We began our sojourn on the Northwest Coast in its wildest quarter. Icy Strait connects the placid Inside Passage with the storm-tossed open ocean. Here Captain Vancouver found an "icy strait" choked with bergs tumbling out of the emergent Glacier Bay.
Vancouver sought cartographic information with the thought of imperialistic profit. Foremost among this area's profitable exports was sea otter fur. Denser than that of any other earthly (or maritime) creature, sea otter fur provides these animals with their only protection from Alaska's chilly seas.
Exploring part of Icy Strait by kayak, we recapitulated Aleut paddlers' peregrinations to this otter-rich region. Once hunted here to extinction, reintroduced otters now thrive, much to our delight!
