Glaciers & Bears While Paddling in Paradise

Richard Dieter
Sep 5, 2018 · 9 min read

-With Maggie Louden

This is the second installment about our self-guided exploration of the East Arm of Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska. The first installment can be found here: https://medium.com/@rdieter/kayaking-in-glacier-bay-alaska-more-doable-than-you-might-think-f290055b68fd

Muir Inlet, Day 3

Inside a tent, rain makes a distinct tapping sound on the roof. Even though it’s hard to see out, the slower tapping told me the rain was lessening during the night. I woke at first light, about 4 AM (it never gets real dark in June). The rain had fully stopped. I poked my head out and was suddenly overwhelmed with beauty.

The sky was a perfect blue. Clouds hung low on the mountains across the inlet, but patches of emerald green hillsides shown through. The water was glassy blue and still, reflecting the whole scene in reverse.

Something was strange about the beach. It had been completely clear in both directions from our tent the night before. Now there were big objects all along the shore. I soon realized these were small icebergs that had drifted down from the glaciers up inlet. Floating with the receding high tide, they got stranded on the beach. Each one was an original sculpture of perfect beauty and unique color.

I grabbed my camera from its Pelikan waterproof case and started taking pictures to capture the moments. Every picture was a keeper. Still today they recreate some of the same feelings just by looking at them. Maggie soon got up and enjoyed the same sights.

Camera note: I had a Canon DSLR (T2i) with a variable zoom lens. Real photographers would have a more expensive camera and a bevy of lenses. I remember on earlier trips having to change film and switch lenses. You don’t want to do either of those in a sea kayak. Even keeping the camera handy is a challenge. If you have your camera in your drybag, it will be difficult to get it out when wildlife suddenly appears. The Pelikan case had foam inside, which could be cut to snugly fit the camera with its lens attached. When shut, the case was absolutely watertight and could be secured to the kayak with bungee cords. No matter how much rain, waves, or dripping from our paddles, the camera always stayed dry.

We had a nice breakfast, surrounded by incredible sights. We filtered water from a glacial stream to refresh our supply. We realized the glaciers must be close because of all the icebergs on shore and in the water. The weather looked clear and calm. We decided we could make a day trip to the glaciers and still be back by late afternoon. If the weather changed, we’d start back sooner.

The advantage of staying a second night in the same place was that we could travel with an empty kayak–no packing and lighter weight. The disadvantage was that we might be caught with no gear if we had to pull in sooner. However, we knew that if we could get back to any part of the wide cove where we had camped, we could secure the kayak and walk the beach. I suppose there was some danger that our belongings could be disturbed (very unlikely because folks don’t do that out there and besides, we hadn’t even seen any folks on the entire trip so far), or ripped into by a bear (also unlikely because anything that remotely smelled of food was in the bear canisters 200 yards away). So off we went.

Heading Up to the Glaciers

Maggie touching a blue iceberg near McBride Glacier

Kayaking was easy, even the incoming tide was with us. The icebergs in the water told us we were getting close to McBride Glacier, which continues to be a tidal glacier, calving directly into the inlet. Just beyond McBride was Riggs Glacier, which had receded to just off the edge of the water.

The thrill of McBride is that it’s possible to pass through a narrow neck of water separating the main inlet from the small bay up to the glacier’s face. If you approach the neck when the tide is coming out, you’ll be pushing against a strong current and large chunks of floating ice in a tight passageway. If you approach it when the tide is coming in, there’s a danger that the ice will form a blockade behind you as you kayak toward the face of the glacier. It’s best to approach at slack tide, between the stronger push and pulls. But then you have to be careful about when you’re going to exit the channel.

McBride is on the lower left, icebergs that calved off into the bay are in front. The bergs would work themselves through a narrow cut and out into the main inlet.

The rangers and and kayak personnel suggested camping on the neck, but not kayaking in. They realized we were not young survivalists, plus we were alone. We thought we’d see what it looked like and make a decision. We had also thought about camping on the neck, but that would’ve meant bringing all our gear. So, we were pretty much resigned to seeing the glacier from land rather than from our kayak. Once we saw how fast and how many icebergs were floating out of the bay, we were glad we weren’t going to add to our risks. We had already experienced the fact that surprises happen.

(Later, after our trip, we were talking to one of the rangers about going into McBride. He described how former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt had been on a similar trip and did go through the channel. His kayak tipped. Fortunately, he was accompanied by Secret Service officers who pulled him out. If we had tipped, it might have been all over.)

We decided to push on to Riggs Glacier, a short kayak paddle ahead, and then stop at McBride as we headed back to camp. At one point, the tide turned. Up at the northern end of the inlet, you could literally see and feel the change. The water ahead rippled strangely, and the push behind you gradually turned into a resistance ahead of you. Each stroke of your paddle felt different. We were close to Riggs so it was easy to get to the land right in front of the glacier. Moreover, we’d have the falling tide behind us as we went south on our return trip. Perfect.

Dick at Riggs Glacier

We got out of the kayak on a sandbar. There was nowhere to tie up, but with the falling tide there was less and less danger of the kayak floating away. Still, we kept it in sight at all times. You could walk right up and feel the glacier or climb on it if you wished. Silt streams flowed rapidly from the sides as the sun melted the exposed ice. It was quite beautiful. Lots of sea birds also enjoyed the area.

Kayak near Riggs, as tide recedes.

When we had our fill, we climbed back in the kayak for the short trip to McBride. Actually, Muir Inlet continues to the west for five miles or so, but that was for another trip perhaps. The tide was going out when we approached the gap, and icebergs were streaming out at a steady clip. We found a beach on the north side of the inlet and secured the kayak as best we could. Again, the water was receding so there was little danger. We walked the high ground along the bay in front of the glacier. The bay was full of moving icebergs. In the distance, you could hear the loud cracks of new ones breaking off. All around there was a tinkling sound of melting ice.

This was a truly wild spot. Deep growth and mountainsides surrounded the area. In the sand were tracks of grizzlies, wolves, and other animals. We didn’t see any of them, but felt their presence. We went down to the water’s edge and watched the parade of icebergs passing by, quite content that we were not dodging them in a kayak. I made a video that captured the sight and the sounds, though it’s hard to convey the feeling of being there.

The afternoon was waning. The weather was still good and the water calm, but no sense tempting fate. We ate some trail mix and said goodbye to McBride, quite amazed that we had reached this goal that we had naively set a year ago. We had to cross the line of bergs flowing into the main inlet, so we increased up our speed and looked for an opening. We didn’t get through without brushing some smaller bergs, but there was no real danger and the ice could be pushed aside with our paddle.

We rounded the point and pulled safely into the huge cove we had left that morning. Our tent was nowhere in sight, but we had a general idea of where to head. It was the only thing on the entire miles-long shore that would stand out. We were surprised at how close we had to get to it before it became clearly visible. It was a tiny dot on a vast beach. As we got closer, we could tell everything was as we had left it. The sun was still shining as we secured the kayak, cooked a hearty supper, and tiredly crawled into the tent after a great day.

Resting after a good day

Day 4

Water collecting at a typical glacier stream

We were now a little ahead of schedule. We filled our water containers and leisurely prepared to leave camp and head south. We had the luxury of waiting so that we could go with the tide. We probably could have made it to Adams Inlet, but found a good spot to camp that would make for an easy paddle the next day.

After pitching camp, we saw some other kayakers way in the distance. We waved but weren’t sure they saw us. It’s truly amazing that you have one of the most beautiful places in the world all to yourselves. Most people see Glacier Bay from a cruise ship. However, not only are no cruise ships allowed in Muir Inlet, no motorized craft at all are permitted. Kayakers are few and far between.

The beach we were on was long, so we took a nice walk before supper. We spotted what we think was an Oyster Catcher’s nest, lying totally exposed but well camouflaged among the rocks.

Oyster Catcher’s nest

Our tent was on a narrow strip of high ground. When the tide came in, it not only came within a few feet of our tent, but also filled in what we thought was part of the shore behind us. We stayed dry, but not by much. There is usually seaweed and other markings from the previous high tide, but you need to check your tide tables to see if an unusually high tide is expected that could surpass the previous mark by a couple feet. The water was very calm, so once the tide turned it immediately stopped approaching us and started its retreat.

There was no water to the right when we pitched our tent. The tide rose a little more, but left us dry. Nice walking beach.

The previous installment about this trip can be found at https://medium.com/@rdieter/kayaking-in-glacier-bay-alaska-more-doable-than-you-might-think-f290055b68fd The final installment will be published soon. (Questions, comments: rdieter004@gmail.com).