17-Jul-2004 -- We left Sitka’s (Alaska) Crescent Harbor at 4 am for a 10.5 mile skiff ride down Silver Bay while listening to Boney M (Touching the Void) and other artists to psych ourselves up for a long day in drizzle. After portaging our sea kayaks up to Green Lake we found our intended route roughly 2.5 miles down the lake (which has been enlarged considerably by a hydro project since the makings of the the USGS maps).
A well maintained hunter’s trail carried us up through pristine old growth spruce, hemlock, and yellow cedar in the heart of the Tongass National Forest. At treeline we were met by dense fog and relied heavily on our GPS to navigate up through dew drenched alpine vegetation, glaciers, and a steep couloir. The confluence was found on a glacial bowl just below “Lacey Peak” the highest point on Baranof Island (5390’). Views from the confluence where quite foggy but then just moments later as we climbed higher the weather broke and we were rewarded with outstanding mountain peaks showing above the clouds. Made it home by 8 pm - both exhausted and exhilirated to have made it from sea level to the highest peaks and back.