Life On Water: Glacier Bay Canoe Trip

I just got back to work after a three week canoe trip in Glacier bay! I started with my brother, for a week, and we went into the east arm.

We found this cool rock that has a bunch of iron in it. It looks like a molten ball of lava.

We found some Oystercatchers too.

We stopped at Seebree flats and found this iris in the field. I wish I had better pictures of the mossy forest there, because it was magical, but it was hard to get a photo to capture it. Taller big trees and no underbrush and lots of moss, but rolling hills too.

Also in the woods we found a Rufus Hummingbird.

We paddled by Sandy Cove and found a brown bear

This one was a male and had been in a few fights, and had his lip stuck on his teeth, probably from dry teeth or something, but it was kinda neat to see.

We followed him for a bit as he ambled around on the shore

And then he started to roll rocks over to look for small fish underneath.

A little later on we found a nice Common Loon that came up to investigate us

A closer view.

Then we found a bear that came out of the woods and growled and got quite territorial about a small beach and we paddled onwards, but I think it was guarding a killed animal.

It is very aggressive in this stance

And even salivating here.

The sunset was really nice that night against the grasses

And here's a view of some lupines

We found a swimming bear the next day

It swam to shore and then ran into the woods

Then we saw a Coyote

I haven't seen many coyotes here. Just one before in fact.

On the last day of Abe's trip we went for a long hike through the woods and to a big muskeg. It had lots of cool cotton grasses

I liked how the horsetails were red colored there.

Abe was busy botanizing. We found a few sedges he hadn't seen before.

There were also some Greater Yellowlegs nesting in the muskeg. We got close enough for them to fly over and tell us we were close, but never found the nests.

A closer look at the yellowlegs

And another Sandpiper that I'm not sure about. Maybe a Solitary?

I just looked in the book, I think it is a Solitary Sandpiper.

As we got to the road there was a spruce Grouse there we got a look at.

Then I dropped Abe off and my friend Sarah came for a 10 day trip.

Early on we paddled to a beach and a mama bear came out of the woods and huffed at us, and we left the beach and floated out.

She was then searching around and agitated and then we found there was a baby seal on the beach too. Interesting! Maybe a meal?

But she was too scaredy-bear, and timidly followed the baby seal down the beach until it got in the water and then swatted at it like it was a spider or a mouse (and she a human) and jumped back. The baby seal then swam off and looked at us with soft dark eyes.

We found another bear looking at rocks

It was a bit shy

But also curious.

We got to Margerie Glacier and looked at the glacier from a nice rock. It calved a bit for us.

The sun sets so far around up there it makes amazing shadows.

I love it.

Then we hiked up into Canada, and found some cool fireweed.

We also found a Ptarmigan family.

Here is a photo of the chick.

I ended up going all the way to Grand Pacific Glacier, and it has a calving face, but it borders a river.

I also saw a Wolverine there, but I didn't get a picture.

Margerie glacier is just amazing. It calved a lot and treated us well.

We caught a ride with the Wilderness Adventurer down to Lamplugh Glacier, and she is looking good still, but the moraine is filling in. There's almost not a lake anymore.