Amazing Glacier Cruise!

Today I went on a cruise in Prince William Sound with Stan Stephens Glacier and Wildlife Cruises, which operates out of Valdez. The cruise was nine hours long and went to Columbia Glacier and Meares Glacier, both in Prince William Sound. Along the way, I saw lots of marine animals and birds, many of which I had never seen before. I know that when I look back on my trip to Alaska, the memories from this cruise will be some of my most vivid and lasting.

Cruise Route

The cruise began in Valdez at the small boat harbor. We passed the Alyeska Oil Terminal, the terminus of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. About ten minutes into the trip, the captain spotted a humpback whale in the water and slowed the boat down so we could see it. The whale was feeding in shallow water, bringing its head out of the water and then diving back down, its tail gracefully rising out of the water and then sinking back down.

A boat in the harbor, with the Alyeska Pipeline facility visible in the background

A humpback whale feeding in the water

After watching the whale for a little while, the boat continued on towards Columbia Glacier. Within a few minutes, we passed several groups (called rafts) of sea otters in the water. The adorable otters were floating on their backs, with their heads and feet sticking up from the water. Interestingly, sea otters are part of the weasel family, and can spend their entire lives in the water. I had never seen an otter before, and thought they were just about the cutest things in the world.

Raft of sea otters

After a while, the sea otters swam away and we continued on. The boat passed through the Valdez Narrows, with rocky coastline on either side. It was a very beautiful spot.

Heading towards the Valdez Narrows

In the Narrows

As we continued on our way, we came across a buoy in the water, with three Stellar Sea Lions laying on the base. We passed by, with the captain promising we would see more at Bull Head later in the trip.

Stellar Sea Lions on a buoy

Sea Lions

Soon, we began seeing icebergs ahead in the water. The icebergs had all recently broken off of Columbia Glacier, the largest glacier in Prince William Sound. Columbia Glacier has been in "catastrophic retreat" since 1982, and loses about four meters of ice per day in the summer. This glacier is among several in the area named for East coast Ivy League colleges (Columbia, Harvard, Yale, etc.) Here is an interesting article on why the glaciers were named this way. We slowly passed through the ice field and to the terminal moraine of the glacier, or the extent the glacier has ever advanced. Icebergs large and small floated past us, many of which were the deep, pure blue color of pure ice. If you are interested in learning why some ice can appear blue, read this article. The terminal moraine was incredibly beautiful, with blue ice, many icebergs, and mountains all around.

Icebergs from Columbia Glacier

Looking toward the terminal moraine of Columbia Glacier

Icebergs in the water

Blue ice

At the moraine

After spending some amazing time at Columbia Glacier, we continued on our way to Meares Glacier. On the way, a bald eagle perched in a tree on shore, and then soared away. It was a wonderful sight to see.

Scenery on the way to Meares Glacier

Bald Eagle

After a little over an hour, we reached Meares Glacier. Unlike Columbia Glacier, Meares is a tidewater glacier that is actually advancing. The boat stopped right in front of the glacier, a blue and white wall of ancient ice and snow that stretches about a mile on the edge of the water. The glacier was full of large cracks. It was loud - the echoing sound of ice cracking was nearly constant. Small pieces of the glacier calved right in front of the boat, meaning they broke off the glacier and fell into the water. It was a breathtaking and humbling sight to see. As we admired Meares Glacier, a pair of eagles flew above us in unison.

Meares Glacier from end to end

Eagles above the boat

Detail of the glacier ice

As we neared Meares Glacier, and as we departed the area, we could see harbor seals resting on icebergs in the water. It was just like something you might see on the Discovery Channel, but it was amazing to see in real life. On one iceberg, there were two seals, and I caught some photos of one of the seals sliding into the water. It was beautiful!

Harbor Seal

Watch the lighter one...

Splashing into the water

As the boat left the bay that contained Meares Glacier, Dall's Pourpoise began swimming in the bow wake of the boat in front of us. Several swam in front of the boat for a few minutes. I stood on the bow and watched them below me. These sea mammals look like dolphins, but their bodies are black, with white patches on their sides, dorsal fins, heads, and tails.

Dall's Porpoise

Just as the Dall's Porpoise swam away from the boat, we spotted a humpback whale to one side of the boat. It spouted water from its blowhole, and we caught glimpses of its dorsal fin and tail coming out of the water as it dove down. Then, all of a sudden, the whale exploded out of the water and into the air, no more than 20 feet from the front of the boat where I was standing. It was so amazing and unexpected - my heart nearly leapt out of my chest from the thrill of it all! Somehow, I had the presence of mind to point my camera at the whale and managed to capture a couple of shots of the breach! At the beginning of the trip, I had only hoped to catch any small glimpse of a whale, but this sight far exceeded my expectations! The captain later told me that in his ten years on the job, he'd only seen a similar sight on one other occasion. I feel very lucky to have witnessed this.

Water from the blowhole

Dorsal fin of humpback whale

Whale breaching

Impact

After that unbelievable experience, the boat headed to Bull Head on Glacier Island, where huge groups of Stellar Sea Lions were sunning themselves of the rocks. There were also a few sea lions swimming in the teal water. In this area, we also spotted some puffins on the water, with their characteristic orange beaks.

Stellar Sea Lions at Bull Head

Puffin

Nearby, we passed Bligh Reef, where the Exxon Valdez oil tanker ran aground in 1989, causing the devastating Exxon Valdez oil spill. The captain explained the events that led to the spill and explained that spilled oil never reached many of the areas we had traveled on the tour. In the areas it did reach, he explained that there is still oil on the beaches, just under the surface. At most, 4% of the oil is naturally cleansed per year, meaning that much of the oil remains, and will remain for years to come. This gives me a terrible feeling about the future effects of the massive amount of oil leaking in the Gulf of Mexico. In Prince William Sound, new rules went into effect after the spill. Now, oil tankers must be escorted by special tugboats with oil spill response capability through much of the sound. Also, specially trained boat captains, called pilots, board the oil tankers in Prince William Sound to navigate the vessels out of the sounds. We passed by the Bligh Reef Pilot station and saw some of the pilot boats.

Pilot boats

We made our way back through Prince William Sound to Valdez. The rest of the trip was gorgeous, with mountains, cliffs, and waterfalls to marvel at. This was a truly unforgettable experience that I am so thankful for!

Bald eagle soaring near Anderson Falls

Anderson Falls