This 653,179 acre wilderness area lies 50 miles southeast of Juneau and 70 miles north of Petersburg. Defined on the east by the U.S., Canadian border and on the west by Stephen's Passage, this wilderness has no developed facilities. Access is generally by boat or air taxi which are both available in Juneau and Petersburg. This wilderness is best characterized as rugged and steep. Cascading waterfalls spill over steep mountain cliffs and glacial carved valleys until crashing into the ocean below. Holkum Bay rests at the entrance to the fjords and creates the junction whereby they reach around the land like a pair of arms stretching towards the Canadian border. The northernmost arm, named after B.F. Tracy who was Secretary of the Navy from 1889-1893, extends more than thirty miles inland where tidewater glaciers actively calve ice into the fjord. Often times the fjords become so ice choked small boats cannot navigate them. The southernmost arm, the Endicott Arm, extends approximately 30 miles to a small narrow fjord with sheer rock walls which extends inland from the Arm. Called Fords Terror, it is named after a crew member of a naval vessel who, at slack high tide rowed into the fjord. When the tide turned to go out he became trapped in the fjord by violent rip tides. At the entrance of the arm an impenetrable wall of angry water whipped the fjord turbulently as the sea went rushing out. Floating debris and ice battered his small craft for six hours as the waters churned wildly in the fjord before finally releasing him. Spruce and hemlock rain forests cover most of the slopes up to approximately 1,500 feet. The highlands are dominated by glaciers and snowfields. Nearly 20% of the land in this area is covered by snowfields or glaciers. Anticipate subarctic temperatures and periodically strong winds at the higher elevations. Protect against hypothermia, which is a constant threat.