Since
Blackstone Glacier did not cooperate for
our cruise to shed ice, we traveled to Beloit Glacier. Beloit
Glacier is slightly to the east from Blackstone and we arrived there in
a few minutes.
This picturesque
location is accessible to mariners and several large sailboats were
moored offshore.
While
waiting at Beloit Glacier, the air was noticibly cooler within 1/4 mile
of the glacier. Captain
Crabough explained the weather phenomenon of katabatic wind whereby
cool
air sinks and blows out into the bay.
There
are two types of
calving of a glacier. The first is when an ice chunk falls from
above and is called a "bellyflopper" while "shooters" can disconect from below the water surface and pop up.
After
witnessing about a dozen ice chunks hit the water, it was time to
return to Whittier.
Our
return route was mainly the same as the
outbound trip. We poked into Shotgun Cove where the skeleton of a
former Washington State ferryboat grounded in 1974.
