On the Water Again

We had to travel about 50 miles out of Anchorage south along the Turnagain Arm to Whittier for our glacier cruise. But getting to Whittier isn’t really that easy. Once you get close there is a mountain, a large mountain. In order to get through the mountain to the other side you have to travel through a tunnel. And not just any tunnel but the longest (2.5 miles) highway tunnel in North America, and the first designed for -40 Fahrenheit temperatures and 150 mph winds! It is a one-lane tunnel and must be shared by cars and trains traveling in both directions (and it usually needs to be aired out in between trips). Of course there is a schedule so getting into the town of Whittier only

happens once per hour leaving on the half hour. If you miss that 15-minute window, it’s a long wait!

Once through the tunnel to the ocean side, we had a drastic weather change…it was totally socked in with dense, drippy fog. Someone on the trip told us that in Alaska there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing choices. Thankfully, like a good scout, I was prepared. On the positive side, lots of fog meant little wind, so the water in the sound was like glass. As we neared the glaciers, small icebergs began to appear. For the most part, our captain maneuvered around them. Occasionally, he would hit one! That loud scraping sound was a more than a little disconcerting.

Besides witnessing lots of stunning scenery in the small bays of the fjords, we visited two different tidewater glaciers (glaciers that flow all

the way down to the sea), and were able to get fairly close in with the engines off. Surprisingly, it was quite noisy. There were numerous thundering waterfalls and cascades coming off the glacier in many places. And the glacier itself was constantly moaning and creaking. When all of a sudden a piece would fall off the sound was something like a shotgun blast or a firework being set off. It was both beautiful and awe inspiring, and truly unforgettable.