Polar Bear Plunge in Alaska

Captain Marce lead the charge for this weeks’ Polar Bear Plunge. Twelve people in total jumped into the cold waters of Icy Strait to get the day started. Shortly after, a group of humpback whales swam past the boat. Marce dried off, warmed up and took the wheel to make a pass by the group of whales. It made for great viewing as the whales were feeding in an echelon formation. The combo of a invigorating swim and a close up encounter with humpbacks made for an extremely memorable and fun way to start the day.

Randall Tate

Expedition Guide

Wilderness Explorer

Expedition Leader Dee emerging from the water after her polar plunge....brrrrrrrr.

Putting the “Wild” in Wilderness

Our maiden voyage into Glacier Bay aboard the Wilderness Explorer lived up to our vessel’s name--it was both exploratory and wild.

We certainly felt like genuine explorers as we tested the limits and possibilities of this new boat on her new route. Passengers and crew alike were alive with anticipation as our boat pulled into unexplored inlets and anchorages and as we crafted a fresh itinerary for ourselves day by day.

And wild? We pulled past heavy brown bears foraging along the shoreline, watched arctic terns wheel among the spray and thunder of calving glaciers, lifted mammoth, dripping, sunflower stars from the sea floor, and steered our kayaks among otters, playful sea lions, and the distant sound of humpback breath. What really brought home the sense of the “wild,” however, was a single, rare wildlife encounter one evening on the dusky bank of Tidal Inlet, near the northern reaches of Glacier Bay. Our boat and passengers alike sat quietly that night as we watched a lone timber wolf meandering along the tide line.

The wolf was long-legged and dark, and even at our distance we could feel the gravity of his size: this was no ordinary dog. With fingers tight around our binoculars and hips close against the railings, we watched him breathlessly—but he did not watch back. He picked his way slowly along the shoreline, nose to the ground. Whatever scents or urges brought him to the beach, whatever the impulses and motives that shaped his world, we were not among them. After a long while, it was we who moved on from the inlet, leaving the wolf where we had found him, moving like a muscle along the water’s edge, as disinterested in our departure as he had been in our presence. How thrilling, though, to share those quiet moments, witnessing. It felt as though the spirit of wilderness itself had broken away from the mountains and come trotting, dark-furred and lanky, into our view.

I think the encounter was a reminder to us all that we are just visitors to this untamed place -- profoundly fortunate to be able to come and to watch and to go again. I also think, just maybe, it awakened a little bit of our own wild side. It certainly seemed that way when, a couple days later, one of our passengers took a “polar bear” plunge off our fantail into Alaska’s icy waters, wearing only swim trunks and a life vest! On an un-cruise, we, too, get to go wild.

Hannah Hindley

Expedition Guide

Wilderness Explorer

Death Valley National Park

The next couple of days were spent exploring Death Valley, a strange and magnificent National Park.  The park contains 3.4 million acres of land and sits in the rain shadow of the Sierras which results in less than 2” of rain per year.  It is distinguished by having North America’s highest temperature and the lowest point.   The highs average 116F and the Valley sits at 272 feet below sea level.

The following are a few of the sites we visited:

20 Mule Team Canyon - Silver was discovered in the area and brought with it prospectors hoping to strike it rich.  It was soon discovered that talc and borate were more profitable than all of the minerals put together.  The famous, 20 mule team wagons transported the minerals 165 miles to the railroad at Mojave and from there distributed it to the surrounding communities.  Thus, our current “20 Mule Team Borax” product was born.  Borax has a wide variety of uses: It is a component of many detergents, cosmetics, fire retardants and an anti-fungal compound for fiberglass.

Zabriskie Point (pictured above) – This view looks out at the mudstone hills which are carved by occasional, but intense rains. A small hill leads to the summit.  This is a good photo stop especially at sunrise and sunset when the colors of the hills come alive.

Rhyolite is the largest ghost town in Death Valley.  At its peak in the early 1900’s the population was nearly 10,000 people.  In less than a decade, when the gold ran out, a ghost town was born.

Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes contain 150 foot sand dunes formed from rock erosion coming down from the surrounding mountains.  As you walk, look for the tracks of reptiles and the “S” pattern of the sidewinder rattlesnakes.

Remember when traveling in Death Valley to have plenty of water and gas.  The temperature during the summer months can be 120F with the ground temperature 40% higher than the air temperature.  A record high of 201F was recorded here.

Despite the hot and dry environment in this National Park there are plenty of wildlife species that have adapted: Desert Bighorn Sheep, Kit Fox, Bobcat, Mule Deer, Desert Iguana and Kangaroo Rat all live here.

Lights, Camera, Action!



No, it’s not a Hollywood movie but the lights of Las Vegas, which are always on, the cameras, which watch your every move and action on the black jack tables, roulette wheel and slot machines.

This was the beginning of a visit to the desert and eventually to Yosemite National Park, exploring Nevada and California in the winter from the desert to the mountain peaks.

After a night of watching human wildlife we were on our way to the City of Henderson where we birded for the morning.

The Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve is on the eastern edge of the Pacific Migratory Flyway which makes it ideal for migratory bird species.  There are many easy paths around the nine ponds that make up the preserve.

The following is the list of species observed in December 2011, in about 2 hours for a total of 31 species plus the 1 exotic: Brewer’s Blackbird, Budgerigar, Bufflehead, American Coot, Ruddy Duck, Purple Gallinule, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Great-tailed Grackle, Eared Grebe, Pied-billed Grebe, Horned Grebe, Ring-billed Gull, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Green Heron, Anna’s Hummingbird, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Mallard, Common Moorhen, Black-crowned Night-heron,  Say’s and Black Phoebe, American Pipit, Gambel’s Quail, Virginia Rail, Northern Shoveler, Sora, White-crowned Sparrow, Green-winged Teal, Verdin, Yellow-rumped Warbler and Marsh Wren.