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Tuesday, August 24 -- the third full day on the boat -- was both one of my favorite days, and my most stressful one.

We woke up early to go kayaking in Kelp Bay. The fog was heavy, hovering just on top of the water line, and even though it doesn't *really* look like it was raining in these photos, there was so much moisture in the air, droplets were beading across every surface. Including my camera. My super-duper-never-failed-me-supposedly-weatherproof-camera. [And, thanks to the crew, I had even learned how to fashion a make-shift ziploc "case" to go around the body and keep the rain out.] Throughout the entire morning, I had been snapping photos. Of the teal blue water, colored by a glacial stream. Of the M/V Mist Cove, covered in its namesake mist. Of my fellow kayakers. Of the scenery. You get the idea.

We paddled back to the main boat for breakfast around 7:15am, changed into dry clothes, and devoured yet another one of April and Lydon's amazing meals: strawberry-rhubarb pancakes. The agenda for the morning consisted of a "meadow walk" through one of the grassy flats nearby in South Arm and halibut fishing. It was as we were climbing into the skiffs that I turned my camera back on and got…. an Error message. Telling me that I needed to "replace the battery" or "turn it off and on" or the best one yet, "get it serviced." But, no matter how many times I turned it off/on, or took out the battery, it refused to take a single photograph. "Shooting is not possible. Error 99."

Needless to say, I was deflated. I wanted nothing more than to be able to bring home thousands of images from this trip to share with family and friends. Besides, I didn't pack a 30lb carry-on full of camera equipment just for my health.

So, feeling naked without a camera around my neck, we boarded the skiffs and went off for our hike. And the 5DMKII stayed "home" on the boat with its various receptacles shoved full of tissue paper.**


Over lunch we cruised down Chatham Strait and anchored in Kasnyku Bay, where Jeremy, Bryan, Joel and I hiked the Ell Cove Trail...[Still lamenting my injuried 5DMKII, and hauling my 'extra' 40D camera body with me].

This hike was - by far - the most amazing hike we did the entire trip. We got dropped off by a skiff on a beach that had white sand, rounded pebbles and a stream FULL of spawning salmon. Fresh bear tracks made deep impressions in the sand, and you could see why -- it was easy for us to reach down and pick up a fish as it swam by -- I could only imagine the buffet you would have if you had claws.

We walked through a trail made by bears and deer, up steep hills to the top of a ridge that looked down on the bay, the open water and our boat. The view was amazing. The rain had subsided. And the contrast of the clouds (literally, clouds!) weaving through the dark green tree tops made the spot just perfect.

We spent some time sitting on top of the ridge, looking down at the fishing boats, watching the landscape and just being at peace. We had scaled rock and limb to get there (needed considerably more "paws" on this one than the day before), the only tracks we encountered were that of animals much bigger than us, and we never came across a trail marker, a piece of trash, or any sign of human life. Just raw, untouched wilderness. And it was amazing.

Click here for a gallery from the Third Day on the Boat.

*Day-by-day postings will resume on Tuesday -- Happy Labor Day Weekend!
**The next day, my 5DMKII started working, never to fail me again that week. ((Relief))

On Monday, August 23, we woke up to a breakfast that included mini omelets, hashbrowns and the best lemon-poppyseed scones I've ever tasted. In addition, we woke up to a weather warning that predicted a *gale* to come through the area. By definition - according to the Marine Weather Dictionary - "a *gale* warning is issued when winds within 39 - 54 mph (34 - 47 knots) are expected within 24 hours, or frequent gusts between 35 knots and 49 knots are expected; Gale warnings may precede or accompany a hurricane watch." Awesome.

With no time to waste, everyone loaded up on skiffs and either went fishing or hiking -- of which we chose the latter. It was raining continuously through the day, but due to the heavy tree canopy and moss cover, we barely noticed. [Of course, we were head-to-toe in rain gear.] Bryan, Joel, "Los", Jeremy and I hiked the Pt Kennedy Trail (our first steps into the Tongass**), which Jeremy referred to as a "four-paw" hike, meaning the number of limbs (or "paws") one must use to ascend the soggy hills on the bear-laden track. It was so green and lush inside the trail, giving us all a reminder of just how close we were inside the depths of this amazing rainforest. We hiked for about two hours (and to 300+ft above sea level) until we had to make our way back to the main boat.

On the way out we encountered a giant sunflower sea star who was floating close to the waterline. "She" was bright purple (because anything purple, must be a 'she') with 19 legs, and was easily 2-feet across. I felt as though I had been granted a week-long sleepover at Mystic Aquarium… except this was way better.

As we climbed back on the boat, the crew decided that we were going to cruise to another location to try and escape the weather. Luckily, the gale that was forecasted never did hit, and even though the waves were a bit rougher than they had been, it wasn't anything close to what had been anticipated.


Before we arrived at our anchor point for the evening - Kelp Bay - we felt the boat slow down, and the announcement that there were whales off the starboard side. This was our first whale sighting of the trip, and even though they weren't super close, it was really exciting. An adult female humpback and what was assumed to be her calf, were gently swimming along the shore. The floated up and down, fluked several times, and went on their way. Luckily, they weren't the last whales we saw on the trip, but each time new wildlife crossed our path, it was as though we were seeing it for the first time all over again.

Click here for a gallery from the Second Day on the Boat.

**The Tongass National Forest is the nation's largest national forest in the US, stretching over 17 millions acres in South East Alaska. It is a temperate rainforest, and 4.5 million acres are protected under the Wilderness Act. Learn more about the Tongass here.

Sunday, August 22 was our first official day on the M/V Mist Cove. While docked we had a tour of our cabins and the common areas on the boat, met the crew and had what was only the first of many amazing meals. Chunky, savory tomato soup, crusty, hot home-made (or rather "boat-made") bread and piles of fresh cookies. Yum.

We departed Sitka and cruised through Olga Straight and Neva Straight, through Sergius Narrows and later anchored in a place called Deep Bay. It was here that we dropped kayaks** in the water for the first time on the trip, and explored the small islands that were positioned throughout Deep Bay.

One of the things that most surprised me about S.E. Alaska were the creatures** in the intertidal zones - translucent floating jellyfish, bright blue and orange sea stars, giant barnacles and bold purple muscles. Ever since I was little I could spend hours looking in tide pools, and it was clear to me last week that some things never change.

The weather was cloudy and drizzly, which I would learn was the norm for the area. It was this first day, and the one that followed, which gave us the worst weather -- later on in the week we had prolonged bursts of sunshine, which the crew informed us were known as "sucker holes" … as in, better not get used to it.

After kayaking, we cruised up Peril Strait and anchored in Saook Bay for the night. Along the way we saw sea otters rolling around in the kelp and waves, bald eagles dotting the pine trees like Christmas ornaments, and harbor seals "sunning" themselves on rock jetties. By the time dinner rolled around, we were already surrounded by untouched wilderness, and there was no cell phone signal to be seen for the next few days.


Click here for a gallery from the First Day on the Boat.

**Please note: I cannot take credit for any photo that I am in, or the underwater photos of the sea creatures - they are the product of Jeremy's artistic eye and his super-sly underwater camera; In addition, many of the photos in these posts and galleries were captured by Bryan, as you can rest assured that I brought more than one camera and more than one telephoto lens with me. :)

Last Friday, Bryan and I left for our trip to Alaska with the better-than-ever-couldve-been-imagined Boat Company. And I say that having worked with TBC for many years, and already thinking they were amazing. As I have told others who asked me, the thousands of photos and hundreds of articles that I proofed, laid into design pieces or archived for The Boat Company did not prepare me for the experience we had this past week. It was, hands down, ah-mazing. And if you can do without yet another trip to Disney World next summer, you must get up to Southeast Alaska. You must. It will change your life.

We left Charlotte on a direct flight to Seattle, where we fell in love with the city over a very short period of time. I am certain a lot of that had to do with the weather we encountered when we got there -- sunny, warm, and "the mountain was out" -- which is a condition I learned prior to my trip as being a lucky day for Seattle. It sucked us in for sure.

The next morning we woke up and jumped on a flight to Sitka, Alaska, where we would meet up with The Boat Company crew the following day. It was an easy flight (even for me!) and we had the afternoon to wander about the town. It had been literally 4 months since we had been in a climate below 90-degrees, and it felt just wonderful.

Sitka is a great town. There are remnants of Tlingit Indian history, and a strong presence of Russian architecture and commerce, as it become a leader in the Russian-American fur trade prior to being purchased by the U.S. in 1867. There are boats everywhere, friendly people and an abundance of outdoor gear shops and art galleries. Needless to say, we felt at home.

On Sunday morning we walked over to Highliner Coffee Company, a modern-corner of this otherwise traditional town, brimming with people on laptops and smart phones. The coffee was great, and the decor - huge black and white photographs balanced all over the walls, featuring local fisherman and their catch - gave the place a unique "true-life-gallery" feel.

At 11am we were greeted in the lobby of our hotel by 3 crew members from the M/V Mist Cove -- and as a mixed group of 21 passengers -- we walked a few blocks to where the vessel was docked.

For today, this is where my story stops - for a couple of reasons. The first being that I couldn't organize my thousands of photos from this trip in just one day, or as immediately as I would like. The second reason is the more important one - and that is because each day of this trip was so special, that I felt each one deserved its own post.

Over the course of the last 8 days I have met some amazing people, been surrounded in a small skiff by hundreds of sea lions, hiked in mossy forests on bear trails, had breakfast next to humpback whales and porpoise, visited a glacier, and even tried my hand at salmon fishing. I have devoured the most amazing food ever tasted, wrapped my arms 'round a 500-year old tree (32-feet around!) and touched a starfish with 19 legs. Every bit of it -- even the bits when it rained -- were amazing.

Click here for a gallery from Seattle and Sitka. Stay tuned for our "first day on the boat" tomorrow.