Life List:
Wild Alaska by boat
Scott discovers that Alaska's temperate rainforests are enchanting and intriguing to photograph.
Rainforests, High-Alpine Lakes and Beaches
Some days we spend many, many hours just motoring from one destination to the next. Our breaks to go ashore and explore are always much anticipated. Southeast Alaska is a coastal temperate rainforest of old-growth conifers that dwarf everything beneath it, but provide a delicate ecosystem that’s home to a variety of creatures, including wolves, bear, bald eagles, salmon and Sitka black-tailed deer.
On this day, the Brothers Islands are calling our name. We set anchor in a pretty little channel surrounded by islands and row the dinghy to the beach. Heading into the woods of towering spruce, cedar and hemlock, we feel as if we’ve stepped back into prehistoric times. It’s dark, but it’s bright too, because everything is covered in green: moss, ferns, lichen, groundcover of all kinds. Above us, moss and ferns grow out of trees, and create a canopy of imagined creatures—look, a sled dog’s bushy tail, a spider monkey and a panther! We listen to the tiny chirps of birds, but they are well camouflaged by the canopy and we can’t set our sights on them. It’s been an hour and we reluctantly hike back towards the shore to continue our journey.
Entering the woods is like stumbling upon a fairyland of giant
trees, moss and
boulders interlaced with dainty shrubs covered with maraschino-cherry-colored berries.
Our next rainforest adventure is in a place that will remain nameless, since Scott and I fell in love with it and want to build a cabin here someday. We wander along the sawdust-covered path that connects the homes, nibbling on wild red raspberries and high-bush blueberries (or were they Saskatoon serviceberries, either way, edible and yummy!), and came upon a small sign that says “Beach”—with an arrow pointing into the woods. Is this a joke? Entering the woods is like stumbling upon a fairyland of giant trees, moss and boulders interlaced with dainty shrubs covered with maraschino-cherry-colored berries.
We expect to hear laughing hobbits or Lilliputians telling the others to get ready for the “silly” people who were following the beach sign—it was simply magical! It smelled of ocean and cedar trees, and light seeped in through the high canopy to dance off the groundcover. When we finally reached the beach, we laughed in delight. The tide was low, so mustard-yellow kelp clung to the inky black boulders, giant logs scattered across the beach as if a giant had been practicing his throwing skills, and a cliff rose in front of us with a cabin perched atop it. What a wonderful hideaway! And so it will remain…
For a journey of a different kind, on our first afternoon in Warm Springs, we hike to the high-Alpine lake above the river that forms the waterfall. The quietness of this place—of all of Alaska—cannot be described with words. As we hike up to the lake along a beautifully crafted boardwalk, the giant evergreens shrink and are joined by dwarf shore pines and small deciduous trees and shrubs. The boardwalk dissolves into a muddy root-gnarled trail. Moss, lichens and ferns cover the ground and boulders in shades of green and silver. Bright red berries of the bunchberry flower poke out of the groundcover. The lake, smooth as glass, is the aquamarine color we’ve come to associate with glacier-fed waters. It tumbles over boulders and transforms into a frothy raging stream in search of a way home to the sea.
The lake, smooth as glass, is the
aquamarine color
we’ve come to associate with glacier-fed
waters.
After hiking on some of the side trails, we return to the main trail and follow it to its end. A beach—and several small boats, a few with motors! We imagine the difficulty of hauling them up the trail and later learn that some (if not most) were delivered by helicopter or float plane. I spot a few purple asters growing along the edge of the beach and wander over to inspect them closer. On one clings a hornet, too cold to move, despite the fact that we shift some of the surrounding vegetation to take photos.
Another day, our destination is a beach. We’ve left the Wrangell Narrows and we’re cruising through Sumner Strait, headed for an agate beach that some of Vic’s friends told him about—he’s never been there before, so this will be a first visit for him. The mapped name of the island is Kupreanof Island. As we prepare to row ashore, it feels quite breezy and we decide to bring our jackets, but once on land, it’s very warm, perhaps from heat radiating off the stony beach, so we quickly shed our jackets. The beach is littered with pebbles and stones of all shapes and colors—pink, lavender, green, blue, white, cream, brown and gray. Some pebbles are solid colors, others are streaked with contrasting colors that look like tiny rapidograph-pen line drawings or as if someone spilled paint across them.
We spread out a bit and diligently search for agates, picking up a pebble here and there to admire its shape, color or smoothness in the hand. The sun warms us as we each find our moment of solitude, enjoying the peace and quiet. None of us find an agate, but Scott and I find ourselves collecting a selection of Alaska pebbles, shells and miniature driftwood to bring home.
The beach is littered
with pebbles and stones of all shapes and colors—pink, lavender, green, blue, white, cream, brown and
gray.
The beach—outlined by jumbled logs, shore grasses and evergreens—stretches into the distance. A jagged-peaked mountain juts out of an island across from us. The silence is pierced by an eagle cry as it circles directly overhead, and Scott realizes he doesn’t have the right camera lens with him. Heck, our mission had been to search for agates, not have the eagle photo op of a lifetime! We soon discover a bald eagle’s nest, and a juvenile eagle is discreetly perched next to it. Scott considers rowing back to the boat to get his other camera lens, but decides against it. After all, part of this trip is so we can immerse ourselves in Alaska—fill up our souls with all that is here—and there are times when distracting ourselves with “work” detracts from the personal journey. We do have our priorities straight, you know! About two hours later, we’re underway again.
First Day | Fiords, Glaciers and Icebergs | Secluded Coves
Steller Sea Lions | Bears, Bears and More Bears
Fishing Villages and Hot Springs | Harbor Seals
Rainforests, High-Alpine Lakes and Beaches
A Whale of a Tale | Epilogue | Your Turn: Charter a Yacht
Alaska Photo Galleries