Comparing Riggs Glacier From the Air and the Sea

July 6 – Muir Inlet to Adams Inlet

Morning view of Blue Mouse Cove.

Saturday morning we left our quiet little anchorage in Blue Mouse Cove and headed up the east arm though Muir Inlet.

Looking into McBride Glacier inlet.

We passed McBride Glacier, and looked into an entrance clogged with large pieces of ice. It is one of the fastest receding glaciers in the park, receding 15-20 feet per day, hence all the floating ice, and its losing an estimated 5,000-7,000 feet per year.

Riggs Glacier from our flight two weeks earlier

Five hours later we were fascinated to get to Riggs Glacier and compare its view from the water to that from the air when we flew over it with Drake during our plane ride from Haines two weeks earlier.

Riggs Glacier view from the boat

We pulled out our laptops and looked at our photos taken from the plane and were amazed at how much larger the glacier looked from the water. At the same time, the photos looking down over the glacier provide a much broader perspective of the contours and length of the ice that you never can see or appreciate from the sea.

Another view of Riggs Glacier

Riggs Glacier is 90 feet above sea level, .75 miles wide and 14.5 miles long.

The glacier ice was too big to pull into the boat, Rick and Roland had to chop it in pieces ...

We headed back down Muir Inlet, picking up some glacier ice along the way and anchored in Adams Inlet just after 6 p.m. We concocted a perfect glacier cocktail with rum, mint and lime juice to celebrate another day of life!