Wednesday, July 3

 

Started the day with empty crab pots but full shrimp pots.  Sharon and I did all of the cleaning of the shrimp in the bin and we had quite a haul!  Ben was our "beheading-the-shrimp" tutor but I don't thing the current shrimp-packing folks are in any danger of the two of us taking any jobs away.  I had to cover up their eyes before I ripped their poor little heads off.  Sharon cried (in a little shrimp voice) "I can't feel my tail" as we tossed the heads off the back of the boat.

Plans for the day were to head for Dawes glacier at the end of Endicott Arm due to rainy weather and poor visibility.  We worked a couple of pods and Adam and I tried to catch up on several days of recordings and pictures in between pods.  Saw some Dahl's porpoises on the move - they joined us for a couple of minutes and then just vanished!

It was a long run to Endicott but when we arrived at the entrance we were treated to an amazing iceberg with four eagles - two adults and two juveniles.  Dennis circled a couple of times for pictures.  We also picked up a couple of whales for which we got fluke shots.  Just inside the entrance is Sum Dum glacier - so named by the natives for the sound that a glacier makes when calving.

Then we started the spectacular journey up Endicott.  The grandeur can't even be described except to say no picture can possible do it justice.  The magnitude of the geography can't help but make a human feel small and insignificant - the towering sides of the fjord rise above the water for thousands of feet and dwarf the boat.  Icebergs of all shapes and sizes drift by on the current with seals aboard for the ride.  All kinds of bird life can be seen and heard on the hunt for food.  Hundreds of waterfalls cascade from great heights, some hidden as they make their way down through the the trees while others are dramatic in their descent.

We had lunch as we cruised up the Arm - salmon tacos and cole slaw.  Nikki is an amazing chef and in addition to the fabulous meals she puts out snacks morning and afternoon.

As you get further and further along the fjord, the topography changes from areas covered in vegetation to areas of new vegetation to the solid rock walls lately scoured by the glacier.  At the end of Endicott is Dawes glacier, a 700 foot high mass of ice (as tall as a 70 story building).  We were there for several hours, watching it calve and making predictions as to which section would be next to go.  The glacier moans and cracks and rumbles all of the time. Then suddenly there will be a cascade of ice followed by an explosion of sound.

We were treated to a wonderful dinner of halibut tonight with the picture windows in full view of the glacier and the waterfall plus harbor seals and harbor porpoises in the waters.  We finally departed the glacier in the rainy dusk - it was interesting to watch Dennis navigate up the fjord, avoiding the icebergs.  We anchored in a small fjord without an active glacier at the terminus so no fear of icebergs running us down.  There's a rushing river there but it's not a tidewater glacier.  There's a scary story about this area that Sharon read tonight and said she thought we should pull up anchor and head on down!  Since the place has no name, we decided on "Sharon's Terror" - the next fjord down Endicott is called "Ford's Terror" so it seemed appropriate.

Click each picture for a larger view.
Use the back arrow to return to this page.


This sea star was firmly
attached to the bait bag!

This lovely creature is
a sea cucumber.

This fellow is a box crab-he
pulls his legs into his shell when disturbed.

The box crab once he's free.

Ready to behead shrimp.

Ben supervising the shrimp operation.
 

The Shrimp Team.

The bin of shrimp

A dyad in a quiet bay.

Eagle on an iceberg at the
entrance to Endicott Arm.

Arctic tern chasing a bald eagle.

Immature baldie trying to take
the perch from an adult.

Sum Dum glacier

Rainy passage up Endicott Arm

Amazing waterfalls

Dawes Glacier

Rock faces scoured by the glacier.

In the middle was a face
we called The Scream.

On the right is the garage door
and to the left of that is the door.

Harbor seals on ice flows.

The glacier was about 1/2 mile
from the boat at this point.
We dined looking at this amazing sight.
     

 

Previous Day

Home

Next Day