![]() This region is shaped by water, something I increasingly understood each morning as a light-but-persistent rain greeted me as I exited my cabin. Hanging glaciers cling to the sides of these imposing peaks, transforming low into majestic waterfalls that crescendo down vertigo-inducing vertical valleys and then dive into the current in a continual stream of renewal. When the sun does shine from above, the deep greens of this temperature rainforest contrast with the turquoise inlets and make it obvious why writers from Jack London to Ernestine Hayes have drawn inspiration from this region. ![]() Here, snowcapped, 2,000-foot peaks rise from the fjords to create barrier islands guarding the arms and passageways of the Alexander Archipelago from the rough-and-tumble Pacific Ocean to the west. Also calling this area home is the Tsimshian, whose native lands stretch as far east as the Skeena River valley. It is the home of the Tlingit and Haida peoples, each known today for elaborate totem poles telling the story of the region and its people. It was as though the whales were showing off, and those of us on the bow collectively cooed at each breaching.Īlaska’s Inner Passage is a wild place, alive in constant evolution. Each concluded its show with a triumphant wave of its fluke before descending below the surface. This was the second day of Lindblad Expedition’s 6-day Wild Alaska Escape expedition, and humpback whales were breaching around the ship – at least eight, blowing steam that geysered above the water just before they arched their backs into view. In the distance, the Coast Mountains formed a crescent around the dozen of us gathered on the bow of the National Geographic Sea Lion. A light mid-June rain clouded Alaska’s Stephens Passage in a deep haze.
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