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July 13, 2025 Marti Eicholz Cruising from Skagway to Tracy Arm Fjord and Sawyer Glaciers, begins sailing through the Inside Passage, a network of stunning scenic waterways. It is a stunning journey through Alaska’s Inside Passage with breathtaking landscapes, characterized by towering granite cliffs, emerald waters, and impressive glaciers. The Odyssey enters Tracy Arm Fjord, a fjord carved by ice and time, just south of Juneau, stretching thirty miles inland, formed by thousands of years of glacial activity. The fjord is part of the Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness, a protected area within the Tongass National Forest. The Odyssey, being a smaller ship, can navigate the fjord’s narrow passages and get closer to the glaciers than larger vessels. Tracy Arm Fjord is a narrow, deep passage, a dramatic, awe-inspiring landscape with steep granite walls rising thousands of feet above sea level, plunging waterfalls, cascading down its cliffs, fed by melting snow and ice, and icebergs, leading to the twin glaciers, the North and South Sawyer Glaciers, at its head. The South Sawyer Glacier, known for its vivid, deep blue ice, is the larger of the two, extending deep underwater, while the smaller, North Sawyer Glacier is impressive, larger ships are unable to navigate as close. Both are active tidewater glaciers, meaning they reach the ocean and calve, breaking off into the water below. We witness the immense power of glaciers calving (breaking off) and floating as icebergs in the water. Icebergs of assorted sizes can be seen floating in the fjord, an impressive sight. Someone said they saw a chunk the size of a three-story building, I didn’t. The area is a haven for wildlife, including opportunities to spot mountain goats, bears, foraging on the shore, whales, breaching in the distance, harbor seals, resting on icebergs, and eagles soaring overhead. Tracy Arm Fjord and its Sawyer Glaciers are more than their stunning scenery. The deep waters, nutrient-rich environment, and strong currents of the fjord allow deep-sea corals like Primnoa pacifica, usually found hundreds of feet down, to survive in shallower waters. The Sawyer Glaciers are notable for their steep descent, with the South Sawyer Glacier currently spilling over a 1,000-foot cliff, creating a dramatic icefall that cascades into the fjord. The Odyssey was able to cruise the narrow inlet past its glacier-carved cliffs and icebergs until blocked by ice before reaching Sawyer Glacier face. The interplay of light, ice, water, and the dramatic landscape make Tracy Arm a photographer's paradise. |
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