We start in Yakutat, a sleepy little fishing town on the Gulf of Alaska set at the base of the Fairweather and St. Elias Mountain Ranges. Here, we will begin our week-long expedition into one of the most remote fjords in Southeast Alaska, Russell Fjord.

We meet up in the little fishing town of Yakutat, getting our gear situated and going over our plans for the week. Yakutat is a small town of around 1000 residents who make there living mostly through commercial fishing, guided hunting and sport fishing, and a growing sector of ecotourism. On the Gulf of Alaska, Yakutat is set between Wrangell St. Elias National Park and the Tongass National Forest, setting it within one of the largest expanses of truly breathtaking scenery in Alaska. Nearly 100 miles from any other coastal town, Yakutat is accessible by sea or by air but is not connected to any road system, so to say it is isolated is an understatement. It sees a number of flights each day from both commercial airlines and small bush flight companies in the spring, summer and fall, and the Alaska State Ferry stops there semi regularly in that season as well, but living in Yakutat still takes a unique character. At the foot of the Fairweather and St. Elias mountains, Yakutat is watched over by Mount St Elias at over 18,000 feet. The Tlingit people, the native group who have lived here for generations, named the great mountain Was-eiti-shaa, meaning “Mountain in Icy Bay,” which is a fitting name for the massive mound of ice and rock overlooking these icy waters. These mountains, sprawling glaciers and lush green forests will frame our world during this week on the waters of Russel Fjord.

Russel Fjord Wilderness is just under 350,000 acres and is made up of deep valleys carved out by the glaciers over thousands of years. When the glaciers from the last ice age receded sea water filled in these valleys, simple plant species repopulated the exposed rock, gradually building up organic material and creating an environment to support more complex plants such as spruce and hemlock which form the lush forests we see today. These forests as well as the waters which now fill these fjords are home to a rich and diverse array of species. In the waters we see incredible marine life including Humpback and Killer whales, sea lions and seals, sea and river otters just to name a few. In the forest, along the beaches and in the mountains, species like wolves, moose, and wolverine are in strong numbers. And, of course, there are the bears. Brown and black bears are commonly seen all throughout Russel Fjord, but this area is also home to a much more rare sight, the “Blue Bear” – a color phase of the black bear that gives the creature a grayish–blue appearance.

We will be in a truly remote part of Alaska while we are in Russel Fjord and without a doubt in one of the most unique paddling destinations on the planet. To the north, the Hubbard Glacier, the largest tidewater glacier in North America, is one of the few glaciers we have seen actually advancing in the past few years. In fact, several times in the not-too-distant past the Hubbard Glacier has actually closed off the entrance to Russell Fjord creating a huge lake and trapping a number of marine mammals. But luckily the ice gave way and all the wildlife were able to escape the largest glacial lake in the world at the time. The Russel Fjord Wilderness, formed in 1980, is a protected area set aside for explorers just like us to paddle and hike through for generations to come. With respect, we will travel its shores and along its trails in unison with all its wildlife leaving no trace of our presence but taking with us the impression it will leave on our souls long after we have gone.