Tracy Arm Fjord and the Sawyer Glacier

Large cruise ships have many advantages but they often can't access sites that smaller ships can more easily navigate. Holland America Line's ms Zuiderdam is a beautiful ship but was too big to take us to Sawyer Glacier, a spectacular glacier that lies at the end of Tracy Arm. Therefore, Steve and I decided to sign up for the Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier Explorer shore excursion on which we would board a 150-passenger catamaran that pulled up alongside the ms Zuiderdam.

We entered Tracy Arm Fjord in the early morning and were welcomed by steep mountain walls that rise up dramatically from the water to 7,000 feet. The landscape was carved by the power of ice, a dynamic process that continues to this day. Although Tracy Arm Fjord is 32 miles long, I believe that the ms Zuiderdam could travel only about 10 miles to the section known as the "big bend," a dramatic 90-degree turn in the fjord's course from north to east. It was at this point that Steve and I debarked the ms Zuiderdam and boarded the 150-passenger catamaran that allowed us to have a close up and personal experience with the Sawyer Glacier. Thank God I bundled up with ski jacket, gloves, scarf and hat because it was cold.

The Sawyer Glacier is 200 feet wide, awe-inspiring and lustrous blue. Although we were 1/4 mile from the glacier's face I felt like I could reach out and touch it. The captain of our ship turned the catamaran continuously so that everyone aboard had the opportunity to view it in all of its majesty. We admired the glacier for around 45 minutes and during that time it calved four times. We heard the distinctive crackle of ice breaking followed by a splashy display. Wow!

Our guides repeatedly told us how lucky we were that the sun was out as it had been a particularly challenging summer as far as weather is concerned. Most of the time, Tracy Arm Fjord is overcast if not raining and it would be difficult to see how truly dramatic this near-vertical landscape is if clouds were covering the tops of the mountains. To truly appreciate the magnificence of Tracy Arm Fjord you must view it from the deck instead of from inside the ship but if it's pouring rain it won't nearly be as much fun as it was in the sunshine.

We also got the opportunity to see harbor seals sunbathing on the ice floes without a care in the world; the ice floes are havens from shore predators and whales are rarely seen inside Tracy Arm. Speaking of whales, we spotted some humpback whales in Stephens Passage on our way to Juneau where we re-boarded the ms Zuiderdam.

More photos of Tracy Arm Fjord and Sawyer Glacier

Below is a video of Sawyer glacier calving: