Alaska's Inside Passage

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A virtual tour with Arlene F. Harder, MA, MFT

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Picture of Fijord in Alaska's Inside Passage We got our first glimpse of Southeast Alaska when we looked out the plane's window as we flew to Ketchikan. The land unfolding below us was a dramatic landscape of islands, seaways and rain forests, jagged snow-capped peaks, and dense stands of cedar and spruce.

Protected by off-shore islands and tempered by the Kuroshio (Japan Current), fjords gouged by ancient glaciers are often shrouded in mist. We would have liked, of course, to see the jagged peaks bathed in sunlight so we could take a helicopter ride to the top of a glacier. On the other hand, we decided that seeing the place as it usually is could give us a better sense of how those who live there experience the land's great beauty, complexity and mystery. Besides, considering the fact that Ketchikan has an annual rainfall of 160 inches and is known as the wettest town on the continent, we were lucky we didn't see more rain than we did.

Continue the tour with An Intimate Form of Sea Travel