Alaska - Day 6

On our sixth day in Prince William Sound, we awoke to a beautiful, sunny morning with breathtaking glacial views in every direction. Camped on the east side of the fjord, we could see up to Yale glacier, across to Harvard glacier, and along the row of colleges on the opposite side of the fjord. The mountains that had previously been shrouded in clouds were now in full view and it almost felt like we had stepped into a magnificent picture.

We packed up camp in the hot sunshine and prepared to explore the Harvard arm of College Fjord. As we prepared to set off, we listened to the rolling boom of thunder in the distance. It sounded like a thundercloud was looming around the bend, but this thunder had a different source. When pieces of ice crash off the surroundings glaciers and tumble down the icy slopes, the resulting noise echoes across the Fjord creating the sound of thunder. This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as “white thunder” and is often so loud that you look around in alarm expecting to see a massive chunk of glacier abruptly crumbling into the water. In fact, the opposite is usually true. With respect to the size of the glaciers, most (but not all) of the crumbling pieces of ice are quite small, and because sound travels more slowly than light, by the time you hear the thunderous boom, the event that caused it is over leaving you to wonder about the dramatic show you missed.

We set off on glassy water and slowly made our way into Harvard arm. After a thunderous crash off to the the left, we heard a distant voice shout "Wow!", and through binoculars we where then able to make out another group of kayakers. They were 2 miles away across the fjord and this was as close as they got. It was also the first time in almost a week that we'd seen another group of people. We stopped on a rocky, sun-warmed beach for lunch where we had a wide-open view of Harvard glacier and could watch (and listen) to the activity along the face. Harvard Glacier is massive. It stretches over 1.5 miles wide and towers hundreds of feet above the water. It is the second largest glacier in Prince William Sound and it is an awesome sight.

During lunch, we had decided to go to a point about 1 mile from the face of the glacier and then traverse across the fjord to the west side of the arm. As we drew closer to the glacier, the wind picked up dramatically and the waves swept out from the face of the glacier pushing back against our lightweight boats as the thunderous roar of ice falling into water continued. Despite the noise and drama, we actually saw very little ice calve off the glacier face, but it was an impressive site nonetheless.

After Harvard, we continued along past the other collegiate glaciers – Baltimore, Smith, Bryn Mawr, Vassar and Wellesley. On this side of the fjord, we noticed another line dividing the cloudy, cold glacial water from the (slightly) warmer, salty sound water. With the wind behind us we made good time. Late in the afternoon, we decided to head for a small bay in front of Wellesley where a long spit looked like a promising location for camp. However when we arrived at the foot of Wellesley glacier, the enclosed bay was no longer enclosed. Luckily, the camping prospects still looked good!

Once we had the boats unloaded, Dan and I set off to find water. We walked toward the glacier and found nothing but dry stream beds. We turned around and set off in the other direction, but still we found nothing but dry stream beds. On the way back to camp, we came across some grounded icebergs and Dan had the good idea of carrying a chunk of the ice back to use for water. This was a good solution, but it can take awhile for glacial ice to melt, so while Andy, Wendy, and I went about setting up camp and preparing dinner, Dad and Dan got in the double kayak and set off on a half mile paddle across the bay on an expedition for fresh water.

All seemed like it was going according to plan until we realized that almost an hour had passed and the water crew had not returned. With binoculars, we scoured the opposite shore looking for any sign of the two-man kayak, but could not find anything that resembled a boat or a person. We began to wonder where they had ended up in their quest for water and what trouble they could have encountered along the way…... Just when we were starting to get really worried, we spotted them paddling back across the bay. They arrived with plenty of water and luckily had experienced nothing more troublesome than some seriously vicious mosquitoes!

By the time the water crew returned, it was time for a late dinner (delicious Thai rice with vegetables and extra portions for everyone) and our usual assortment of quality biscuits with tea. It had been a long and very satisfying day but also a tiring one and it was starting to get dark, so we made our way to bed to rest up for another day on the water.