Day 4
The sun was not even all the way up when the Captain blew his whistle and said, “If you want to see the glacier you had better get moving. Breakfast in 10 minutes.”
The boys stumbled out of their berths and into their clothes. Quinn checked his watch and said, “It’s not even 5 yet.”
The Captain ignored the remark and concentrated on making his coffee. The boys were finishing their oatmeal when the coffee was finally brewed to the Captain’s satisfaction. After most of his coffee was gone the Captain explained, “Pretty heavy fog today and no wind until tide change. We’ll need to use the engine. I would like to time the glacier visit with the high tide so we get a boost coming and going.”
Johnathan had the chart out and was plotting a course and said, “Looks like it will be about 25 nautical miles and if we can average 7 knots it will be about 3.5 hours to the glacier.”
“The Northwestern Fjord is pretty long and it will be a bit longer than that. Good initial estimate.” He added, “The charts were made when the fjord was almost always blocked with ice and that is why it is blanked out. First time I explored the fjord it was an all-day journey because we were always working our way through the ice. Not so bad now.”
Johnathan asked, “Is the ice dangerous?”
“Not if you stay away from the big bergs and protect your prop. It is a major calving that is the big worry. We’ll stay far enough out that the ice might wear her paint off a bit but her steel is pretty tough. The Sea Shanty was built for this type of stuff. Enough lip flapping. Get this boat ready while I check the engine.”
The boys cleaned up the galley and Kade and Johnathan went topside to make sure everything was secure. Quinn was watching the Captain check the oil and filters and asked, “Why do you have to check the fluids every day? Car engines don’t need to be checked every day.”
“Well, maybe they should be. Engine failure out here is a whole lot more serious than not having your car start in a parking lot. It is a good habit and standard for real boats.” The Captain pointed out the various filters and explained what would happen if they got plugged. His flashlight revealed the dry bilge except for some oil drops and Quinn asked, “Are all boats this dry?” The Captain’s only reply was, “They should be.”
The Captain went topside and Quinn followed. The Captain pointed to the helm seat and Quinn sat. “Well, don’t just sit there. Get the engine started.”
Quinn ran through the checklist and even remembered to call down to Mikey to check the circuit breaker. The engine started with a few coughs and the black smoke. Quinn set the RPM’s to 800 and waited for the oil temp to start rising. “Well, are you going to get the crew ready for raising the anchor or are we going to just sit here and make noise?”
Quinn called down to Mikey, “Mikey, prepare to flake the anchor chain.” With a little more authority, he told Johnathan and Kade, “Raise the anchor.” As the hydraulic winch began pulling in the anchor rode, Quinn applied a little forward thrust to take the tension off of the rode and to hold their position. When the anchor was, aboard and stowed, Quinn increase the engine speed and the prop speed and began to maneuver around the foul shallows of the moraine. They had no sooner cleared the entrance to the bay when the Captain reached over and turned the GPS off. He said, “If you follow the 50 fathom mark you will stay clear of the rocks. Maybe best if you get some heading help from your navigator.”
“But sir, it is so foggy we can’t see where we are going.”
“Does the fog change the bottom contour of the ocean? Your compass and depth finder are both working. Use them.” He added, “She is getting warmed up. Gradually increase the power to 1800 RPM’s and adjust the hydraulic drive until she sounds happy.”
The shoreline was lost quickly and when the depth finder read 50 fathoms, Quinn turned to a course of 150 degrees. The water was quiet and they were making good headway. It was not as hard as Quinn expected to follow the bottom contour. If the water was getting deeper he would turn a little towards shore or away from shore if it was getting shallower. The Captain had gone below and Quinn could hear the hum of the radar so he knew the Captain was tracking their course and watching for other boats. The world was just a swirl of grey. The water was grey and the sky was grey with no way of telling the difference between the two.
The Captain called up from below saying, “We could stop and fish Hub Rock or keep going and fish the tide change at the tip of Granite Island.”
Johnathan who had been doing his best to compute their position said, “It looks like it will be about two hours to the tip of Granite Island. Tide change is in 2 and ½ hours.”
Kade said, “Seems we catch a lot more fish at tide change. I vote we move on.”
Mikey said, “We can’t fish too long because I want time at the glacier.”
Quinn who was at the helm made the decision by refusing to slow down and continued on his course. Things were going well until they reached Dora Island. Now the bottom contour turned sharply to the right. Mikey was now at the helm and asked Johnathan, “Should I turn and backtrack to follow the contour line?”
Johnathan said, “If we take a course of 210 degrees we should re-connect with the 50-fathom line before we need to turn into Granite Passage.”
From below came the comment, “Taking shortcuts in the fog can be dangerous. Better post a lookout.”
Mikey did as their navigator suggested and posted Quinn and Kade as lookouts. Their depth gradually increased to 80 fathoms and after about 20 minutes began rising again until they met their 50-fathom line. The sun was finally starting to burn the fog off and the glow of the sun was now visible through the fog. This made the helmsman’s job easier because now there was a fixed reference point. Shortly thereafter, the Captain came topside and turned the GPS unit back on saying, “Not bad navigating for a bunch of landlubbers.” “Now we could follow the 50-fathom line around the outside of the island but that would add an hour or so to our trip. I think we will cheat and use the GPS to make our way through Granite Passage. Stay well clear of the rocks off the point and then hug Granite Island when you get to the narrows.”
Johnathan was comparing his chart position to the GPS map and said, “We were within a half mile of our planned course. I must have not measured the speed vector properly.”
Captain John said, “The ocean currents always complicate dead reckoning. I think you did pretty well.” He looked at Mikey and asked, “Think you can handle her through the passage?”
Mikey thought a moment before sitting up a little straighter and saying, “Yes sir. I will need help with the navigating if you are going to turn off the GPS.”
“We’ll leave the GPS on. If you need help just ask.”
The tide was still going out and the current slowed their speed to 4.8 knots. When they came to the narrows Kade and Quinn were all excited because there was enough current to produce small whirlpools. Suddenly their boat was doing only 2 knots but the current kept pushing the boat first one way then the other. Mikey was working so hard that he had started to sweat despite the cold fog. Quinn yelled out, “I see rocks to port!”
Mikey looked up at the Captain expecting him to take over. The Captain glanced at the GPS and said, “You are the helmsman. Take us through.”
Mikey gripped the helm even tighter as he tried to look outside at the instruments and the GPS all at the same time. Then it was over; they were through the narrows and their speed improved as the whirlpools were left behind. The boat became steady again and the rocks were no longer visible. Johnathan gave a heading to intercept the 50-fathom line but the Captain did not bother to turn off the GPS. The Captain said, “I’ll take the helm now. You have about 15 minutes to get ready for the fishing. We will start close in near the rocks and should get a couple of keeper ling cod if you can keep from snagging every rock in the ocean.”
Kade was the first one to start fishing as soon as the Ca
ptain said, “We’re fishing.” As he was lowering his line Kade said, “First one down gets the first fish.” He had barely got the words out when he felt the tug on his line and started yelling, “Fish on!” It was a nice ling cod but only 34 inches long and not quite a keeper. It had taken long enough to land the fish that the Captain needed to reposition the boat. This time Quinn was the first one down and was soon yelling only a little less loud, “Fish on!”
This fish was a little bigger and was a legal keeper. Johnathan said, “It would be nice if you at least let me get to the bottom before you catch another one.”
Kade responded, “Time and fishing wait for no one.” With the slack tide, they were no longer drifting into the deep water as quickly and the Captain said, “Get your lines in the water. Low slack doesn’t last long and when the tide starts coming in the wind will pick up.”
The boys did as they were told. Johnathan had not even hit bottom when he felt the pull on his line. He set the hook for all he was worth. At first nothing happened, almost like he had hooked a rock and then the line started to peel off of his reel. All he could do was hold on bracing himself against the rail. The Captain hollered, “What did you hook?”
Johnathan replied, “I don’t know but it is big!”
The Captain was yelling at everyone to get their lines in the boat as he shifted the boat into reverse to chase the fish. They could not keep up and Johnathan yelled, “I am almost out of line!”
“Well, don’t let her spool ya. Clamp down on the spool with both thumbs. Kade, tighten his drag. Either the line will break or the fish will turn.”
Kade tightened Johnathan’s reel drag as much as he could and the line seemed to slow. Quinn had grabbed Johnathan’s belt and was helping to stabilize him. Mikey was trying to help hold the rod up because the Captain kept yelling “Keep the rod off the rail or it will break!”
Then the whale breeched just off of their stern. It was so close that when it “blew” the boys could smell the fishy odor of its breath. The Captain yelled, “No way are you landing that one! Break her off!” The whale showed its tail flukes and dove to the depths. Johnathan said, “It must be a humpback whale because it showed us its flukes.
Kade helped Johnathan thumb the spool and with the four of them working together the line finally broke. As the boys reeled in the line the Captain re-positioned the boat saying, “I have fished these waters for 40 years and that is the first whale we have ever hooked.”
Quinn asked, “What is the limit on whales anyway?”
The Captain said, “That one exceeded our limit…anything bigger than the boat you are on exceeds your limit. The tide has changed we can make one more drift and then we are done.”
Mikey was ready this time and was the first one down. It took a few minutes but soon he was repeating the yell, “Fish on!” When they got the fish to the surface it turned out to be a nice chicken halibut. The Captain said, “We eat well tonight. Get your gear stowed and the fish in the ice chest. We need to get the sails up and make some headway.”
With the incoming tide the fog finally cleared and a southeasterly breeze began to build. The boys had the sails up and trimmed soon enough. The Captain said, “Navigator, plot a course to the north end of the terminal moraine. Call me when we get close.” Quinn was at the helm and took Johnathan’s course heading, using it to pick out a landmark that would keep him on course. Johnathan said, “With the tide current we should be at the crossing point in less than an hour.”
Quinn said, “I’m hungry. Kade, it is your turn to cook. How about some lunch?”
Mikey said, “There is some of my ling cod still in the cooler you could fry up.”
Kade mumbled something about how he would rather catch the fish than cook them but went below to get some lunch together. He sliced up some potatoes and carrots and fried them but had the heat a little high and they were crispy on the outside but not done on the inside. He did a little better with the fish and brought plates of food to everyone topside. He sat with the Captain below and ate. He asked the Captain, “Is that really the first time you ever hooked a whale?” The Captain replied, “Yup. Hooked a porpoise once but never a whale. Didn’t land the porpoise either.”
Johnathan was taking his turn at the helm when first Kade and then the Captain came topside. The Captain casually threw a cushion overboard and Kade yelled “Man overboard!” Ever since Mikey had gone swimming the boys had been talking more about the safety stuff. Johnathan took command and said, “Kade, you have the man overboard watch. Mikey and Quinn release and drop the sails.” He then rapidly went through the checklist and started the engine while he was using the boat’s momentum to begin his turn. As soon as the sails were down Quinn and Mikey hooked up the safety harness and Quinn climbed down onto the swim platform. Mikey stayed midship with a line ready to throw. Kade was yelling directions to Johnathan but forgot himself and said, “More to the left.”
The Captain noted the infraction but did not say anything until they had been successful in retrieving the cushion which seemed to have tolerated the unauthorized swimming. When the excitement settled down the Captain said, “Pretty good for landlubbers. The helmsman needed to turn quicker and not worry about the sails flapping. You worked pretty well as a team.” The boys were beaming with pride at the small compliment when the Captain added, “Seems Kade wanted to do dishes tonight.” Kade started to complain but the Captain was already barking orders to get the sails set if they wanted time at the glacier.
As they approached the terminal moraine which isolated the Northwestern Fiord, Kade noticed the gradual drop off and thought it would be a great place to fish. The Captain agreed but said if they wanted time at the glacier they needed to make speed. Kade went below and brought out a tuna rig which consisted of a simple plug on the end of a 100-foot piece of parachute cord. He held it up for the Captain to see who just shook his head saying, “Never heard of a tuna in these cold waters. You can try if you want but we are not stopping until we are through the slot in the terminal moraine.”
Kade gradually unwound the line and hooked up the snubber to one of the cleats on the aft side of the boat. They were most of the way through the narrow channel when something started splashing behind the boat. Kade grabbed his line but before he could even try to pull it in the line broke. Kade had a sad face as he pulled in and carefully coiled what was left of his line. The Captain simply said, “Anything that can break 300-pound line is bigger than we can handle. Best that we never got it close to the boat.”
Mikey asked, “Do you think it was a shark?”
“Probably, but might have been a sea lion…who knows.”
The wind dropped soon after they crossed into the fiord and the Captain said, “Best you secure the sails. We will need to use power the rest of the way.” As they ascended into the fiord the trees became smaller and smaller until there were none. Simple brush and grass partially covered the rounded over rocks. As they approached within a mile of the glacier face there was no vegetation at all…just bare rock. The Captain explained, “The glacier acts like a giant bulldozer scraping all traces of soil from the rocks. It takes many years for enough moss to grow to give a base for some grasses which help build up the soil. Eventually brush and trees take advantage of the soil and start to grow. It is kinda like going back in time as you approach the glacier.”
Johnathan spoke for all of them when he said, “Sure glad I got to see this before all of the ice is gone.”
Captain Cook was rubbing his stubbly chin and said, “Might not be so simple. Seems they occasionally find tree stumps from a thousand years ago, as the glacier retreats. If those trees were growing, then the ice had to be much higher up the valley than it is today.”
They were moving slowly now on the east passage with a round island in the middle of the fiord. Ice was scattered everywhere but mostly small pieces which made a grinding sound against their steel hull. T
hey saw the plume of snow and the movement of the ice face as part of the cliff gave way before the roar reached their ears. The glacier calving produced a small wave and gently rocked their boat up against the bergy bits. The ice just extended upwards from the glacial face seemingly forever. There were glaciers all around but none of them had as impressive of a vertical face as the granddaddy in front of them. Mikey wanted to know how close they could get and the Captain said, “A bit closer. If you want to explore a glacier I would recommend the Redrock Glacier. It is about a half mile walk to the ice but safe enough for the likes of you.”
They just sat and watched the glacier which seemed to be almost continuously calving. The boys decided they wanted to explore more so the Captain moved the boat just offshore from the glacier. He said, “This glacier reached the water not long ago but now has retreated way up the valley. It is a fair hike but worth it on a day like today with the clear skies. Stay away from any fissures in the ice.”
The rubber dingy was prepared and the four boys climbed in after checking their life vests. As they paddled to shore the Captain yelled, “You need to be back in two hours or we’ll miss the tide.” Johnathan checked his watch and set the timer. They carried the raft above the high-water line and tied it to a large rock. The valley floor was covered with soccer ball sized red rocks. Kade asked, “I wonder why they call it the Redrock Glacier?” The other cousins just rolled their eyes and started up hill. It was easier walking if they stayed just to the edge of the rocks. It seemed a long mile but they finally reached the ice. It was dirty and not at all inviting. Kade led the way along the edge of the ice picking his way through the rocks. As they ascended, the ice seemed cleaner and fissures started to appear. He picked a flat area and walked out on the glacier. With a bit of effort, he was able to make a snowball or rather ice ball which he proceeded to nail Quinn with. This was the start of the great glacier snowball fight. When they were bruised enough from the ice balls they returned to exploring.
Mikey walked into a fissure that was open along the edge of the glacier. The world changed immediately to an intense blue color as the ice filtered out all the other colors. Mikey had only a few minutes of solitude before he was joined by the other cousins. Johnathan stayed only a minute before reminding them that they were supposed to stay away from the fissures. They crawled out but not without some complaining about leaving.
Johnathan’s alarm started to go off and they headed downhill along the same edge of the glacier. Seemed going downhill on the slippery rocks was harder than going uphill. The tide had started to go out and they needed to carry the dingy through the mud in order to launch it. They were in high spirits but a bit dirty when they got back to the Sea Shanty. The Captain looked at them and shaking his head said, “You are not coming aboard until you clean up the mud.”
The boys ended up stripping and washing their clothes in the freshwater from the glacier. By the time, they were clean enough to come aboard their teeth were chattering. The Captain said, “Get some warm clothes on and let’s make some headway before we lose the tide push.” By the time the boys were dressed the Captain had the engine running and said, “If you want to take some fish home we need some more ice.” The boys assumed their positions and as before began picking up the small clear pieces of ice. The tide was moving the ice with them and it was almost a half hour before the water was clear enough of ice that the Captain ordered more power.
As they approached the terminal moraine and the narrow passage the current remained strong. Kade wanted to fish so they cut power and drifted through the narrows. His first fish turned into a piece of kelp but the second time his rod went down he was hooked into a large salmon that announced its presence by jumping clear out of the water. The Captain took the helm and tried to control the boat in the heavy current but it was a losing battle. They finally drifted into deep water outside the moraine and Kade started to regain some of the line he had lost. Quinn and Johnathan buckled into the safety harnesses and prepared to land the fish from the swim platform. Every time Kade got the fish close to the boat it would spook and make another run for the deep. Only on the fourth try was the fish played out enough that Johnathan was able to net it.
Kade said, “I promised my mom some salmon. Can we freeze it so I can bring it home?”
The Captain had powered up and resumed the Sea Shanty’s trip across Harris Bay. He said, “We have enough ice that we can make the brine and freeze the fish.”
Mikey wanted to know how the brine worked and the Captain responded, “Just like making homemade ice cream. By adding enough salt to the ice, you can drop the temperature down to 0 F. We have an unlimited supply of ice and a bag of salt so we can keep the fish frozen.” He added, “Looks like the crossing will be pretty smooth. Get the fish cleaned and packaged. Someone should be thinking of dinner.” He added, “Navigator what is the heading?”
Johnathan asked, “Are we headed to Cataract Cove or Crater Bay?”
“It’s your trip. You decide.” “And why am I at the helm, it is time for my afternoon rest.”
Johnathan and Quinn were studying the chart. It looked like Cataract Cove would be the better anchorage. Quinn was studying the land contours and said, “Sure looks like the mountains are steep. Will this make the williwaws worse?”
From below came the voice saying, “Whenever the wind is blowing over the top of a mountain it creates a vacuum and sucks the air from below. The steeper the mountains the greater the vacuum generated and the worse the williwaws.”
Johnathan defended his decision by saying, “The only place to anchor in Crater Bay is the small bite on the south edge.”
They finally agreed to head for Cataract Cove and make their decision after checking it out. When they arrived at the cove, darkness seemed to creep in on them because the high cliffs which surrounded the cove blocked the sunshine. Kade was excited because there were several mountain goats making their way across the rock face of the cliff. After they all had a good look at the goats through the binoculars a decision was made to check out Crater bay.
A bit more motoring and they were in the bay approaching the small bite Johnathan thought would work. Quinn went below to tell the Captain they were approaching their anchorage. The Captain replied, “Do you need me to hold your hand while you drop anchor? Call me if there is a problem otherwise just get the job done.”
Mikey asked Quinn to take the helm while Kade and Johnathan prepared to lower the anchor. Quinn ever so slowly approached the shore looking for 15 fathoms to anchor in. It was a deep little bay and they seemed awfully close to shore after the hook had been set and the 3 to 1 scope of anchor rode had been played out. The Captain came topside and felt the anchor chain and looked at their position. He just nodded and as he was going below said, “Might be a good idea to tie the stern off to the shore. If the wind shifts it will tend to drag the anchor into deep water.”
Kade and Quinn went back to processing their fish while Johnathan and Mikey secured the boat with a line to an old tree stump on shore. There was only a little of the seaweed that they liked for their salads but they picked what they could. The Captain came topside with a small bucket of salt. He had Quinn place the two bags of salmon fillets and four bags of ling cod fillets into the bottom of an empty cooler. They filled the cooler with ice and sprinkled the salt across the top. The Captain said, “The fish will be frozen hard in an hour and as long as we have ice and salt we can keep them frozen.”
It had been a long day and they were all tired but it was Kade’s turn to cook. Quinn helped him out by preparing the batter for the halibut and watching to make sure Kade did not burn anything. A simple meal of fried halibut, potatoes and a small salad of seaweed. It was awesome. Kade grumbled only a little about doing the dishes and the others helped a bit. Mikey asked the Captain why he was so worried about the fissures in the glacier.
The Captain asked, “Did you look into any of the
fissures?”
Mikey replied, “Only a small one on the edge.”
“What did you see?”
“It was the prettiest blue I have ever seen.”
“John Muir thought so too and was so attracted to it that he thought about spending the night in the ice fissure. Changed his mind and when he came back the next day the fissure was gone having collapsed during the night. He would have been buried under thousands of tons of ice.”
Johnathan asked, “Is this the guy who wrote about his nature travels?”
The Captain answered by reaching into the book shelf and taking out a small well-worn book. It was titled “Travels in Alaska” by John Muir. He thumbed through the book for a moment until he found the chapter he wanted and explained how Muir had set out to explore the glacier and the small dog had insisted on joining him. Muir spent the day exploring the glacier with just the small dog for a companion. He began to read.
Stickeen
by John Muir
--- as it was now near five o'clock and I was about fifteen miles from camp, and I had to make haste to recross the glacier before dark, which would come on about eight o'clock. I therefore made haste up to the main glacier, and, shaping my course by compass and the structure lines of the ice, set off from the land out on to the grand crystal prairie again. All was so silent and so concentred, owing to the low dragging mist, the beauty close about me was all the more keenly felt, though tinged with a dim sense of danger, as if coming events were casting shadows. I was soon out of sight of land, and the evening dusk that on cloudy days precedes the real night gloom came stealing on and only ice was in sight, and the only sounds, save the low rumbling of the mills and the rattle of falling stones at long intervals, were the low, terribly earnest moanings of the wind or distant waterfalls coming through the thickening gloom. After two hours of hard work I came to a maze of crevasses of appalling depth and width which could not be passed apparently either up or down. I traced them with firm nerve developed by the danger, making wide jumps, poising cautiously on dizzy edges after cutting footholds, taking wide crevasses at a grand leap at once frightful and inspiring. Many a mile was thus traveled, mostly up and down the glacier, making but little real headway, running much of the time as the danger of having to pass the night on the ice became more and more imminent. This I could do, though with the weather and my rain-soaked condition it would be trying at best. In treading the mazes of this crevassed section I had frequently to cross bridges that were only knife-edges for twenty or thirty feet, cutting off the sharp tops and leaving them flat so that little Stickeen could follow me. These I had to straddle, cutting off the top as I progressed and hitching gradually ahead like a boy riding a rail fence. All this time the little dog followed me bravely, never hesitating on the brink of any crevasse that I had jumped, but now that it was becoming dark and the crevasses became more troublesome, he followed close at my heels instead of scampering far and wide, where the ice was at all smooth, as he had in the forenoon. No land was now in sight. The mist fell lower and darker and snow began to fly. I could not see far enough up and down the glacier to judge how best to work out of the bewildering labyrinth, and how hard I tried while there was yet hope of reaching camp that night! a hope which was fast growing dim like the sky. After dark, on such ground, to keep from freezing, I could only jump up and down until morning on a piece of flat ice between the crevasses, dance to the boding music of the winds and waters, and as I was already tired and hungry I would be in bad condition for such ice work. Many times I was put to my mettle, but with a firm-braced nerve, all the more unflinching as the dangers thickened, I worked out of that terrible ice-web, and with blood fairly up Stickeen and I ran over common danger without fatigue. Our very hardest trial was in getting across the very last of the sliver bridges. After examining the first of the two widest crevasses, I followed its edge half a mile or so up and down and discovered that its narrowest spot was about eight feet wide, which was the limit of what I was able to jump. Moreover, the side I was on -- that is, the west side -- was about a foot higher then the other, and I feared that in case I should be stopped by a still wider impassable crevasse ahead that I would hardly be able to take back that jump from its lower side. The ice beyond, however, as far as I could see it, looked temptingly smooth. Therefore, after carefully making a socket on my foot on the rounded brink, I jumped, but found that I had nothing to spare and more than ever dreaded having to retrace my way. Little Stickeen jumped this, however, without apparently taking a second look at it, and we ran ahead joyfully over smooth, level ice, hoping we were now leaving all danger behind us. But hardly had we gone a hundred or two yards when to our dismay we found ourselves on the very widest of all the longitudinal crevasses we had yet encountered. It was about forty feet wide. I ran anxiously up the side of it to northward, eagerly hoping that I could get around its head, but my worst fears were realized when at a distance of about a mile or less it ran into the crevasse that I had just jumped. I then ran down the edge for a mile or more below the point where I had first met it, and found that its lower end also united with the crevasse I had jumped, showing dismally that we were on an island two or three hundred yards wide and about two miles long and the only way of escape from this island was by turning back and jumping again that crevasse which I dreaded, or venturing ahead across the giant crevasse by the very worst of the sliver bridges I had ever seen. It was so badly weathered and melted down that it formed a knife-edge, and extended across from side to side in a low, drooping curve like that made by a loose rope attached at each end at the same height. But the worst difficulty was that the ends of the down-curving sliver were attached to the sides at a depth of about eight or ten feet below the surface of the glacier. Getting down to the end of the bridge, and then after crossing it getting up the other side, seemed hardly possible. However, I decided to dare the dangers of the fearful sliver rather than to attempt to retrace my steps. Accordingly I dug a low groove in the rounded edge for my knees to rest in and, leaning over, began to cut a narrow foothold on the steep, smooth side. When I was doing this, Stickeen came up behind me, pushed his head over my shoulder, looked into the crevasses and along the narrow knife-edge, then turned and looked in my face, muttering and whining as if trying to say, "Surely you are not going down there." I said, "Yes, Stickeen, this is the only way." He then began to cry and ran wildly along the rim of the crevasse, searching for a better way, then, returning baffled, of course, he came behind me and lay down and cried louder and louder.
After getting down one step I cautiously stooped and cut another and another in succession until I reached the point where the sliver was attached to the wall. There, cautiously balancing, I chipped down the upcurved end of the bridge until I had formed a small level platform about a foot wide, then, bending forward, got astride of the end of the sliver, steadied myself with my knees, then cut off the top of the sliver, hitching myself forward an inch or two at a time, leaving it about four inches wide for Stickeen. Arrived at the farther end of the sliver, which was about seventy-five feet long, I chipped another little platform on its upcurved end, cautiously rose to my feet, and with infinite pains cut narrow notch steps and finger-holds in the wall and finally got safely across. All this dreadful time poor little Stickeen was crying as if his heart was broken, and when I called to him in as reassuring a voice as I could muster, he only cried the louder, as if trying to say that he never, never could get down there -- the only time that the brave little fellow appeared to know what danger was. After going away as if I was leaving him, he still howled and cried without venturing to try to follow me. Returning to the edge of the crevasse, I told him that I must go, that he could come if he only tried, and finally in despair he hushed his cries, slid his little feet slowly down into my footsteps out on the big sliver, walked slowly and cautiously along the sliver as if holding his breath, while the snow was falling and the wind was moaning and threatening to blow him off. When he arrived at the foot of the slope bel
ow me, I was kneeling on the brink ready to assist him in case he should be unable to reach the top. He looked up along the row of notched steps I had made, as if fixing them in his mind, then with a nervous spring he whizzed up and passed me out on to the level ice, and ran and cried and barked and rolled about fairly hysterically in the sudden revulsion from the depth of despair to triumphant joy. I tried to catch him and pet him and tell him how good and brave he was, but he would not be caught. He ran round and round, swirling like autumn leaves in an eddy, lay down and rolled head over heels. I told him we still had far to go and that we must now stop all nonsense and get off the ice before dark. I knew by the ice-lines that every step was now taking me nearer the shore and soon it came in sight. The headland four or five miles back from the front, covered with spruce trees, loomed faintly but surely through the mist and light fall of snow not more than two miles away. The ice now proved good all the way across, and we reached the lateral moraine just at dusk, then with trembling limbs, now that the danger was over, we staggered and stumbled down the bouldery edge of the glacier and got over the dangerous rocks by the cascades while yet a faint light lingered. We were safe, and then, too, came limp weariness such as no ordinary work ever produces, however hard it may be. Wearily we stumbled down through the woods, over logs and brush and roots, devil's-clubs pricking us at every faint blundering tumble. At last we got out on the smooth mud slope with only a mile of slow but sure dragging of weary limbs to camp. The Indians had been firing guns to guide me and had a fine supper and fire ready, though fearing they would be compelled to seek us in the morning, a care not often applied to me. Stickeen and I were too tired to eat much, and, strange to say, too tired, sleep. Both of us springing up in the night again and again, fancied we were still on that dreadful ice bridge in the shadow of death.
The Captain finished reading and putting the book down said, “Been a long day and we all need to get some sleep.” This was easier said than done for a small squall passed by and the williwaw winds descended upon them. The wind seemed to come from all different directions swinging them first one way then the other. The rigging was singing and the boat pushed first one way than the other to the limits of her anchor. It seemed a far worse storm then the other night.
Captain’s log
Day 4
More navigation. The fog is a good training tool. Seas remained relatively calm, allowing the crew to focus on sailing and navigation. Foul seas are best left till after the new sailors become confident in the boat.
Fishing seemed second nature to the crew. One of the boys temporarily hooked a whale. A first on the Sea Shanty.
Sailed and motored to NW Glacier. Still incredible but little left as a tidewater glacier as global warming takes its toll on the glaciers. It will soon become a “hanging glacier” receding up the valley. Crew collected more glacier ice for the coolers and began the freezer.
Leaving the decision to the crew, they settled on Crater Bay for the night: good anchorage. Anchoring is becoming second nature for the crew. No complaints about the excellent cooking.