Glacier Bay Lodge: Back to the '60s

Our flight from Juneau arrived at 8:30 pm just in time
 for dinner at Glacier Bay Lodge.

Some things never change, and Glacier Bay Lodge, on the edge of Bartlett Cove in Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve, feels like one of them. Built in 1966, it is the only federally funded lodge in the national park system. Building it was no small trick, since everything for construction arrived by barge. There are no roads into Glacier Bay National Park. We are talking remote.
We arrived with our three grandchildren, ages 10, 8 and 6, after 13 1/2 hours of flying...and we only came from Oakland, California! We had a couple of long layovers, and caught the daily flight on Alaska Airlines from Juneau to Gustavus, a burg of about 300 hardy souls. The shuttle bus was there to take us to the lodge, where we checked into our room. Rooms have one double bed and one single: there were five of us. A large rollaway was soon in place, and as our 10-year-old grandson wrote in his journal: "It was a bit small, but it all worked out." And it did.

Swinging at Glacier Bay Lodge.

We hustled to get dinner before the dining room closed, and found the food as good as our last visit four years ago. At 10:30 pm, it was still bright outside, so we took a little walk and swung on the wooden swing below the lodge.
It was 7 am before we knew it, so it was on with the gear, breakfast and our all-day cruise. The Baranoff Wind is a comfortable day cruiser that shuttles guests through this water wonderland taking whichever route seems best for the day. On our last visit we went to the Margerie Glacier; this time it was to Johns Hopkins Inlet and Glacier that had been sealed off due to heavy ice until a few days before our arrival.

Johns Hopkins Glacier looms behind the inlet.

Think bobbing among icebergs. Each trip is different, but a ranger accompanies you, and everyone gets an eye-full of wildlife including hundreds of birds, grizzly bear, sheep, sea otters and whales. Ranger Emma was not only knowledgable, but great with our grandchildren. Two opted to become Junior Rangers, and the experience was fun for both girls.

The second day, it was rain, rain, and more rain, but that didn't stop my husband and grandson from their planned day of halibut and salmon fishing with Capt. Mike Halpert. How often can a boy catch is own bait then pull in a fish that weighs as much as he does? Pure joy!
We had seen a few whales as part of our Baranoff Wind tour, but our half day on The Taz was extraordinary whale watching. The 45 foot, 23-passenger craft is outfitted with a hydrophone system that gives guests an incredible opportunity to not only see whales, but to hear them. The mammoth humpback whales had a lot to say as they swam around us, under us then "bubble netted". The feeding technique involves a warm of whales that circle creating a bubble net around their herring prey. You can hear them chatting and see the surface bubble; then suddenly there is a loud call and in unison their mouths soar into the air, swallowing their catch in openings big enough to hold a VW bug. Humbling for humans to watch.
John Muir was humbled by Glacier Bay in 1879, and again, some things never seem to change. The massive ice that once filled the bay is gone; huge chunks of glacial history crash and fall, calving into the water; sea life abounds thrilling those who watch; multi-storied cruise ships slide through the wonderland and kayakers do the same. So, it has changed, and will continue to do so. But whoever experiences these  feats of nature continues to be humbled.
As Bill Brown, former NPS historian and author says: "It is a great cultural adventure. Whatever your discipline or your profession or your avocation, when you see Glacier Bay in all its magnificence, you know you're in the presence of glory."

Humpback whales "bubble netting" their catch at
Point Adolphus in Glacier Bay National Park's marine preserve.

Tips on visiting Glacier Bay Lodge:

• Rooms are along wooden walkways set along the water or tucked into the woods. If you have any mobility issues, make sure to let them know.
• The restaurant offers excellent food. The morning buffet is worth it, particularly for kids. 
• Enjoy a pre-dinner cocktail on the deck.
• Go on both the all day Baranoff Wind trip and a separate whale watching morning or afternoon trip on The Taz. Lunch is served on the Baranoff but not The Taz.
• Go into town one evening if you want a change from the lodge. The Homeshore Cafe is VERY casual, but offers good pizza. Oh, and there is a museum in the filling station.
• Evening ranger programs are informative as is the Visitor Center on the second floor of the lodge. 
• There are easy, beautiful trails around the lodge. I have seen Black bears walking in front of the lodge, and there were Brown bear encounters with stream fishermen while we were there. All of these are posted, so simply be aware.
• You do not need to rent a car. There are virtually no roads. The lodge shuttle bus is on Alaska time, meaning check and double check on pick-ups particularly for the airport. We hauled our luggage onto The Taz to make sure it would be with us for our flight that left an hour after we disembarked from our cruise. It was a good call.
• The Taz, Glacier Bay Lodge and the Glacier Bay National Park websites are all helpful in planning your trip.

I like to read books on wherever I'm traveling, and I recommend Kim Heacox's The Only Kayak. There are signed copies at the visitor center bookstore or order it through this site and Amazon.com. Kim and his wife, Melanie, live in Gustavus, and among other things, he is an exquisite writer and storyteller. Lucky for me, we unexpectedly ran into them at dinner one night at the lodge.

Glacier Bay Lodge is featured in Great Lodges of the National Parks, Volume 2.

Glacier Bay, Alaska...cruise or lodge stay? That is the question.

The Park Service folks say that over 90% of the people who visit Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve never set foot on land...or ice. Most visitors arrive via cruise liners with a thousand "friends" with whom to share the experience. The modern day commercial cruises took off in 1968, but steamships like the Queen plied the icy water since around 1885. John Muir was the regions biggest PR agent writing eloquently about the astounding beauty of this glacial landscape. If you love cruising, by all means that's the way to go, but for my money, I'd take one of the once daily flights from Anchorage to Gustavas, catch a shuttle to Glacier Bay Lodge and make that your base for an amazing stay. There's an early reservation special going on now from the lodge website.

The lodge was built in 1966 and just about nothing has changed. It is the only federally financed NP lodge in the system, and since there are no roads into the park, it is secluded and a real blast from the past. Staff lovingly refer to it as the Brady Bunch Lodge. The main lodge has a lobby, dining room, gift shop and interpretive center upstairs. The deck is the gathering spot for evening cocktails and meals. Fresh fish is pulled from the dock. Rooms are in detached one-story units that are tucked into the wooded hillside. Black bears roam about.

Small boats (75 passengers) make full day trips back into the waters where you are treated to an astounding display of birds, sea life and plenty of mountain goats, moose, bears and even wolves. Alaskan "Grizzly" bears are called brown or Kodiaks. You are so close you want to hold you breath as they pace the shoreline. A park ranger and the captain give a running commentary on where and what to look at. Add to that, gigantic glaciers "calving," and even the biggest cynic is bowled over by the power of the place.

We were there in August, and in addition to the four-legged mammals, sea lions, puffins and guillemots, we took an evening dinner cruise that put us in the middle of a whale feeding frenzy. There were humpback and minke whales, and plenty of Orca also going for chow. Eating our lovely salmon dinner was almost a chore that took us away from the railing.

As Bill Brown, a retired park historian put it: "...you know you're in the presence of glory."

MY TIPS:

• Reserve NOW and get a 25% discount starting at $149 a night. http://www.visitglacierbay.com/specials/index.cfm
• I'd stay about 4 nights. You can walk into Gustavus and catch dinner at a pizza joint or have ice cream for a change. You can also pick up picnic fixings.
• Read Kim Heacox's book, The Only Kayak: A Journey into the Heart of Alaska before going or while you are there. Beautiful and chilling. Kim and his wife live in Gustavus. Kim was featured in both Great Lodges of the National Parks and Ken Burn's The National Parks, America's Best Idea PBS series.
• Attend any Park Service program, and listen attentively to all of the precautions they dole out about hiking in the region.
• Go on BOTH the day cruise and evening whale watching cruise.
• You can rent kayaks or go on your own. I would opt for the guided day trip with lunch.
• For more on Glacier Bay Lodge and Camp Denali, buy Great Lodges of the National Parks, Volume Two . (These two beautiful shot were taken by Jerald L. Barnes who took all of the photos for the Alaskan lodges that appear in the book.)
• Take rain gear, waterproof shoes or boots, insect repellant (the strong stuff), layers including fleece, both a stocking hat and brimmed hat and light-weight gloves for the boat trips.
• They do have internet service at the lodge, but it is so annoying watching people on their laptops in the lounge. How weird it is to have people ohhh and ahhh over their digital photos instead of trekking out there to take more. Please, this is the wilderness!
• If you don't mind small planes, you can book a private flight that gives you better flexibility than the once a day commercial trip. Spectacular.

(These copyrighted photos were taken by Jerald L. Barnes and appear in Great Lodges of the National Parks, Volume Two.)