Pacific NW

Expeditions

We decided to go back to the Columbia Glacier today to watch more columns crash into the sea. First we ate breakfast at anchor and watched the icebergs drift by across the mouth of the cove like a never-ending parade of white elephants. The ice on the moraine bar had shifted during the night and we had to weave our way through a different notch. The current was very swift. Smaller bergs swept along in the current were smashing into the larger grounded-out monster bergs and exploding. It was a hot morning too, and the ice everywhere was cracking and popping loudly like bacon in a frying pan. In general the whole fjord was choked with way more ice than yesterday. The binoculars revealed that the entire face of the glacier looked nothing like it did yesterday. Further on up the fjord the ice got extremely thick and I kissed the boat’s bottom paint goodbye as we ground our way through, glancing off the larger bergs. Several icebergs were so massive that their above-waterline heights reached 2 and 3 times as tall as our mast! They were creating their own currents, calving and ice floes. Some time during the night Columbia Glacier must have experienced a full facial collapse! There was so much ice and water pushing its way out of the fjord that we were experiencing a 2.5 knot seaward current despite a flood tide. A stiff wind swept off the glacier and down the fjord as well, driving the ice out and making navigation hazardous for me. We got to within one mile of the face but we were still in big, thick ice packs. I climbed the mast and could see clear water off the face, if only we toughed it out for another 1/2 mile. I decided to abort the mission, for I worried that all the ice would seal off the moraine bar in a few hours and block our escape from the fjord. Never before have we seen so many large and numerous bergs. It was fantastic, even despite the hellish navigation and failed mission. The Columbia will have to wait for another time. Once back out into the sound we brought the engine up to full speed and wove our way around the big bergs. Many had made it out here and were drifting well out into the middle of Prince William Sound. Several colonies of sea otters were hauled out on the bergs. I’d never seen them out of the water like that before. Tonight we are anchored in Long Bay, a beautiful spot with the usual mountains and islands and coves. I went for a row and saw many river otters swimming and running around on shore. On several occasions I discovered upon looking into the water that I was floating over a swarm of Herring. The Herring balls were dense and composed of thousands of fish, and perhaps 20 feet in diameter. They would seek refuge under the hull of Modulus until I dipped the oars in the water, and then they would dart away silently. Tonight for the first time, it was warm enough that we went to bed without building a fire in the woodstove.