Today was LeConte Glacier field trip day. Scott was kind enough to invite everyone to do the trip aboard Impulse – a beautiful 53 Selene. The water was smooth and we zipped out of Petersburg with a few knots of current boosting us along. After a couple of hours, we saw the first icebergs in the distance along the shore. We crossed the bar into LeConte Bay and enjoyed picking our way between icebergs for several miles.
We saw a few seals with pups lounging on icebergs and got a few long-lens shots.
As we got toward the final point we’d need to round to see the glacier, the ice became too dense to transit. We hung out for awhile and played between the icebergs, then turned around and picked our way back out again. This is the nature of visiting these tidewater glaciers – the conditions change hour by hour. Occasionally, you can get as close to the glacier as you dare (for us, that’s always over a quarter mile). Other times, you can’t make it far enough to actually see the glacier. It’s fun playing among the icebergs either way.
At the end of the day, we gathered aboard Airship for happy hour (with glacier ice for cocktails!) and to plan for our next adventures. Tomorrow – Thomas Bay!