Ended up NOT going to the Alaska SeaLife Center yesterday and instead grabbed a free shuttle to the Exit Glacier.
When I think of glaciers I imagine massive ice flows calving thunderous sheets of ice causing waves and the occasional iceberg. In short, this:
So while I wasn’t disappointed, I did have to manage my expectations a bit.
The Exit Glacier feeds from the massive Harding Icefield just a few minutes away from Seward, Alaska. It is a fairly easy hike from the main road/visitor center. The first half mile is paved and the remaining half mile meanders up narrow, but very well marked trails.
Hopefully the photo shows it, but less than a quarter mile past the visitor center, still on the paved path, I saw a bear. Thankfully the visitor center has a chart that tells you what you should do if you spot a bear; Black Bear – talk to it and back away, Brown Bear, stand tall and wave your arms over your head and back away, Grizzly Bear, kiss your ass goodbye and back up. As I recall wetting my pants and crying like a baby was not on the list. Thankfully it was a little (not a baby) Black Bear climbing the tree next to the path. It decided it didn’t like that tree and slid down to climb the next one. About a crowd of fifteen of us stopped to watch until someone said “If that’s the baby where’s the mama?” EFF YOU mister for spoiling my bliss! I snapped as many photos as I could as I backed away.
It was a nice excursion if nothing more than a chance to get off the ship. I was excited for the “repositioning cruise” (moving one dock over) but I unfortunately got back from the glacier just as they raised the gangway so I had to watch it from across the harbor.
Tomorrow (if I can get a wi-fi signal) Day 4 – Morning run through Seward (in the rain) and a “what are the odds” reunion with ex-Kid of the Kingdom and World Dancer, Craig Meyer.