Seward and another boat ride

Today we take a 6-hour catamaran ride to a couple of fjords in Resurrection bay at Seward, part of the Kenai Fjords National Park.

We are warned there is some open sea so a number of us take Bonine, sold OTC as a non-drowsy improvement on Dramamine.  It works in my case, or the seas just aren’t consistently that tough, but a handful of the group has a miserable time, and many felt drowsy from the Bonine.

Unlike on the Whittier tour the narration here is clear, and we have a good day.  Spotted are numerous puffins, bald eagles, Steller sea lions, harbor seals, orcas, common murre dolphins, seagulls (of course) and humpback whales, one of which surfaces and dives about a body’s width from the port bow (see separate post).

The captain takes us fairly close to one 400’ tall glacier and voices  hush.  Waterfalls and fire-hydrant-like blasts of water can be seen and heard coming from lower portions of the glacier.  Suddenly there is a fairly loud animal-like growl lasting a few seconds but nothing happens, no calving.  Random lesser sounds continue and we wait expectantly but after a half-hour the captain gives it up and we leave, consoled by the humpback whale that surfaced so close.

Our camp from the boat.

Afterwards, Marcia and I drive to a trailhead for a 1-mile hike to the Exit glacier, so named because in the days of exploration (not terribly long ago) this glacier was considered the best exit from the Harding ice fields.  The Harding ice fields spawn over 40 glaciers and cover hundreds of miles.

This is a pleasant and easy hike and as we ascend we learn that the signs we’ve been seeing for at least a mile on the road and trail show how far the glacier used to extend.  Our only hiking disappointment: you aren’t allowed within maybe 50 feet of the glacier, and it is retreating fast.  OK, maybe not that fast but it is out of reach on the other side of a drainage area.