Field Journal

On July 18th, Daniel Fox (The Wild Image Project) and his expedition partner Nathaniel Stephens will undertake an 11-day kayak expedition following the pacific coast of the Chichagof Island. The journey will start in Juneau where they will take the ferry to Sitka. From there they intend to voyage north to Hoonah. This 140 mile journey through Alaska’s pristine waters will follow the West Chichagof-Yakobi Wilderness. They will pass south of the Kruzof Island, around the Yakobi Island, through the South Iniah Passage, South of the Lemesurier Island and finally around the famous Point Adolphus.

The West Chichagof-Yakobi Wilderness is part of the Tongass National Forest, the largest national forest in the United States with most of its area part of the “perhumid rainforest zone, Earth’s largest remaining temperate rainforest. Made up primarily of western red cedar, sitka spruce, and western hemlock, the land spreads over thousands of islands and is home to animals that are barely found anywhere else in North America, including a group of brown bears more closely related to polar bears than to other living brown bears.

Besides being of great environmental value, the area is extremely rich in cultural history – more than 10,000 years ago, the Tlingit people settled here.

Follow Daniel’s journey on Facebook and Twitter and look out for the full story in Sidetracked soon. Read about one of Daniel’s previous expeditions, Isla Espiritu Santo here.