The forests of Southeast Alaska are vast, immense. They soak up the abundant rainfall like a giant green sponge and deliver the moisture in a slow and measured fashion to the entire ecosystem. Freshwater streams flow from its heart, entering a thousand little bays and saltchucks lined with western hemlock, Sitka spruce and yellow cedar. To hike in this forest or kayak its waterways is to be immersed in a vast network of life thriving on the limitless supply of water. Salmon move from salt to freshwater following the stream's course towards distant lakes. Beaver glide silently, secretly below the surface, eagles perch on the trees that crowd every point of land and tracks of brown bear pock the surface of trails leading us through true Alaskan boot-sucking mud.