Icebergs, bears await intrepid cruise travelers in Alaska’s wilds

Book early, as many small group adventures, like these, sell out before the summer cruise season starts 

A black bear approaches Anan Creek in Southeastern Alaska to fish in its clear waters (photos by David G. Molyneaux, TheTravelMavens.com)

By David G. Molyneaux

Inside Passage, Southeastern Alaska

Clunks from chunks of ice, the submerged parts that we could not see, delivered an unnerving soundtrack as our metal boat danced among a thousand icebergs on a zigzag path toward the great LeConte Glacier.

For nearly an hour out of the Alaska port of Petersburg, we had been traveling at a pretty good clip, seven of us in a 28-foot speedboat with a closed cabin to ward off the chill that open waters dispense, even in July. When our captain, Scott Roberge of Tongass Kayak Adventures (TongassKayak.com), turned towards the mountains into LeConte Bay, masses of icebergs seemed to block our way.