Whittier – town under one roof…. and beyond
Sunday 26 May
It’s a busy weekend in the US as it’s Memorial Day tomorrow, the federal holiday for honouring and mourning US Military personnel who died serving in the USA Forces. So, what better day to avoid the crowds and head out on to the water. Up early and in Mike’s big Chevy truck, we headed for Whittier, a town only accessible by boat or the single lane Anton Anderson Memorial tunnel that is blasted through Maynard Mountain. Tt is 2.5miles long – the longest tunnel in North America - and is shared by cars and the railroad on an alternating schedule, and would you believe took only 3 months to build. An interesting fact, almost all its residents (around 220) live in the Beich Towers Condominium, an ex-military facility, earning it the nickname of “town under one roof”. More importantly, it is also the gateway to Prince William Sound with its stunning scenery, glaciers, and marine wildlife - and where Mike’s boat is docked.
There aren’t enough adjectives to describe the day we had today……awesome, majestic, amazing, magnificent, spectacular….. are some that spring to mind. We boarded Mike’s boat in Whittier harbour and headed out into the Sound – once again the weather was in our favour and it actually got even better as the day wore on.
Off we cruised, it was so calm and so peaceful, otters bobbing about, harbour seals and porcupines too, with the most stunning scenery all around us. By the time we got to Cascade and Barry Arm Glaciers, the sun was shining, and the scenery was nothing short of breathtaking. Just one other little boat in sight, it was so incredible. All we could hear was the crack of the glaciers carving every now and again with lots of little icebergs bobbing about which Mike very carefully negotiated as he cruised through. Luckily, his boat is aluminium! Cascade Glacier is 4.5 miles long and was given its name in 1899 by members of the Harriman Alaska Expedition, and just along from it, from the naked eye at least, but I’m sure a lot further, is Barry Arm Glacier which winds around, so we had three glaciers facing us! I tried not to think too much about the fact that Mike told us it has the potential to fall into the water at any time and generate a tsunami that could wipe out Whittier and northern Prince William Sound – so we were certainly aware of every thunder crack as the glacier calved. It was just so special to be out there enjoying this beautiful tranquillity and wonderous scenery.
The fishing rods were set up, but sadly no bites, however on the return to Whittier we went to check on Mike’s two shrimp pots and they looked very healthy with a nice supply of large prawns trying to claw their way out! Back to the dock and a clean-up of the boat, a decapitation of the prawns and into the car so we could make the tunnel for the 5pm return!
For the third evening on the trot, Cathy and Mike hosted us for another wonderful dinner which included the company of two of their neighbours and a whole heap of extremely fresh prawns to accompany the gin and tonics, which of course included ice from the glacier! Thanks Mike, you gave us the most memorable day, one we won’t forget in a long time – a truly Alaskan experience!