Glacier Bay, Alaska 2000

Monday, Glacier Bay
What struck me when I first saw a glacier is how immense they are! They are truly massive moving mountains of compacted ice. The great variety of colors was also unexpected.

Some of the glaciers had long lines of brown sediment running like horizontal veins across the face and others had deep pockets of gorgeous shades of blues and turquoise. They are amazing and I found it hard to take my eyes off of them. In a stark, yet, beautiful way, they are mesmerizing.

Reid Glacier

I was lucky enough to see huge chunks of ice fall from a glacier on several occasions. This is referred to as 'calving' and it is a true spectacle. When the chunks of ice fall to the water there is usually a huge loud thunderous bombing sound that makes you jump.

Unfortunately, the sound is usually heard a few seconds after the ice falls. So, you can't take your eyes off the glaciers if you want to see the calving in action. Sometimes huge pieces would fall and the waves would filter all the way to our boat which was sometimes a mile away.

A few interesting facts about glaciers:

Ten percent of our world is under ice today – that is equal to the same amount of land which is currently being farmed.
If the world's ice caps thawed, the sea level would rise enough to cover half of the world's cities.
Alaska is 4 % ice.

In Alaska, I felt as if I had traveled back in time to when man had never stepped foot in Alaska. It was a magical experience to be in a place which felt so utterly pristine. The feeling of being close to wildlife who have no fear of human contact changes your attitude to nature.

You get a real sense that the animals really were here first and we showed up and encroached upon every aspect of their lives. I had a feeling of peace, happiness and appreciation that I was lucky enough to get a chance to experience Alaska. However, I also felt a sense of sadness that there are so few places like Alaska left.

Alaska gives me hope for the future of conserving wildlife and habitats. A vast majority of the land in Alaska is either registered as National Parks, Preserves or Wilderness areas. It seems to me that Alaska has been able to learn from the environmental mistakes in other parts of the world, as well as the destructive use of tourism.

If tourism in Alaska can remain responsible and educated, while bringing in revenue for the local people and parks, then hopefully Alaska and its wildlife will have a bright future for hundreds of years to come.