Sixteen nights aboard M/Y Aqua Lares through the fjords, straits and island wilderness of Southeast Alaska.
Southeast Alaska is a coast built entirely by ice. Glacial water runs out of the mountains through old-growth rainforest and into fjords cut between granite walls, and the whole of it opens as a gateway into the wild frontier of the continent. This is where you will spend sixteen nights aboard M/Y Aqua Lares, from Juneau out to the edge of the open Pacific and back through the largest islands in the country.
Going by private yacht is the point. A yacht can work into fjords and inlets that larger vessels cannot reach, and it can wait. When a pod of humpbacks settles into bubble-net feeding, you linger. When a tidewater glacier begins to calve, you hold position and watch it from the deck. The itinerary bends to the conditions and to what the wildlife is doing, which in September is a great deal.
September is the shoulder of the Alaskan season. The salmon are still running in the streams, and the brown bears are still on them, fishing the falls before winter. Humpbacks feed hard in the straits before their migration south. The first snow touches the high peaks while the valleys stay green, and the low light of the shortening days sits long and golden across the water for hours at a time. The crowds of high summer are gone.
The route runs from Juneau to the Inian Islands at the ocean's edge, south through Icy Strait and Chatham Strait to Admiralty, Baranof and Chichagof, the ABC Islands, and back up to the tidewater ice of Tracy Arm and the narrow inlet of Fords Terror. Along the way there is Tlingit country and the people who keep its culture, brown bears at the water's edge, orca from the bow, and glaciers that end in the sea. This is a guide to what those days hold.
West from the capital to the northern edge of the Inside Passage, where the open Pacific forces through a narrow strait and feeds one of the densest concentrations of marine life on the coast. Zodiacs and kayaks among sea lions, otters and seabirds, and rainforest hikes ashore.
The Tlingit village of Hoonah and the whale-rich waters of Icy Strait, then the quiet anchorage of Pavlof Harbor, where a salmon stream draws brown bears to a waterfall. A short hike puts you within sight of the run, guides reading the bears while the salmon leap.
Down Chatham Strait to Admiralty, Baranof and Chichagof, among the largest islands in the country and almost empty of people. Admiralty holds the highest density of brown bears on Earth. Wilderness landings, remote trails, kayaking the protected bays, natural hot springs, and whales from the bow.
The finish is tidewater ice. Into Tracy Arm between granite walls to the face of South Sawyer Glacier, Zodiac and kayak among the icebergs it calves, then the narrow glacier-cut inlet of Fords Terror before turning north to disembark at Juneau.
West from Juneau to the Inian Islands at the ocean's edge, south through Icy Strait and Chatham Strait to the ABC Islands, and back to the tidewater ice of Tracy Arm and Fords Terror.
"To the lover of wilderness, Alaska is one of the most wonderful places in the world."
John MuirBoard M/Y Aqua Lares in the late afternoon at Alaska's capital, a town wedged between the Gastineau Channel and the peaks behind it. There is time before you sail to walk the waterfront, visit the Alaska State Museum, or ride the Goldbelt Tram to the top of Mount Roberts for a first look over the channel and the surrounding ice. Pre-departure briefing over dinner as the ship clears the channel and turns west.
At the northern edge of the Inside Passage the open Pacific pours through a narrow strait, and the nutrient-rich water it carries makes this one of the densest feeding grounds on the coast. Zodiac cruise alongside Steller sea lion haul outs, bobbing sea otters and swooping seabirds, kayak the narrow inlets and hike the temperate rainforest. By invitation, visit the Tidelines Institute, an Alaskan homestead turned environmental education centre.
A Tlingit village on the north shore of Chichagof Island and a base for the waters of Icy Strait. Take a fishing charter for salmon and halibut, or spend the day watching for the humpback whales that feed in groups just to the north. Time here to connect with local Tlingit culture and the artisans who keep it.
A quiet anchorage on Chichagof Island with a salmon stream running to a waterfall at its head. A short hike brings you to a viewpoint where brown bears gather to fish the run, snatching leaping salmon from the falls. You watch from a respectful distance while the guides read the bears' behaviour and tell you what they are doing and why.
A long day working south down Chatham Strait, the deep channel that separates the great islands of the northern archipelago. Keep watch from the bow for orca and humpback whales, and for the cooperative feeding and tail-slapping that these waters are known for. The strait is the through-road for the days among the ABC Islands to come.
Admiralty holds the highest density of brown bears anywhere in the world, and its shorelines and streams are the reason. Land on remote trails, bushwhack through dense brush, and kayak the protected bays keeping an eye out for bears along the water, possibly with cubs of the season. If time allows, visit the Alaska Whale Foundation nearby.
The eastern shore of Baranof, sparsely populated for its size, gives many opportunities for wilderness landings and hikes on remote trails. The reward here is the natural hot springs, a place to relax and reset between the demands of a full expedition day. Back onboard, keep watching the strait for whales.
The last of the ABC Islands and among the largest in the country, yet almost empty of people. Kayak the protected bays and land on trails that see few visitors, with brown bears along the shoreline never far off. Onboard, watch the bow for orca and humpback and their fascinating behaviour: breaching, tail-slapping and cooperative feeding.
Cap the voyage navigating the towering granite walls and vivid blue water of Tracy Arm Fjord, a landscape glaciers cut over millennia. Zodiac cruise or kayak among newly calved icebergs toward the face of South Sawyer Glacier, where large calvings echo through the fjord. Through the surrounding Fords Terror Wilderness, watch for waterfalls, cascading glaciers, bald eagles, brown bears and harbour seals hauled out on the ice.
A narrow, glacier-carved inlet reached on the slack tide, its walls dropping straight into water and threaded with waterfalls. The last full day among cascading glaciers and the wildlife of the wilderness area before turning north for Juneau. A quiet end to the expedition, deep inside the country you came to see.
Return north to Juneau in the morning and disembark M/Y Aqua Lares to begin the journey home, sixteen nights of coast, ice and wildlife behind you.
Rob has spent three decades guiding and leading expeditions across the Arctic, Antarctica and the wild coasts between, including several record-breaking voyages. He reads a place quickly and knows when to wait, which is what a flexible Alaskan itinerary asks of a leader.
Tim has led over a hundred polar expeditions and spent years in remote waters running Zodiac operations, kayaking and dives. On this coast that means putting boats in among the ice and the wildlife safely and getting guests close to what they came for.
Everything is arranged. The yacht will be at the dock in Juneau on the afternoon of 14 September, the tide will be turning, and there will be sixteen nights of coast ahead of us. Bring warm layers and a good pair of boots. We will handle the rest. See you at the channel.