Up Close with Glaciers in Prince William Sound, Alaska

Long exposure of a sub-glacial melt river coming out the bottom of this glacier.

I flew to Anchorage, took a bus down to the port city of Seward, and boarded the expedition cruise ship, Safari Explorer. This 36 passenger expedition ship is where I will be working, leading expeditions for the next month. I'll be covering nearly 2,000 miles, traveling slowly in order to check out all the fun stops between Seward, Juneau, and Seattle. Our first trip is a 13 day brand new itinerary from Seward, along the outer coast, down to the Inside Passage, ending at Juneau, Alaska. 33 passengers are signed up for this inaugural trip.

With this kind of trip, there is a lot of ambiguity about where we will actually be stopping and what we will be doing. It'll be very weather dependent, but we do have a top notch crew, that are very good at their jobs. After a smooth night out from Seward, we stopped in at the southwest corner of Prince William Sound. Two beautiful glaciers sit at the back of Icy Bay here, Tiger Glacier and Chenega Glacier. We started off in the morning with typical misty weather, it is a rainforest, and lots of wildlife. We even had a black bear swimming across the fjord. He made it successfully, they are great swimmers, and gave a good shake before climbing up the steep cliff on the opposite side.

In the afternoon I took out a group of kayakers to the face of Chenega Glacier. This is a massive tidewater glacier, coming all the way down to the ocean, that dumps an incredible amount of ice into the fjord. It constantly calved while we paddled in front of it. It saved the biggest for last, giving us a big farewell as we pulled anchor and headed out for some evening cruising. The landscapes here in coastal Alaska are just amazing. Even if we didn't have harbor seals and otters and bears and eagles, it would still be worth it. Waterfalls tumble down thousands of feet from the cliff walls, while sea caves sit waiting to be explored by kayak.

Enjoy the photos and stories of our first day on this amazing trip!

On our way out of Resurrection Bay, we did a side jaunt to "The Spires". This picturesque spot is near Bear Glacier.

Colorful morning conditions in Alaska.

Coming into Tiger Bite anchorage for our first full day of activities on our new Coastal Treasures expedition from Seward to Juneau.

Kayaking past beautiful ice bergs near Chenega Glacier.

Panorama of our kayak in front of Chenega Glacier.

My kayaking group completed the group challenge quite well, posing for a photo in front of Chenega Glacier.

One of the coolest ice bergs I've ever come across. I imagine this chunk of ice came off the submerged bottom of the glacier.

Here is another angle of that cool crystallized iceberg.

Part of the allure of kayaking in Alaska is being able to duck into all the nooks and crannies along the shoreline.

Inside a sea cave, looking out.

Black legged kittiwakes flock on the shoreline as layers of trees line up behind.

Its one thing getting a kayak into a sea cave...but how about an entire cave.

Checking out a new ice garden, where chunks of ice were left stranded by the low tide.

Selfie in front of the glacier.

Another long exposure, done with my iPhone of this finger of the glacier.

The mist clung to the valleys in between the mountain ridges in this massive fjord. A huge piece of ice drifts by, that recently broke off from the glacier at the end of the fjord.

Close up of the blue ice and some of the interesting formations of Tiger Glacier.

*Around the corner from the glacier, we found this idyllic waterfall.

Our other skiff tour, checking out a black bear on shore.

This little black bear swam across the fjord and scampered up this vertical cliff.

A beautiful morning with calm conditions at our anchorage at Tiger Bight.

Just us. Our little expedition boat, the Safari Explorer, at anchor in Tiger Bite on a beautifully calm, Alaskan summer morning.

As always, keep traveling and keep posting!

• Dai Mar