Skagway

Dan left early for her horseback riding, canoeing, rock climbing and rappelling excursions, while I opted to do the Glacier Point wilderness safari with Howie, Stef, Becky (who took these great photos), John and Lenny. Before we left for our trip, I took a walk by myself through Skagway (or, at least, the inauthentic part of the town where they sell T-shirts to tourists). It was another bright, sunlit day where only two basic layers were needed to stay warm.

The tour began by catamaran through Lynn Canal. While "canal" would suggest that this body of water was man-made, it is actually the deepest fjord in North America. The guide suggested that the name was originally Lynn Channel but became bastardized over time. Interestingly, we saw a distinct line of demarcation in the water as it changed from a clear bottle green to a murky brownish black. The transformation has to do with water run-off from the glaciers and tides. We saw a couple of waterfalls that were cool too.


After about 45 minutes on the boat, we arrived at Glacier Point (population: 11), got suited up with coats, boots and life vests and walked through the rain forest to the canoe. We weren't paddling long before we saw Davidson Glacier.

Though we couldn't leave the canoe to walk on the glacier, we got quite close and navigated around the moraines, where you could see the sparkling turquoise beneath the silt.


The return trip to the boat was uneventful, and I looked forward to reuniting with the rest of the family over dinner and hearing about Dan's big adventures.