Kayaking at Meares Glacier, Alaska

 

Peaking through an iceberg at my kayak group near Meares Glacier in Prince William Sound.

Kayaking around glaciers is one of my favorite things. This morning I led a small kayaking group from the mothership, anchored about a mile and a half away from the face of Meares glacier. This is a rare glacier in that it is slowly advancing, bulldozing its way through the Alaskan rainforest. Almost all other glaciers here are retreating. It can be a very active glacier, dropping huge chunks of ice off the face into the fjord waters below. This is what I wanted to explore today. I set off with a group of four other adventurous kayakers to see what beauty we would find. None of us expected it to be quite as beautiful as it was.

Pristine conditions for kayaking this morning at Meares Glacier in Unakwik Fjord.

The waters were flat calm. It was almost like paddling on a mirror. I led our group into thick brash ice as we crossed the fjord to check out some waterfalls on the far side. The kayaks cut through the brash ice easily, although occasionally you would bump off a larger piece, ruining your carefully chosen path. We took several stops just to soak in the beauty of the ice. It was like we were in the middle of a slushy. Not you usual sea kayaking.

We made it past waterfalls, black legged kittiwake rookeries, and rainforest covered cliffs, before finding ourselves in front of the magnificent Meares Glacier. We spent all morning paddling, and stopping, paddling and stopping, trying not to rush so we could soak in the experience. We made a big loop, coming back along the near shoreline to explore all the nooks and crannies. I'm glad we did, because I found a beautiful sea cave, filled with ice, that was just waiting to be discovered. The photos from the morning need to go up on my wall somewhere.

As if all of this wasn't enough, when we finally made it back onboard, I thought the fun shouldn't end there. So we opened up the back deck for an adventurous polar plunge. As always, jumping into the icy cold waters of Alaska was a real shot of life.

Getting a closer look at the face of Meares Glacier.

Starting our kayak trip from the Safari Explorer.

I led our group through the thick brash ice. It was like being inside a slushy.

Another look at the brash ice.

There were some bigger icebergs out there as well. This was a beautiful one that I just had to capture.

Beautiful views of rocky cliffs, dense temperate rainforest, snow capped peaks, and a huge tidewater glacier. Also notice my hood ornament.

I can't pass up an opportunity to explore a sea cave. This one was more magical than most with the addition of floating ice bouncing around inside.

There is only one thing to do after such a successful kayaking morning...polar plunge!

The leading edge of the glacier, bulldozing its way through the rainforest as it slowly advances.