Aki and I have taken this walk down Fish Creek so many times that this morning, I might have left the camera behind if not for the sun. It surprised me by climbing above the low fog covering Gastineau Channel and into a cloud-free sky. There is also the tide, a 15-foot high that crests as we pull into the trailhead parking lot. On this windless morning, the resulting flood turns Fritz Cove into a giant mirror that reflects the glacier and its mountain escorts.

Ironically, the little dog and I will spend the entire walk in a dusky grey. If we could fly above the mountains or swim across the cove, we’d be warmed by the sun. But grounded in the lee of the Douglas Island ridge, we just shiver in the shade.