Capturing the Moment

  All this ice is not going to be easy to get through, but we've gotta get closer to the glacier, so here we go! Stuck in the ice, and loving it, at Chenega Glacier. Chenega Glacier is located in Nassau Fjord, towards the southwest corner of Prince William Sound in Alaska. The closest port is Whittier, but we arrived from Seward after driving through the night. Because of its remote location, we don't usually see any other boats while we are here. Today was the same, as we had the whole fjord to ourselves. We also had perfect kayaking conditions, with not a drop of wind. We even had sun shining down, which made up for the otherwise frigid temperature outside. Today I led a guided kayak, from the back deck of the Safari Explorer towards the glacier face. Along the way we stopped for beautiful harlequin ducks, waterfalls, and mountains goats. But the real draw was a massive tidewater glacier. Chenega Glacier is one of the most active glaciers we go to here in Prince William Sound...

  The low tide had placed this piece of ice perfectly atop this rock inside the cave. View from the back of the cave. The goal of today's paddle was to head to the face of a very active glacier, called Chenega Glacier, and see if we could witness some calvings. However, I don't want to miss all the amazing nooks and crannies of the shoreline on the way. There can be surprises around every corner if you slow down and take the time to explore. I love paddling around ice and watching glaciers calve from water level, but I think going back into crevices and caves in the cliffs can be just as fun. And it can be very photogenic. Today was an extra special kayak. The group included my sister and brother in law. We had incredible weather, calm seas and sunshine. The glacier itself was very active, with a few huge calvings. We were able to paddle through the brash ice, bouncing off big growlers. It sounded like rice krispies all around us. And we got to check out some really cool sea ca...

  Kayking in Nassau Fjord in Prince William Sound. This scene reminded me of my time in Antarctica. In the southwest corner of Prince William Sound, Alaska, there is a place called Icy Bay. It was first explored by Joseph Whidby in 1794 and named by George Vancouver. Tiger glacier is at the end of the southern finger and Chenega glacier dominates the northern finger. Chenega Glacier is the second largest glacier in Prince William Sound, draining most of the Sargent Icefield. We spent the morning exploring Tiger Glacier by small boats called skiffs. We had fun exploring the waterfall-filled cliffs on the way up the fjord. Then we were surprised to find that the ocean in front of the glacier was frozen. There was sea ice packed from one side of the fjord to the other, making it impossible for us to get within a mile of the glacier. The scenery was still beautiful and lots of harbor seals were up on the sea ice with their pups. We did come across some sea otters and a flock of Barrow'...