Alaska's cities

Gustavus / Glacier Bay, Alaska

Town is front door to fjords filled with icebergs and whales

By Leon Unruh / Alaska.com

	Gustavus / Glacier Bay services

That's quite a change from 1794. Two centuries ago, everything here was under ice.

When British explorer George Vancouver sailed through Icy Strait, the area was covered by the Grand Pacific Glacier. The glacier had pushed the Tlingit Natives off the land across the strait to Chichagof Island, where many settled in the Hoonah area.

But after Vancouver's visit, the glacier retreated about 40 miles over the next century and then another 25 miles by 1916.

In 1914, settlers began moving onto the newly available real estate about 50 miles west of Juneau, attracted by the fishing and fertile land known for its bountiful wild strawberries. The little town on Strawberry Point was eventually named Gustavus, after the point of land at the end of the plain. The livable area borders Icy Passage and Glacier Bay and is backed up by the Chilkat Range of the St. Elias Mountains.

As it was for the original farmers, life today in Gustavus, population 429, is seasonal, although it's mostly about tourist season now. Air traffic from Juneau, brought by Alaska Airlines, L.A.B. Flying Service and a host of air taxis, keeps the tourists coming. Tour boats from Juneau, such as the high-speed whale-watching catamaran of Auk Nu Tours, carry passengers to and from the park waters.

Glacier Bay is whale country, especially for humpbacks and orcas that have come to feed in the incredibly rich waters. It's practically a sure thing that tour-boat passengers will see whales.

Cruise liners like the fjord as well, but some opponents say allowing too many of the big boats into the restricted water puts the whales at risk. (In what appeared to be an isolated incident in the summer of 2001, a humpback was found dead, apparently after a collision with a big boat.) Some cruises have had to take Glacier Bay off their itineraries, subsituting trips to Tracy Fjord south of Juneau or Hubbard Glacier near Yakutat.

Glacier Bay was set aside as a national monument in 1925 by President Calvin Coolidge. In 1980, it was one of a number of parcels upgraded to national park status by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. The 5,100-square-mile park has 16 tidewater glaciers, including La Perouse Glacier, the only one in the park to dump into the Gulf of Alaska.

Hikers and strollers will find a lot to like in Gustavus' long, flat beaches and wetlands -- if they bring rubber boots. There isn't much backcountry hiking inside the park, but hikers will find good walking amid the fireweed and lilies on the park's beaches, alpine meadows and recently deglaciated areas. Hikers and kayakers can arrange to be dropped off either by the National Park Service's concessionaire or by private companies' boats and aircraft.

About 90 inches of rain falls annually in the area, so visitors are advised to take waterproof jackets and pants. Layered light clothing is also a good idea for those wet 65-degree afternoons. And don't forget the bug dope.

As one might expect about a settlement next to a natural icebox, Gustavus' summers are cool. Temperatures range from 52 to 63. In the winter, temperatures are mild, with a range of 26 to 39.