We had a short time ( 8 days) and the desire to combine sea-kayaking with bushwhacking in Southeast Alaska. So, a two day paddle north of Juneau and a romp along three river valleys that empty into Lynn Canal. The paddling was hot ( 65-70) and the first bushwhack was brutal with, what my wife has termed, old growth Devils Club along pathless forest. Still, beats sitting in the office. A couple of pictures and the link to others http://www.flickr.com/photos/umnak

Hi Joseph, first off, fantastic photos! Gotta love the different things (scenery and wildlife) that you get to see.

I have a question. You've got Admiralty Island in the background so I am guessing the browns are in town. What kind of precautions do you take when fishing/cooking fish (saw the fish photos) up there?

We use Ursack bags with OPSAK ( odor proof) liners for our food. We carry bear spray and I carry a marine grade shotgun made ultralight with just the pistol grip ;-). Never used, but it calms my Irish Mother-in-law. "ach, the bears!"

Frankly, we get a little too familiar with the bears and seldom hang our Ursacks. We've found they want as little to do with us as we with them -- OK from a distance but we live in different worlds. We tell them we are entering the forest and remind them every once in a while with a loud, " Hello Bear" We do tend to sleep close and we are all light sleepers. We get a little more thoughtful when the large runs of salmon start in July and August, tending to avoid Admiralty unless we are a group of 4. We would not camp near these rivers in August, right now the bears are mostly upland since they have already cruised the coast for spring's leftovers.

Fabulous locations and photos Joseph. I love your 'spring sunset' from april 10th. Any chance of a high res copy to print out for our wall?

Joseph,

Absolutely stunning scenery... thank you very much for sharing!