Coming Home: The Tatshenshini Alsek

I've seen this place in my dreams: a place where I escape  to when I need a break from the world's madness. It is a place that feels like pulling a warm blanket over my head and experiencing the sense of calmness from just being still; of being peaceful and alone. On every journey I take into the wilderness, I find a haven of solitude. 

Experiencing the Tatshenshini Alsek was like coming home, even though I've never been there before. I stood for hours watching the ever changing dance of light and life: a single day is not enough time to wholly experience the grandeur. Yet, in this short time I came away feeling renewed and thankful for these moments alone with the vastness.

I'd like to stay in one place for a full year to do the land justice in how I present it to others -- to witness the changing seasons, and to feel its nobility within my soul.I need to hike its hills, to cup the cold water in my hands and drink deeply of this place. Only then can you begin to feel the heartbeat.

 A camera is limited - it can depict a small part of what something looks like, but not how it feels. It can never replicate the cold glacier air caressing your cheek, or the warmth of the sun breaking through fog to touch its rays gently along your arm.

Cameras cannot capture the smell of the leaves that drift away from their year old lives, or the cold scent of streams. Yes, water here has a smell: it's clean and crisp with a touch of heaviness to it, so much different than the smell of a glacier, which has a timeless scent, complex in its many layers. 

I hope I can portray a small part of this magnificent landscape for you and let you feel the cold glacier air caressing your cheek.