- Ferry crossing to Gustavus next to Glacier Bay National Park
- Orcas swim right next to the ship
- Sea otters, sea lions and two humpback whales seen
- Mother elk and young animal in front of the park lodge
- Hike to the Barlett River
- listen to orcas in the evening ranger lecture
Already at 6:30 a.m. it is time to get up and drive to the ferry dock at Auke Bay. At least the magical morning mood over the sea is worth getting up. There it takes a while until the car is stowed in the belly of the M / V LeConte. I use the waiting time to organize my return trip in three days. The ship casts off in thick fog in the direction of Gustavus, a town with 400 inhabitants. The ferry connection has only existed since the end of 2010. There is also a daily Alaskan Airlines flight and seaplane charter. They are the only connections from Gustavus to the outside world. Most visitors to Glacier Bay come on the huge cruise ships anyway. Unfortunately, the damage these monstrous ships inflict on the fragile ecosystem of the park are just as enormous. Be it through air pollution or the noise that they cause and thus drive away whales, for example. After a humpback whale was rammed and killed a few years ago, shipping was limited to two cruise ships a day.
Hardly out of the mist-shrouded harbor the sky opens up visibly. The Inside Passage shows itself again from its most beautiful side. Two times we see the blow of a humpback whale in a great distance, closer are some sea otters. The absolute highlight is a group of orcas that pass close to the ferry. Some sea lions hang around in the port of Gustavus. Actually, I want to find out more about the place, but can't find anything relevant. So I continue on the only longer road to Barlett Cove, 15 km away. This is where the lodge and the Visitors Center are located, a few hiking trails and a walk-in campsite. That's it with the infrastructure of the park, which is largely designated as a wilderness area. Right outside the lodge I meet a mother moose and her young who graze right on the road.
I start to hike to the Barlett River. The 8 kilometer long path leads through fascinating rainforest and along the coast to the mouth of the river, where salmon can also be found. And where there is salmon, bears are not far away either. Since it's ebb tide, the river is quiet. My hiking boots and pants are marked by the extremely muddy path after the hike. Just before I get back to the parked car, it starts raining.
After a shower, I listen to the interesting ranger lecture on Orcas "Wolves of the Sea". Then I drive to a small parking lot just outside the national park. Here I quickly warm myself up leftover food, make a salad and write a diary before I climb into my roof tent.
