Misty Fjords National Monument, Southeast Alaska
During the night we cruised southeast along Clarence Strait, eventually turning northeast and entering into the Behm Canal. This quiet waterway forms a long arc, leading northward into the coast range of mountains, and then back southward through the protected lands of Misty Fjords National Monument. Befitting its “Misty” name, we rose this morning to a realm of forested hills draped with wispy clouds.
We explored the secluded reaches of Walker Cove, a slender fjord with high vertical cliffs, branching off of the Behm Canal. The smooth dark waters reflected the deep greens of spruce, hemlock and cedar trees in the surrounding forest, with the pale white of gulls dotting the water’s surface. From high U-shaped valleys that once held hanging glaciers, slender waterfalls streamed down the dark walls.
Our afternoon destination was another side fjord, the equally dramatic Rudyard Bay. The ship cruised up into Rudyard, and then paused to drop our Zodiacs for further exploration into the far end of the fjord. The ship then followed through a narrow cut between the steep, canyon-like walls leading into a final embayment. Here, two streams attract salmon, seabirds, harbor seals and also bears. Precipitous rock walls surrounding the fjord send one’s eyes skyward, and waterfalls bring them tumbling back downward to the salty waters that seem more like a lake than an extension of the sea.
On our way back out of Rudyard Bay, we cruised into Punchbowl Cove to marvel at the enormous, glacially-carved monolith of rock gouged like a shard of a giant’s bowl from the mountain above us. As we departed from Rudyard Bay the overcast skies parted, and the sun beamed across the Behm Canal as we passed New Eddystone Rock. We eventually made our way to the open waters of Dixon Entrance and the international boundary with Canada.
