Un-Cruise Adventure in Alaska

Un-Cruise Adventures’ Safari Endeavour anchored in Reid Inlet in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska, during a recent Discoverers’ Glacier Country cruise. // © 2014 Dennis Sides

On one of the day’s optional excursions, small boats brought hikers to the beach below Reid Glacier, where they began their trek up a valley for an up-close and personal encounter with the glacier. // © 2014 Dennis Sides

The beautiful and surreal "icescape" of Reid Glacier. // © 2014 Dennis Sides

Ice in the glacier is likely hundreds of years old, and the blue color means that most of the air has been squeezed out by the weight of subsequent snowfalls. // © 2014 Dennis Sides

Along the 3-hour trek, hikers climbed over boulder fields and hopped across a number of fast flowing runoff streams. // © 2014 Dennis Sides

Rubble and silt resulting from the glacier’s slow recession are visible at the edges of the ice sheet. // © 2014 Dennis Sides

Underneath the glacier, a hollow space known as a “blue room” was large enough for hikers to venture inside. // © 2014 Dennis Sides

Hikers encountered a near-perfect cube of red rock on the trek, measuring about 10 feet on one side. // © 2014 Dennis Sides

The magnificent vista of Reid Inlet stretched out as hikers made their way down from the glacier. // © 2014 Dennis Sides