Blog

Hubbard Glacier, Glacier National Park

6/14/2018

We slept in... Yea!

We woke to find we were in a fog bank and the ships horn blowing long blasts. Even today with all the tech we have that is required. As we moved out of the bank and it was neat to see the hard line on the ocean as we moved out to clear skies. I was so fascinated I forgot to take pictures of the transition.

Off to breakfast, then signing up for a cruise next September. Yes, we already have our next cruise planned.

After breakfast, we went to a talk given by the naturalist about the glaciers.

Hubbard glacier moves at 80 feet per day. WOW! It is called a galloping glacier. It is 76 miles long and 7 miles wide. At one point it is 1400 feet thick. Ice caves have been dated to 400 years old. The glacier rises 250 feet above and even more extends below the surface.

We were told we will have to stop at a 1/2 mile off the glacier because above water caving can make mini tidal waves. Below water caving can shoot icebergs up unexpectedly. They have been documented to travel underwater before surfacing far from the front of the glacier. As the captain said, “It is best that we not run into large pieces of ice.”. Better safe than sorry.

We pulled into Hubbard pass and weaved between icebergs.

All bundled up with our heavy coats, gloves and scarves for the cold as we approach the glacier.

The temperature is usually near freezing in the pass. With that much ice, I guess it is not surprising.

We are getting closer.

The ship was maneuvered closer to the glacier than usual. Many people commented on this, and we found out later that there were two reasons
1 There wasn't any large ice near the face that would be in the way.
2 The Captain's parents were on board.

We were so close that the sound from the calving directly in front of us had only a one second delay between seeing the fall and hearing the sound. That put us much closer than the half mile that we were told.

We saw so many cavings and heard dozens that we could not see because of the width of the glacier. The sound was incredible. Like the report from a large gun then loud cracking sounds and then start to see the falling ice. After that the sound of enormous pieces of ice falling into the water. It was amazing.