In addition to being solitary and grouchy, I lived on my own boat that could be anchored beside the crane barge as visible evidence there was a troll on 24 hour duty. On the m orning of July 3rd I headed out of the quiet waters of Eagle Harbor across Puget Sound, leaving a salt water island for another island in fresh water. The Lake Washington Ship Canal cuts an eight mile channel directly through the center of Seattle, connecting the salt water of Puget Sound with freshwater Lake Washington. Sailing through the Ship Canal takes you on an increasingly urban cruise thr ough the densely packed marine industry of the city, with the skyscrapers of downtown Seattle standing tall to the south. Hundreds of boats make this journey every day, ranging from huge barges and deep ocean fishing vessels down to tiny speedboats.
Traffic is dense.
On this voyage to my troll post I had to squeeze over to the shore to avoid two gigantic Foss tugs maneuvering a long section of six-lane freeway down the canal. In a matter of two hours I had crossed over into a bustling, metropli tan world very different from my serene anchorage in Eagle Harbor. In Lake Washington, I discovered I had unconsciously been harboring a completely false image in my mind. Only one of many false images I treasure, it is true, but this one was particularly dramatic. I had somehow expected that this inland lake would be more placid than the salt waters of the Sound.