Marine writer Elsie Hulsizer, whose Voyages to Windward unlocked the mysteries of cruising Vancouver Island's west coast, now does the same for that other great unknown of West Coast cruising, Southeastern Alaska. Having avoided the Alaskan challenge for years, Elsie and her husband Steve set out on the trusty Osprey on May 14, 2006, and spent the next three summers sailing, writing and photographing the towering fjords, immaculate glaciers, throwback fishing villages and overexposed tourist traps of America's largest state. They drifted past calving glaciers, watched bears feeding in green marshes, smelled the fresh cedar of newly carved totem poles and followed the path of gold prospectors on the White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad. Sometimes it was difficult to discern the real Alaska beneath the façade, but Hulsizer finds it in many places, from the wild beauty of the ocean to the small coastal villages she visits and, sometimes, even where the tourists go. Glaciers, Bears and Totems is a rich book of adventure travel that is as valuable for its reading fun as for its travel information.

An Environmental professional with a degree in oceanography, Elsie Hulsizer lives in Seattle with her husband Steve. She has a certificate in fine art photography from the Photographic Center Northwest and has exhibited her art in various galleries including Seattle's Odyssey Maritime Discovery Center. Since 1980 the Hulsizers have cruised northwest waters extensively including over 20 trips to the West Coast of Vancouver Island, two trips to Haida Gwaii and four trips to Southeast Alaska.
Between sailing adventures on Osprey, she serves on the Washington State Board of Pilotage Commissioners which licenses the pilots who guide ships on Puget Sound, and on the Board of Trustees for Seattle's Center for Wooden Boats.

Elsie Hulsizer's profile page

• Runner-up, Foreword Reviews' Book of the Year Award, Travel Essays category

"Hulsizer does a great job of blending her degree in oceanography with her sailing experience, yielding writing with strong science and environmental content."
48 Degrees North

"...for every view blocked by a looming cruise ship Hulsizer finds a vision of the real Alaska, and her attention to detail and depth of knowledge of the area paints a compelling picture of the land and sea, as well as its "permanent" residents, human and non. A trained photographer, Hulsizer fills the hardbound book with page after page of beautiful black and white and color photos to guide readers along Osprey's travels."
-Sailing

"...if you are thinking of, or think you know about, the coast of Northern British Columbia to Southeast Alaska, you are in for a lovely virtual trip or perhaps finding new information when you have finished your read. The writing is not only well researched, but lively and even witty. ...All in all, highly recommended."
-Sitka Sentinal

"(The author and her husband)...spent three summers cruising what many consider to be the last frontier, delving deeper into the characters, culture, and abundant natural wonders of Southeast Alaska. "Was the real Alaska waiting for us?" the author asks in her introduction.
"Every reader fascinated with this cruising area will find out in this well-written and entertaining travel book."
-Cruising World