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Alaska

GLACIER BAY

ESTABLISHED 1980


Glacier Bay is just how you imagine Alaska to look—with cliff faces of sheer ice rising from a crystal-blue sea, all set against an uninterrupted backdrop of wild and unspoiled nature.

Little compares to seeing a house-sized block of ice crashing into the water or a huge humpback whale seemingly defying gravity as it breaks the water’s surface, but these scenes are common in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. In this ever-changing landscape, there is also abundant wildlife.

On a good day, you might see the spouting of breaching whales, hear the cries of seabirds, spy bald eagles wheeling overhead, or watch a raft of sea otters floating lazily on their backs while balancing a meal of clams on their tabletop bellies. You may even spot a brown bear plodding along the shore or catching salmon for its supper. But the real thrill is in watching a massive block of ice dislodge from the glacier face and slide silently into the sea. A second later comes the thunderous crack, followed by swells that cause your boat to bob up and down like a cork. This is nature at its most sublime. You may be so cold your that cheeks start to tingle, and you may be waddling around in multiple layers of clothing, but nothing will dampen the experience.

Long and winding journey

Just getting to Glacier Bay is an adventure. First, you have to fly or take a ferry to the city of Juneau, which isn’t directly accessible by road. From Juneau, another flight over islands and inlets, or a ferry weaving a meandering route, takes you to the tiny town of Gustavus. The few hundred people who make this remote place their home are mostly the descendants of settlers, and they prefer the isolated life.

At Gustavus, you’ve still not made it to the park, although you can join one of the boat tours here. From Gustavus, it’s a 15-minute drive or 3-hour hike along one of the few roads in this wilderness. You travel through pine forests to Bartlett Cove, and, at last, you’ve made it into the park. The scattering of buildings—a lone hotel, park headquarters, the Huna Tribal House, a dock—is the only sign of civilization in the park’s 3,223,384 acres (1,304,457 ha).

In addition to getting out on the water, by boat or kayak, to experience the park fully you need to set out on foot. For this, be prepared, as in all that wilderness there are only a handful of marked hiking trails, radiating from Bartlett Cove, and the backcountry hikes require a permit. Even the marked trails give a sense of the wildness and make you feel like a tiny speck in a giant landscape.

The trails take you past rivers, ponds, and lakes, through forests where bears and bald eagles live. On some, you’ll see trees carrying ancient carvings made by the Tlingit. This people created tools, even clothing, from the roots and bark of trees, such as the Sitka spruce and the western red cedar. The wood-carving tradition remains strong today, and Tlingit carvers continue to favor a traditional style that incorporates stylized creatures from the natural world and expresses spirituality through art.

In the distance, from a pond or lake, you may hear the wailing of a loon, or one of its other calls, which can sound eerily like the howling of a wolf. Or you might hear the real thing, for wolves, too, live in this seemingly enchanted forest. The journey to get here may be round-about, but it’s worth it to feel the release from the modern crush and to experience the genuinely remote.

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FOCUS ON

Tlingit

The indigenous people who first lived around Glacier Bay were the Tlingit, and an estimated 15,000–16,000 still live in the region. The Tlingit divide themselves into two moieties, or groups—Ravens and Eagles—and then into smaller clans. Their society is matrilineal, so children belong to their mother’s clan.

15,325

The height in ft (4,670 m) of Mount Fairweather, the highest point in the park.

200

The average age of the ice that has broken off the park’s glaciers.

1,410

The deepest part in ft (430 m) of Glacier Bay.

5,037

The area in square miles (13,045 sq km) of Glacier Bay, which is almost as large as the state of Connecticut.

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A Tlingit totem pole is a work of art that tells the story of a person or a clan

Did You Know?

Potlatches—lavish, days-long feasts—were held to mark major life events.

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Campers enjoy the pristine surroundings of Glacier Bay

FAMILY FUN

Whale Watching

June through September is ideal for whale watching. The sight of a humpback whale leaping from the water will be a memory forever. You may see pods on the hunt—herding schools of fish into tight balls, before racing in and swallowing them.

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Hikers are dwarfed by the scale of the majestic Lamplugh Glacier

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