summer
|
fall
83
FROM SEA TO SUMMIT
T
here was a break in the weather, and as it turned out it was the only
opportunity. We left Icy Bay and paddled inside the Taan Fjord; we
were feeling tiny to say the least. The fjord narrowed and because the St.
Elias, Chugach, and Wrangell mountains are the largest coastal range in
the world, mountains well over 10,000 feet towered over us on all sides.
Sheets of massive waterfalls spilled off daunting cliff faces, cascading to
where we paddled. The smell of natural oil seepage was thick in the air,
and the emerald green water was silky smooth.
We plowed through what seemed like an endless maze of ice floes,
careful not to run the hull of our close-decked kayaks atop the ice.
Neither one of us wanted to capsize and go for an unwelcomed swim in
below-freezing waters.
FAR
FLUNG
TRAVEL
