Waterfall for our entry and exit range
Ford’s Terror is a small fjord about halfway up Endicott Arm. The entry to the fjord is only 100 feet wide, is guarded by two large shoals that completely dry at low tide, and is completely uncharted. Compounding these difficulties, the entire fjord floods or empties through the narrow, shallow entrance every six hours – the passage becomes a turbulent waterfall as the tide rises or drops faster than the water can pour into or out of the fjord. That means that there is only a 5-10 minute window of slack water during which Ford’s Terror can be safely entered in a low-powered cruising boat like Madrone.
Massive granite walls everywhere
Most of the nautical charts for SE Alaska were originally drawn in 1889 by the survey ship Patterson. One of the crew members was named Ford, and during their work he was apparently swept through the rapids into the fjord – Ford’s summary of his experience inside gives the fjord it’s name.
Waterfall view from our anchorage
Our strategy was to arrive at the entrance early so that we’d have plenty of time to look around, get acclimated to the place, and plan an approach for heading through the rapids. This strategy turned out to be the wrong one, as hovering around outside the entrance watching the turbulent water pouring into the fjord started to make both Mike and Angie very nervous. Ford’s Terror is aptly named, as even waiting outside and watching is completely terrifying.
About 45 minutes after high tide in Juneau, the current in the entry channel abated. Keeping one eye on the depth sounder, one eye on the rocks to either side of the channel, and one eye on the tall waterfall that we were using as a natural range marker, we successfully made it inside.
More giant granite walls
Once inside, the terror that we experienced outside seemed completely worth it. The scenery defies description, with thousand foot high granite cliffs rising vertically from the waterline and too many waterfalls to count. One book described it as “a flooded Yosemite valley”, and Angie believes that’s an accurate description. Our only regret about this destination is that our photography skills are no match for the setting.
With our hand-drawn sketch from our friends, we found our way to the one place to anchor at the head of the fjord and got settled in for the evening. Time to start worrying about getting back out!
Seal pup at entrance – note the size of the mussels for perspective on this guy’s size (or lack thereof)
