If you are planning to kayak and camp in the National Park, take precautions and respect nature as this is bear country. A free mandatory class is required at Bartlett Cove. There are set rules and regulations when camping in the park so check ahead.  Here is a sow and her cub, not a good combination to run across in the wild. Mother bears have little patients when cubs are around. Give them a wide girth and keep moving away. Simply stopping may be considered a threat. Bears are best viewed at a distance. We finally arrive at the Muir Glacier. Incredible in so many ways. It changes color with the light. It changes shape with your perspective. The sounds, like the teasing effects of wood splitting and the thunderous roar of thunder all amplified in a natural mountainous amphitheater. First the crack and then  as if in slow motion, a vast chunk of ice falls into the sea. A tremendous wave is created. It all seems so slow as we watch from a half mile away. Distance and time are fooled. Below is the Muir Glacier calving. Many icebergs float by as this process continues. Kayaks are warned (as tempting as it would be) not to paddle too close to the glacier (1/2 - 1/4 mile). The immense waves produced by the ice have been known to toss unsuspecting kayakers about. Thus concludes the Glacier Bay trip. For more info contact Alaska Public Lands Info Center at 907-277-4829 or the National Park Service
-Eric Belaski |
