Although the weather in Alaska is always unpredictable, one would expect gray skies hovering over the largest temperate rain forest in America. But here on an exceptional clear day this view into the Tracey Arm Fjord is quite telling. The narrow fjord, enclosed by 3000 foot high granite walls, winds through the Tongass National Forest for over 30 miles. North and South Sawyer glaciers, marking the end of fiord, are among the most dramatic ice fields in Alaska. Here, the Fords Terror Wilderness area, covering more than 650,000 acres, is a splendid cruise ship destination. The lengthy fjord, named after a Civil War General Benjamin Franklin Tracy, is home to a wide variety of wildlife. Although mostly covered in western hemlock and Sitka spruce, some bare rocky outcroppings may reveal black and brown bear, deer, wolves, and moose. Easier to spot in the fjord's icy waters, whales and harbor seals always earn plenty of attention.
   Tracy Arm and its sister fjord, Endicott Arm, are located 45 miles south of Juneau. Here, the Alaskan panhandle's Tongass National Forest covers 17 million acres and surrounds the capitol city. Everything is bigger in Alaska!

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