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$Unique_ID{bob01004}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Glacier Bay
Part II}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{National Park Service}
$Affiliation{National Park Service;U.S. Department Of The Interior}
$Subject{ice
park
glacier
juneau
bear
national
service
alaska
river
anchor}
$Date{1983}
$Log{}
Title: Glacier Bay
Book: Part III: Guide And Advisor
Author: National Park Service
Affiliation: National Park Service;U.S. Department Of The Interior
Date: 1983
Part II
River Float Trips
Where the Tatshenshini and Alsek Rivers join, the water flow becomes
triple that of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. This makes for
one of our continent's major float trips. Together, the Tatshenshini-Alsek
river corridor comprises the only break in the coast mountains from Cape
Spencer to the Copper River. Several guides offer float trips under permit,
strictly in summer. Write for a guide list. The trip takes a week or more.
Total distance is around 200 kilometers (125 miles). High peaks, closeby
glaciers, and wildlife assure superb scenery. You end up at Dry Bay, on the
park's northern outer coast, where prearranged air service meets you.
Precautions
Wilderness seems wilder here than in many regions where that term is
used. And some potential hazards here are rare elsewhere. Never travel
alone. If you and your party are inexperienced, don't start out on your own
here. Join a cruise or tour-boat party, or a guided kayak- or float-trip
instead. Those with previous experience, however, can expect an absolute
high-point in backpacking, kayaking, or boating, or a combination of these.
About Bears
Both black bears and brown/grizzly bears can be dangerous, although
brown/grizzlies are more likely to be aggressive. You can't outrun either, so
don't squander your energy trying. The best thing to do is to avoid a
confrontation. Never go deliberately close. Use a long-focus lens for
pictures. When hiking, be noisy, especially when going through brush where
visibility is limited. Talk, sing, whistle, or tie a jingling bell to your
pack. This gives the bears fair warning, and they will usually avoid you,
given that option. Stay out in open country whenever possible, especially if
you've noticed bear tracks, droppings, or diggings. And avoid bear food
sources such as berry patches and animal carcasses. Cook and store your food
in an area well separated from where you sleep. Be scrupulously clean about
your camp so odors are minimized.
Near certain trouble will result if you get between a sow and her cubs.
If a bear charges you, most experts advise that you first try out-psyching it.
Call in a loud but calm and authoritative voice, not a hysterical screech.
The words don't matter. "Stop," and your favorite epithets are probably as
good as anything.
If a bear clearly is going to attack, not just charge in bluff, your best
hope of survival seems to be curling into the fetal position with your fingers
clasped over the back of your neck. Unlike fighting humans, animals usually
need only to exert their dominance, not to inflict prolonged punishment or to
kill. If there are several of you, try linking arms and looking like a huge
adversary while ordering the bear to stop. If you spot a bear, make plenty of
noise and cross upwind so that it can get your scent. Surprise encounters are
to be avoided if at all possible. A Bear Warning leaflet is available free at
Bartlett Cove, or by mail from the superintendent. Get one and study it.
Icebergs and Glaciers
Despite their beauty, floating icebergs are dangerous if approached too
closely. They may turn over quickly or break up without warning. Added
danger - for kayak or dinghy - comes from the waves set in motion by a rolling
berg.
Enormous waves that sweep for considerable distances are set off by ice
falling from tidewater glacier fronts. This is the most common danger from
getting too close to a tidewater ice cliff. The National Park Service
recommends staying at least a kilometer (one-half mile or more) away. The
waves set up may also race along the shore, threatening kayakers or hikers who
thought they were prudently removed from the glacier front. Even a grounded
ice tongue, such as the Reid Glacier, may calve off enormous slabs and bergs.
People have been killed in Southeastern Alaska when walking close to such ice
fronts.
Venturing out onto a glacier is best left to the experienced and
equipped. Ice remnants such as what is left of the Muir, Burroughs, or
McBride Glaciers are a partial exception to this because they have mostly
dwindled into reasonable stability. But even so, what looks like gravel may
just be a thin veneer over slick ice. Last winter's snow may be hiding
crevasses, great cracks like canyons, and moulins, melt holes that drop clear
through the ice. If you hear the muffled roar of water, beware. The ice
covering a melt stream is often thin.
Ice caves along the edge of a glacier are always dangerous. Rocks
embedded in the ceiling can drop, ice slabs give way, and melt streams
somewhere upslope suddenly break loose and send a torrent sluicing through a
cave. Seracs - ice pinnacles - may melt out of balance and crash, a hazard
both of glacier remnants and active snouts.
When Afoot
Meltwater rivers are turbulent. If they come from a glacier they may be
so silty that you can't see bottom. Cross such rivers with care. Keep your
boots on; wet feet are better than risking a fall. Use a stout stick for
balance. Unfasten your pack's bellyband so you can slip out quickly if you
fall. Wide sections of river, usually the most shallow, are often the best
crossing points. Angle slightly downstream as you wade. Early morning
crossings are best because the lower melt rate then means shallower water.
In tidal areas or near glaciers, watch out for quickmud, sediment so
newly deposited that it's still goop. The surface looks okay, but put weight
on it and the deposit liquefies. Poke ahead with a staff if you have any
doubt about what you're getting into. Move as quickly as possible if you feel
yourself sinking in.
Hold to a compass course if you're bashing through alder thickets. You
can't see out, and otherwise you may waste hours going in unhappy circles.
Devil's club is an additional terror. If your necessary route leads through
this thorny hell, don your sturdiest long-sleeved, long-legged clothing.
When Afloat
Floating icebergs and tidewater glacier tongues are the greatest hazards
afloat, as described above. If you anchor in iceberg waters, such as Reid
Inlet or at Wolf Point, consider your emergency action if a large iceberg
should bear down on your boat or anchor line. Know how to cut and run if your
boat hook won't fend off the ice. It's better to lose an anchor and line than
to contend with a big iceberg. Otherwise, don't anchor where tidal currents
could bring a stream of bergs near you.
With tides ranging up to 8 meters (25 feet), you must carry dinghies and
kayaks truly high on the beach when going ashore. Then secure them well by
tying. Similarly, allow ample scope on the anchor line and remember that
adequate water depth at high tide may be unacceptable at low tide. You'll go
aground.
Firearms Warning
Firearms are permitted in the undeveloped areas of the park. If you've
brought one, check with a ranger. They are for emergency use only, not for
display, and some types are potentially more dangerous than effective.
Nearby Attractions
Excursion Inlet
An active salmon cannery operates adjacent to the ruins of a long-defunct
predecessor. The massive timber frameworks of now-outlawed fish traps lie
beached at the inlet's head. No tourist services are available. The inlet's
western shore is in the park.
Hoonah
A Tlingit Indian village, Hoonah offers motels and stores, limited dock
tie-up space and fuel, scheduled flights connecting to Juneau, and charter
flights anywhere. There i