Tracy Arm

Tracy Arm offers a glacier experience close to Juneau.  For those not going to Glacier Bay, this is an excellent alternative.  North and South Sawyer Glaciers can be accessed by venturing up the inlet.  Ice was substantial while we were there and icebergs the size of houses came floating down the inlet.  When we got to the "fork in the road" where we had to choose between North and South Sawyer Glacier, the path to South Sawyer looked impassable due to thick ice.  Instead, we got the dinghy down and Ann drove it toward North Sawyer while Eric followed in the big boat.  To our surprise, the closer we got to the glacier, the LESS ice there was.  As you can see from the photo above, the area at the foot of the glacier was almost clear of ice so Eric was able to bring the big boat all the way in.  The glacier did calve small chunks several times before we turned to leave.

After leaving Tracy Arm, we headed over to Admiralty Island where there is the largest concentration of Brown bears in the US.  (Brown bears are the same species as grizzlies except that their diet is so rich in protein due to their salmon feeds that they are much larger than the interior grizzlies. To distinguish between the two, they call them Brown bears.)  On the island is the Pack Creek Bear Observatory which is staffed by park rangers.  After briefing us on the guidelines (all which are there to protect the bears), a woman ranger led us to the observatory area which overlooks a large stream.  When the salmon are in season, many bears gather here to fish.  That day, we saw two bears.  One female was trotted toward us as we came down the beach.  We were instructed to continue to move at a steady pace to the observatory spot.  Then we stood there silently to allow the bear to go where she pleased.  She continued toward us then we lost her in the tall grass immediately in front of us.  The ranger said she could come up to us through the grass, or could lay down and take a nap.  We waited 20 minutes before she reappeared behind us.  In the meantime, another grizzlies came out of the woods into the clearing.  As the ranger predicted, when they saw each other, the less dominant one left the area.  Since the salmon run was not on yet, the bears tend to solitary and do not like competition.  During salmon season (begins July 4th), only 14 people daily are allowed into the observation area with a $20 permit.