September 5, 2007

The morning started off with the most spectacular scenery of the trip. We woke up early to enjoy this part of the trip, the cruise into Tracy Arm. The clouds and occasional rain weren’t a problem. The limited view of the higher elevations was a reasonable trade for the improved blueness of the ice. The temperature became a bit of a problem as we progressed slowly closer to the massive glaciers at the head of the arm.

Tracy Arm was full of small icebergs that became thicker the further we went. We couldn’t get really close to the glaciers because the ice became too thick, but the views were still spectacular. The fiord felt narrow with our large boat. The mountains extended steeply skyward thousands of feet on both sides. The sense of narrowness was diminished on the way back out when we passed another cruise ship on its way in. The thousand foot boat seemed small in the massive water. Both boats sounded their horns repeatedly as they passed, creating an impressive echoing surround sound effect.

We exited the arm and continued on our way to Juneau, the state capitol. We arrived in the late afternoon. We paid for a shuttle bus to Mendenhall Glacier. While this was a popular stop, it was still quite spectacular. The rain kept many of the people in the visitor center while we enjoyed the views of the glacier and the massive waterfall pouring off the mountain next to the glacier.

We then hiked along a salmon stream. A crowd had gathered in one area and we quickly heard that a bear was feeding on the salmon. We squeezed through the crowd and caught a glimpse of the medium sized black bear in the thick trees. We headed back through the crowd that was now starting to thin as the bear had retreated into the brush. We found our way to another platform where a crowd was beginning to form as the bear had reemerged nearby. The bear grabbed a salmon and ran off. We tried to guess where it was heading and it finally emerged right next to the elevated trail. We moved closer for a look and I found myself along the railing directly overlooking the bear a mere 15 feet away. It had its back to the crowd as it tore at its meal. The bear lifted its head occasionally and looked at the crowd, but it clearly had learned that the people were no threat to its easy meal.

We watched for a few minutes. I took numerous pictures. I never expected to find a situation where I needed to switch to a wider lens to get bear pictures, but it the right lens for the situation was my 50 mm f/1.8 lens. The bear occupied a significant portion of the frame in spite of the short lens. The wide aperture allowed me to get reasonable shutter speeds in the rainy woods. I suspect that most people left with blurry pictures because their shutter speeds were just too long.

We took the shuttle back to town and took a quick hike around. Juneau also has a significant tourist section. We hiked slightly beyond the tourist area to see the capitol building, arguably the most unimpressive of the country. We returned to the boat for a late dinner. I contemplated trying to get some night pictures of the town as we departed, but I was just too tired.