Juneau Tracy Arm Fjord

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Thursday July 12, 2007
Today we went on a boat excursion to Tracy Arm Fjord. I had read that this was a good tour to see calving glaciers, whales and beautiful scenery. It was less expensive than a cruise to Glacier National Park and closer to Juneau and it is basically the same landscape on a smaller scale.
We woke up to -- - -rain! It was pouring down. So we dressed accordingly!! The boat left at 8:00 am. There were about 38 people aboard. It took two hours to get to the mouth of the fjord. It was cold and rainy outside, but the cabin was warm and dry. Frank didn’t want to miss anything so he spent the entire trip on the front of the boat. He shot some nice video, but was wet and cold. I went outside when there was interesting photos to shoot.
The scenery was beautiful; steep mountains rise 7,000 feet over the water; waterfalls cascade down over rock faces and spruce trees; u-shaped forested valleys cut by glaciers thousands of years ago were everywhere and at the end of Tracy Arm two blue tidewater glaciers. The color was great. Huge icebergs and bergy bits floated around us.
The further we traveled into the fjord, the better the weather. It stopped raining and the by the middle of the morning the sun was shining. The end of the fjord split into a Y. On one side was the Sawyer Glacier and on the other side was the South Sawyer Glacier. South was the larger and there were young Harbor seals lying on the icebergs in front of the glacier. We saw some small avalanches of ice into the water - - -nothing huge, but it was neat to hear and see.
Then we visited the north glacier. Saw a sea lion sunbathing and there was a small calving of that glacier. I couldn’t get a photo, but Frank got it on video.
Heading back to Juneau we encountered a small pod (4) of humpback whales. They were fairly close to the boat. We could see them on the surface blowing air and then they dived deep and showed their tails! It was great!
We got back to port about 6:30. It had warmed up to the mid-sixties. Frank was wind and sun burned, but happy.
It was a great day; one of the best of our trip.

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Photos

Sea Lion Sunbathing
The Captain said it was unusual to see them here.

Comments

[Jeanette McSherry]

? on excursion
Gorgeous pictures. We want to take this excursion but it's not offered by our cruise. We have 10 hours in Juneau and the only excursion I can find is 10 l/2. Might you know any charters or independent companies that offer this? thank you

[Travels in the Cozy Turtle]

Tracy Arm Fjord
Sorry, can't help you. I honestly don't remember the name of the tour company we went on. Tracy Arm is more than an hour away from Juneau. It takes awhile to get there.