Today we explored an area of impressive geological and botanical richness.
Early risers saw the town of Bella Bella swirl past in the fog, but soon the sun emerged to make crisp and vivid every detail. Passing through the exposed water of Milbank Sound, we entered Mathieson Channel. This waterway is "off the beaten track"; it was fun to admire a countryside rarely beheld. On the Northwest Coast nearly every bit of saltwater is a fjord. It's hard to say that one scenic view is more spectacular than another, but this fjord was, well, spectacular! Daunting cliffs rose to lofty domes, and the water below us plunged to unguessed depths. Bare granite showed the raw bones of this youthful landscape, one recently scoured by miles of ice. Yet most of it was swathed in a leafy coat. Pale green cedars, shaped like jagged cones, mixed with the darker rounded forms of shore pines.
We landed at Carter Bay. Cliffs were impressive, but along the river the very trees seemed geologic in scale. Spruce trunks were scaly, fir, like silvery columns. And cedars towered like massive cables intertwined. Hikers found chocolate lilies and tiny irises of the deepest blue. Here were bear tracks; here a wolf passed by; here, a brace of deer. But most of us paddled the river. Boating is a pleasure on a sunny day. Only the most intrepid paddlers reached the rumbling falls, but everyone enjoyed the fun of riding easily through current and over wave.
After a lovely day we celebrated the summer solstice with dessert and late harvest wine on the upper deck of the ship. Northbound, we looked forward to even longer days, and even better ones.
