The day started out early, cold, and rainy. We didn't get up in time for breakfast. No coffee to be had. The rain had picked up over night and was now spitting cold biting drops into the wind. We were worried our tour would be cancelled. But, no...our bus loaded up and took us into the rain forest. Prepare yourself, I'm about to drop some knowledge on you.
The Tongass National Park is our nation's largest national forest, covering about 17 million acres. And the tiniest fraction that we saw was incredibly beautiful. The first part of our tour included a walk through the rain forest up to the Mendenhall Glacier.
The forest is a recycling machine and is based on M A S H. M - moss.
There's not much top soil here. Moss in the organic base for much of the growth, and it's everywhere! Spongy, absorbent, prolific, and nutrient-rich, it provides the forest floor with an engine for growth.
A - Alder
The Red Alder trees are broadleafs and give the forest it's canopy.
S - Sitka Spruce
Spiky and not too tall, the Sitka Spruces are the main firs of the forest. In the spring, the new growth gets compacted on the tip of each branch. Those compacted buds are bright green, soft, and edible. But I like the fact that brewers use them for Spruce Tip Ales!
H - Hemlock (not the poisonous kind)
The Western Hemlock's graceful bows are the tallest in the forest.
This is called Devil's Club - it's everywhere and its stems and leaves are covered in spines.
These are lupins - cousin of the Texas Bluebonnet
And this is Fireweed - it spreads like, well, wild fire!
The trail we were following dumped us out at Mendenhall Lake - in full view of the Mendenhall Glacier
This pic doesn't even begin to do it justice. And, by the way, this IS the close-up!
The glacier is basically a river of ice that flows from a larger ice field - the Juneau field - which covers about 1500 square miles. I know...that's huge...but it is Alaska!
Next to the glacier, is Nugget Falls. This looks like a spillway, but it's actually about 100 feet high. And yes, that's an iceberg in the foreground.
There was another bit of ice near the shore, and our guide waded in and pulled it out. This is what is looked like when held by one of the others in our group against her blue poncho.
Here's Joe holding it.
Yes, he thinks he's the Oracle of Delphi.
Here's a pic of the glacier through the hole in the iceberg.
To give you a bit of perspective, this ice was formed about 250 years ago. When the American Revolution was gearing up, these glacial waters were freezing up. Back when there were no pollutants in the water or air. This is pure, very pure ice...250 years old. And it's melting in our hands.
The trail then took us across the Mendenhall River where the salmon were just starting to run. We were hoping to spy a bear or two trying to catch a quick meal, but we only saw some bear shit...yes, it's true, they DO shit in the woods.
So we left the forest and moved on to the second part of the tour - whale watching. In 1970 there were only about 500 humpback whales. We'd hunted them almost to extinction. But in the late 70s, a guy named Roger Payne did an article for National Geographic and included in the issue a pull out vinyl record of whale song. I personally remember that record and played it on my record player.
Anyway, that recording helped save the whales - it gave them human qualities; it gave them souls. They were placed on the endangered species list, studied, analyzed, protected, and nurtured. Now...there are over 25,000 humpback whales. And they are magnificent!
Joe has a video of this breach-fest, but the file is huge and the internet sucks. Our guide said he thought it might have been a mother teaching her calf how breach...who knows...it was amazing!
We returned to the ship late and were totally exhausted...so now I'm two days behind. Tomorrow, I'll tell you about our day today in Skagway, and hopefully have some good pictures of our cruise through Glacier Bay!
You get the Oracle at Delphi, I get the son of Apollo. My, the company we keep.
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