Red, White & Shades of Blue

 

A favorite iceberg in Le Conte Bay, AK.

Last week we started thinking, “Where will we be on the Fourth of July?” We know the route we are taking to Glacier Bay, basically. But there are options about which islands we go around, which of hundreds of coves we anchor in, and which towns we can stop in. 

Generally, we have been planning our days the night before. We learned what daily distance we are willing to go. We use various written guides and personal advice to pick the stop. We also pick optional coves along the way in case we need to duck out from the conditions. We haven't needed to yet, but it's there when we will need it. So far, we find that pushing off early in the morning gives us the smoothest conditions, but that isn't always the case, depending mostly on currents, which aren’t 100% predictable.

Back to the Fourth, we figured out that we will have left Ketchikan, spent one night anchoring in Vixen Cove, and would probably be in Wrangell. We looked online and learned that Wrangell’s Fourth is an old-fashioned, small-town celebration. Sounded like fun! We burned 2 nights in this working-class, one-hardware store town. 

First, we visited Petroglyph Beach State Park. There were many petroglyphs scattered on large, smooth rocks along the beach. Totally approachable. 

It was fun discovering the petroglyphs. We wanted to capture them. 

This was my favorite. Looks like a shorebird to me. 

These petroglpyhs were in these homeowners’ backyards. Can you imagine?!

We walked about a mile from the Petroglyph Park to downtown. The streets along the way were deserted. We rounded a corner and saw the whole town watching their parade. Zoom in and see it’s the local kids riding decorated ATVs.

After the parade and street food (hamburgers—like we found in all Alaskan towns) was the Logger Competition. What fun! Here was the chainsaw race. How fast could you cut a slice off the log with a 15lb. vibrating chainsaw?

Next was the ax race. These guys were trying to chop the log in half first. While balancing! The poor guy on the right, a fisherman, broke his first ax. He had no chance against the big guy in the middle who was a professional tree feller. 

After Wrangell, we moved West and North through Wrangell Narrows to the fishing-cannery town of Petersberg. We got advice that we should not miss Le Conte glacier, which was a one-hour ride from Petersberg in our fast RIB. So we stayed two nights in Petersberg, to do this. 

The ride over and down to Le Conte Bay was a bit challenging. The RIB takes a 1-2 foot chop and small white caps well, but let's just say it requires full concentration. 

As we approached the entrance we were so excited to see our first icebergs!

The approach to Le Conte Bay. Starting to carefully watch for submerged icebergs—like the first ones we see up ahead. 

As we rounded the corner in the bay, the temperature dropped perhaps 10 degrees F, and we began to see more bergs. We needed to round two curves in the fjord in order to get to the glacier. As we went deeper, the bergs grew to a slew of many baby bergs, which essentially blocked our way into going further. 

However, we thoroughly enjoyed the glacier-cut mountains and energetic waterfalls surrounding us on both sides and got to encounter approachable-sized icebergs up close. 

Lots of baby bergs. Lovely waterfall.

Mike had to have a close encounter with the cutest of baby bergs.

Every iceberg had a story. I imagine this one was a little on dirt. See the stripes on the right? It picked up dirt as it moved towards the ocean. One day, boom, it falls. Slowly melts. Turns on its side as weight redistributes. 

Every iceberg is a modern work of art. Some looked like this. The blues were out-of-this-world. 

I’ve heard that icebergs are beautiful, but seeing them in 3D is the only way to believe. Check this out:

After we left Wrangell early the next morning, it was grey out. We were surprised that we could see the actual Le Conte glacier from the main waterway on our way North. 

The Le Conte glacier on our way North. That’s it just right of center. 

Tracy Arm was a must-see recommendation from experienced boaters. We had no idea the sheer majesty of this amazing fjord. It was a 10-hour cruise to get there from Wrangell, but still on our way to Glacier Bay.

Here’s our home sweet home in Tracy Arm. We anchored 2 nights near the opening of the fjord. Mike played with his drone and got this pic.

We buddied up with a couple we met on another boat to explore the fjord together in our RIB. We weren’t sure if we’d be able to see the actual South Sawyer glacier, or if we’d be blocked by dangerous icebergs. 

The fjord zigged and zagged. After each turn was a new, incredible vista. The glacier cut walls were about 2000ft/600m at first. With each turn, they grew…to 3500ft/1000m and to 5000ft/1500m! It was like floating through Yosemite Valley, with one El Capitan after another. As we passed the rock faces the wind warmed, and after the next turn, it cooled back to glacier breezes. The valleys were lush with trees and unnamed waterfalls reached up and way back to distant peaks. 

After 1.5 hours we were rewarded with a clear vista of the South Sawyer Glacier. Being that this was a “minor” glacier, we didn’t expect the large scale. We appreciated the rich blue hues that are just hard to sufficiently describe. 

Here was the view of the whole glacier. 

Here’s a better close-up. I wish you could see the small grayish dots on the floating bergs. They’re seals. Dozens of cute seals.

Mike created a video story of this day. You don’t have to login or sign up. You can just click on the link. 

We’re at the same latitude now as Sitka. Hard to believe we’ve gotten here in 3 weeks. 

Next, we plan to spend a few days in quiet coves as we continue North. We’ll re-supply in Hoonah for our stay in Glacier Bay, which we may stay in for up to a week.

Boating miles: 946

Boating hours: 116