We woke up anchored near the southern end of Wallace Island, a three-mile-long, half-mile-wide body of land in the Gulf Island archipelago. It was a beautiful, sunny, and calm day, perfect for hiking and kayaking, our chosen activities for the day. After lunch, we encountered a pod of orca whales. Some guests watched from the bow of the ship, and others watched from Zodiacs that followed the whales through Active Pass into the Strait of Georgia.
5/15/2024
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National Geographic Quest
Tracy Arm, Fords Terror Wilderness
Except for a few hardy souls who were up at 04:00 for crossing the terminal moraine into Tracy Arm, most of us awoke well inside the Fords Terror Wilderness. Shortly before breakfast, we chanced upon a black bear grazing on the shore, and stopped to say “HI”, while Ann Marie started stretch class on the sun deck. As we passed Sawyer Island, we saw that the ice would not be so thick as to hamper our approach to the glacier, and by 09:00 the first of our Zodiacs were headed off in a light, May mist. We saw (and were seen by) many seals as we made our way toward the glacier’s face, and just as the cold and damp were starting to penetrate, we were greeted by the storied cocoa pirates, bearing hot cocoa with a little something extra! After lunch, we stopped for a peek at the Hole in the Wall waterfall, where Captain Paul put our bow right up against the cliffs, so we could all get an up close and personal view! The rest of the afternoon was filled with talks and wildlife viewing as we made our way toward tomorrow’s destination at Glacier Bay National Park! Photos by: Jeff Campbell, Karson Winslow, and Antonio Segura