Tracy Arm—Williams Cove
The rain forest of Southeast Alaska is a symphony written in greys and browns and above all greens. The greens run the full gamut from bright emerald in clasping twisted stalk to brooding grey-green in frog-pelt lichen. But every now and then an unexpected color adds a high note to the spectral display. Perhaps the crescendo is the fabled fungus called “chicken of the woods”—aka Laetiporous (Polyphorus) sulphureus. This is a brilliant orange mushroom that we found growing on a log upon our return from a hike in Williams Cove near the mouth of Tracy Arm fjord. Ben Guild in the “Mushroom Hunter’s Guide” calls it ‘eminently edible…delicious fried in butter’. We had no pan available to cook up a batch, but we could all appreciate the magnificent form and color offered as a gourmet visual feast.Earlier in the day our visual treat had been in a different shade—the multitude of blues found in the ice of the Sawyer and South Sawyer glaciers.
As we came on deck in the early morning the Sea Bird was cruising into a narrow channel surrounded by 7000 foot peaks. We marveled at the intensity of the sapphire blue displayed by the dense ice formed at the base of the Sawyer glacier and then moved on to South Sawyer glacier where the fjord was completely filled with ice, attesting to the rapid retreat that is on-going here. Jen and Eric, our wilderness rangers on board, told us about their efforts to preserve the pristine qualities of this amazing place before we dropped them off in their kayaks to continue their mission. The highlight of the cruise back down Tracy Arm was a very close encounter with a waterfall known as Hole in the Wall. We came so close that it was almost renamed Cascade on the deck of the Sea Bird.
Today was as close to perfect as it gets in Southeast Alaska—or anywhere else. We had sunshine on blue glacial ice, complete with basking harbor seals; and soaring cliffs with mountain goats that at least we could see clearly with a spotting scope. Above all it was an opportunity to learn about and experience the nature of wilderness and what it means to be green.
The rain forest of Southeast Alaska is a symphony written in greys and browns and above all greens. The greens run the full gamut from bright emerald in clasping twisted stalk to brooding grey-green in frog-pelt lichen. But every now and then an unexpected color adds a high note to the spectral display. Perhaps the crescendo is the fabled fungus called “chicken of the woods”—aka Laetiporous (Polyphorus) sulphureus. This is a brilliant orange mushroom that we found growing on a log upon our return from a hike in Williams Cove near the mouth of Tracy Arm fjord. Ben Guild in the “Mushroom Hunter’s Guide” calls it ‘eminently edible…delicious fried in butter’. We had no pan available to cook up a batch, but we could all appreciate the magnificent form and color offered as a gourmet visual feast.Earlier in the day our visual treat had been in a different shade—the multitude of blues found in the ice of the Sawyer and South Sawyer glaciers.
As we came on deck in the early morning the Sea Bird was cruising into a narrow channel surrounded by 7000 foot peaks. We marveled at the intensity of the sapphire blue displayed by the dense ice formed at the base of the Sawyer glacier and then moved on to South Sawyer glacier where the fjord was completely filled with ice, attesting to the rapid retreat that is on-going here. Jen and Eric, our wilderness rangers on board, told us about their efforts to preserve the pristine qualities of this amazing place before we dropped them off in their kayaks to continue their mission. The highlight of the cruise back down Tracy Arm was a very close encounter with a waterfall known as Hole in the Wall. We came so close that it was almost renamed Cascade on the deck of the Sea Bird.
Today was as close to perfect as it gets in Southeast Alaska—or anywhere else. We had sunshine on blue glacial ice, complete with basking harbor seals; and soaring cliffs with mountain goats that at least we could see clearly with a spotting scope. Above all it was an opportunity to learn about and experience the nature of wilderness and what it means to be green.
