It’s 1:30 a.m. and there’s a knock on my cabin door. It’s a crew member with news: The Northern Lights are now visible from the bow of the ship — do I want to see them? In a sleep-laced fog, I don a warm jacket over my nightclothes and head out for a first glimpse of the lights.

Simply spectacular! We’re at the entrance of Glacier Bay National Park near Juneau, so the lights are not as vibrant and plentiful as they would be further north in Alaska or the Yukon, but I’m not complaining.

Alaska’s biggest draws are the vast wilderness, solitude, and wildlife sightings, and on the first day of our UnCruise experience, we head north to Glacier National Park, stopping at Bear Track Cove to “bushwhack” through the Tongass Forest.

Alaska, Raw And Untamed

Dressed in layers of clothing and long boots we descend into the forest. This is a world unknown to me. Hemlock, spruce, and red and yellow cedar trees surround us; spongy green moss and ferns cover the ground and many trees are draped in lichen. We’re here, in one of the largest temperate forests in the world. There are no marked trails and we are all totally sensitive to the living ecosystem through which we trod, placing our footsteps where perhaps no one else has walked.

At one point I lose my footing and plow into a fellow hiker; luckily no one is injured. Here’s a bit of sage advice: Don’t think you might break your fall by grabbing a branch or tree, because there’s no guarantee it won’t uproot, after all, it’s a rainforest. Everything is very damp.

During my second bushwhacking excursion, it rains as we enter the forest. We crawl under logs, push branches aside, step through streams — and I love every minute of it. My footing is a little better now and this time I don’t take anyone else down when I fall.

I can’t shake the feeling that we might spy Hobbiton around the next bend. Yes, the lush greenness here invokes visions of the Shire in Lord of the Rings. Our guide Allison points out bear scat and finds wolf hair in a tree; we see wild mushrooms, orchids, and wild berries peeking through the moss. It’s the beginning of May; the forest and its natural habitants are waking up.