Ell Cove

At 0600 we viewed the world in varying shades of gray: pale gray, dark gray, steel gray, blue gray, even the snowfields on Baranof Island looked an icy white blue/gray. Fog and low clouds will do that, absorbing or obscuring color, draping a gauzy gray fabric over the landscape. That changed when we entered Ell Cove, the clouds moved on and sunshine changed the palette.

Ell Cove is a snug little anchorage, barely big enough for a handful of boats, a space where you cannot see or feel the choppy water of Chatham Strait outside. The sun's warmth brought out the scent of the surrounding evergreen forest, a smell reminiscent of camping in the mountains instead of anchoring in saltwater.