The vegetation in upper Muri Inlet is still in the early stages of succession. Distant parts of the area in this scene were covered with glacier ice less than a century ago, while the foreground is only decades old. The early colonizers, mosses and dryas plants are being replaced by willows and alders and trees. In a few more years this view will not be possible - the entire area will be covered with thick shrubs. The iron rich reddish rocks are not a common sight in Glacier Bay and in a few years these will also be covered and obscured. Photographer: Bill Eichenlaub