The big ferry vessel LeConte pushes its way south, passing the sedge covered expanse of the Katzehine Delta to the east. Veins of frothing silver water spill the high country’s essence into Lynn Canal and demarcate green stands of uncut Sitka Spruce and Hemlock—the great trees of the Tongass National Forest.

Even on this big ship of steel I can feel the canal’s intensity as 25 knot winds stir waves that heft the bow of the boat. Usually I ride on the ferry’s upper deck, exposed and open to the persuasions of the canal but by tomorrow I will begin a 4 week journey by kayak into the heart of the Tongass rainforest—the largest temperate rainforest in the world—so I’m taking comfort where ever I can, while I can.

Rosemary and I are setting out to explore some of the last unprotected watersheds of Alaska’s north pacific coast, a 17 million acre biome representing the final stand for grizzly bears, wolves, salmon, and whales. It is also a place of giant trees, where 400 year old behemoths stretch skyward and breathe into existence the clouds from which the rain falls.

Our plans are loose. Rather than a trip for adventure’s sake where the maximum amount of miles are covered in the shortest time, we will travel slowly, with the rhythm of the tides. We have selected a few key watersheds and inlets far from civilization where we hope to encounter the elemental wildness of the Tongass. In each area we’ve set days to simply reside along salmon streams, beneath the green canopy of primeval forest, and bear witness to whatever stories each place wishes to share before the Forest Service offers them on the chopping block to the highest bidder.

Our first stop is Tenakee Inlet, on Chichagof Island, in Southeast Alaska. The unlogged valleys of Chichagof support the highest coastal grizzly populations in the world, as well as some of the most productive salmon runs anywhere. After three straight days of paddling we’ll arrive at the head of the inlet to simply live and listen.