Leaders: Ron Russo, Audrey Benedict and the Crew of the M/V Catalyst

Imagine Glacier Bay as John Muir saw it in 1899, as a member of the legendary Harriman Expedition — without the cruise ships, the guidebooks, and interpretive signs that define the modern visitor’s experience. Aboard the Catalyst, our 76-foot vintage wooden boat, we’ll have the chance to see this spectacular glacier and fjord landscape in much the same way that Harriman’s scientists did. Unlike the big cruise ships, Catalyst is trim enough to explore the narrowest of fjords and shallow coastal waters. She carries ten passengers and a crew of four in superb comfort — the perfect size for a voyage such as ours. Best of all, Catalyst carries nine sea kayaks and a motorized inflatable to enable exploration both far and wide. For those who take paddle in hand, the use of sea kayaks allows a more intimate, seal’s eye view of the tidewater glaciers, inlets, islets, and estuary streams that make this coastal wilderness one of the most beautiful and biologically diverse areas in North America.

May is a magical time to be in Glacier Bay because we have it largely to ourselves — just the bears, the first returning humpback whales, and the thousands of migrating shore and seabirds bound for Arctic nesting sites. Against a backdrop of some of the most magnificent mountains on earth, rivers of glacial ice tumble into the sea and aquamarine-colored icebergs drift by on the tides.

Responding to the boom and crash of ice at the glacier front, kittiwakes and Arctic terns swirl over the churning, welling waters in search of food. Western sandpipers and other shorebirds skitter along the shorelines, poking their bills into the food-rich mud and gravels of the intertidal zone. Sea ducks and enormous rafts of harlequin ducks forage in the quiet bays before making the final push to their nesting areas. Grizzlies and black bears, recently emerged from their hibernation dens, can be seen bending the branches of black cottonwoods down to feed on the sweetly-resinous leaf buds, grazing on swards of lush sedges, and scraping succulent barnacles and mussels from rocks along the water’s edge.

Glacier Bay photos above by Audrey Benedict

For the wildlife of Glacier Bay and the outer islands, this is truly a time of plenty. As we, too, feast on fresh-caught seafood and share the day’s discoveries over a glass of wine, there seems little doubt that this is one of the best ways to experience all that Southeast Alaska has to offer!

Price: $3,600 (includes a $500 deposit)

Group Size: 10 Trip Rating: 3

Price Includes: 9 nights/10 days aboard the M/V Catalyst, all meals and beverages aboard the Catalyst and two group dinners ashore, the services of a four-person crew and two naturalist leaders, a copy of The Nature of Southeast Alaska, 2 nights’ lodging in Juneau (May 7 & 17), charter float-plane flight from Elfin Cove to Juneau, all boat/hotel transfers, full sea kayak outfitting and instruction, and gratuities to the Catalyst crew. Does not include roundtrip airfare to Juneau, Alaska from your point of departure or meals other than those listed.

More information? Visit the Pacific Catalyst web site (www.pacificcatalyst.com) for pictures of the boat layout and interior spaces, and her crew. Trip price does not include transportation to Petersburg or from Sitka to your point of departure.