glaciers, Fjords, and Bears
Dates: May 11-18, 2019
Departs: Petersburg
Disembarks: Auke Bay, Juneau
Glacier Bay concessionaire contract awarded to the David B
McBride Glacier in Glacier Bay, Alaska
by Jeffrey Smith
If you were on the boat, or even within earshot of us this summer, you probably heard us talking about trying to get a permit to operate in Glacier Bay National Park. It was a difficult thing for us, mostly because of the timing. The Park released the prospectus in the middle of our spring outfitting season, and we scrambled to have our proposal complete. Luckily we have Sarah, who did a lot of the writing, editing, checking and re-checking to make sure we had it all in perfect shape to submit.
Then we waited – for 5 months.
We weren’t sure if we could even schedule any trips in Glacier Bay because we didn’t know what the status of the permit was. Then earlier this month, we found out. We got it. So we’re going, and you should come with us.
Glacier Bay is amazing. The wildlife is everywhere, there are species that you’d have a hard time seeing in other Alaska spots. Things like puffins and mountain goats. On our past trips there, we’ve also seen loads of humpback whales, orca whales, brown bears, black bears, and moose.
Then there’s the ice. We anchor in front of glaciers and walk up to their faces. We slowly skiff through fjords choked with floating ice and sneak up to glaciers that are calving. The photography experience is phenomenal. You won’t find this anywhere else.
Come join us. (We’ve got the permits) **
Glacier Bay Trips: Adventures NW Glacier Bay Photography Workshops
** Fine Print: Technically in National Park Language, we have been awarded a concession contract to provide charter boat services in Glacier Bay National Park from 2019 to 2029. People might not understand that, so to simplify it we refer to it as a permit.
I was walking along a mud flat at low tide with a group of guests when I spotted several greater yellowlegs standing on a small rise that was surrounded by a tidepool. I stopped to point them out and talk a bit about their pretty call and how they feed on small fish and insects. As we watched the yellowlegs wade and forage in the shallow water, a bald eagle flew overhead attracting the attention of this bird. Just a small reminder from our friend the Greater Yellowlegs to remember to occasionally look up.
-Christine
Greater yellow-legs keeps an eye on the sky as it feeds in a shallow tide pool on Admiralty Island in Alaska.
I’ve been looking at these scales, or chatter marks as they are called, near Dawes Glacier for years. I love showing them to our guests. They always feel impactful to me. Maybe it’s because they weren’t yet exposed when John Muir visited Dawes in 1880, or perhaps it’s just Mother Nature’s raw talent as an artist. Whatever it is, this part of Endicott Arm is one that I always enjoy gazing at.
