Alaska – Sea Kayaking

I am one lucky guy! Not everybody I know can get their significant other to join them on a sea kayaking trip to Alaska. Nor are everybody I know in a situation to or able to get their Dad to join them on a sea kayaking trip to Alaska. I got both! – and believe me, I do not take it for granted!

My Dad and I have talked about a sea kayaking trip to Alaska for a LONG time. Probably as long as I have known Jen. I have mentioned this to Jen a couple of times and when we last visited my parents in Denmark we started talking more seriously about an actual trip, and at the end of 2009 we started planning one in earnest.

Alaska is one big state, so in order to hone in on an area to visit and investigate further we solicited advice and ideas from friends we knew had previously been to Alaska. Charlie Nuttelman and Forrest Weller in particular had good advice and experience with Prince William Sound, so we started looking closer at this area and shortly thereafter booked boats and gear through the Prince William Sound Kayak Center. We also booked a Glacier Watching tour with Sound Eco Access and made special arrangements to get dropped off on the way back, thereby allowing us to paddle and see more of the sound, compared to doing an out-and-back trip from Whittier alone.

We flew from Denver directly to Anchorage, and stayed a night in Anchorage before driving down to Whittier the next morning. It drizzled and rained as we drove down to Whittier from Anchorage, and by the time we had gotten all our gear from the outfitter and had loaded it all on the boat that was going to sail us out, the rain was coming down steadily and the wind had started to pick up. Because of current weather as well as even stronger winds forecasted for the afternoon and evening, Captain Gerry, had regretfully decided to cancel our original booked Glacier watching tour. He deemed it too risky going out into the sound in his smaller boat, and he told us, that he so far this season due to bad weather had yet to go to College Fjord, which was our original destination for the glacier watching tour.

While we were disappointed that we weren’t going to be able to do the Glacier watching tour we were happy to learn that he still would accommodate our special arrangements for being dropped off out at the North end of Blackstone Bay. We simply wouldn’t go on the glacier tour first, but instead sail directly from Whittier to our drop-off location, which we also modified slightly because of the forecasted strong winds, moving our drop-off location to a more sheltered location from the expected North Eastern winds.

After a bumpy ride out from Whittier, Captain Gerry dropped us off at a little bay tucked in under the North-East side of the entrance to Blackstone Bay. Here we would be relatively protected from winds and it would be a good starting point for our paddle down in Blackstone Bay the next day – cutting off the section that would have been right in the wind had we stuck to our original plan which was to be dropped off on the East side of the Surprise ridge at the Surprise Cove Marina.

Standing on the shoreline all alone with our boats and gear, we debated shortly whether we should set up camp here or paddle a little, but finally decided to set up camp and wait out the weather. So as decided we did. The wet conditions however presented quite the challenge in terms of finding a dry campground, so we ended up settling on a soft, flat but rather wet spot that was somewhat sheltered behind a group of trees. In selecting a camp site we made sure to take low and high tides into account. In this area and at this time of the year the difference between low and high tide is a rather significant 14.2 feet!

Having set up camp we went out and gathered some wood, tried to get a fire going, but not only was any dead-fall we could find soaking wet, it also continued to rain, so we finally gave up on the fire. The rain continued into the night, and as we were trying to get some sleep, water started seeping into the tent that Jen and I were sleeping in (from the bottom!) while the tent my Dad was sleeping in slowly started to give in to the water pressure from above and it wasn’t long before water started dripping in through the rain fly. It was a wet and cold night!

Next morning was the same. More rain. But we went about doing the necessary: going to the bathroom, get coffee going, eating breakfast, and then sat around for a little while hoping for the rain to stop. It did not. We checked the weather forecast on the radio and it became clear to us that it would probably continue for a least another day and half, so we decided to just go with it, break down camp and start paddling into Blackstone bay. So, that’s what we did.

We paddled for awhile, the rain still pouring down, but to my surprise I was not cold. The dry top was doing its job, and the legs were nice and warm tugged away under the sprayskirt. Even my hands were OK despite being exposed to the cold rain, wind and splashing salt water. After 4 hours or so of paddling we felt we were getting deep enough into the bay. We still couldn’t see much because of the rain and low hanging clouds, but we started looking for a suitable camp site. The first couple of places we stopped at were too rocky and probably also too low to ensure that hightide wouldn’t be a problem later, but we finally found a good place to stay for the night.

We quickly got camp set up – this time putting the tarp OVER the tents sheltering them from the rain and I am glad we did. It rained HARD all night. This night was also the coldest night for Jen. By now, most – if not all – of her clothes had gotten wet. Mostly because of an advertised “rainjacket” which wasn’t much of a rain jacket, causing all of her clothes to get wet, one piece after the next. As we tried to fall asleep I literally laid on top of Jen inside our zipped together sleeping bags trying to warm her with my body heat. And it worked. We didn’t sleep much, but I got Jen warm.

By next morning it finally started clearing up and we were getting excited about getting to see the glaciers and get close to them. We could already now see some of the glaciers from our campsite. Sights that had been completed obscured by rain and low hanging clouds the day before.

We decided to go light for our glacier watching part of the trip – leaving all our stuff back at camp, only bringing cameras, map, drinking water and some other small items.

It was an absolutely fantastic morning – a stark contract to the previous two days of hard rain, dark skies and low clouds. The water was glassy, mirroring everything. There was not a single wind. And we had it all to our selves!

The bay finally revealed itself with magnificent glaciers lining the entire bottom of the bay. A sight we hadn’t gotten even the slightest glimpse of the day before. It had all been saved for this morning, and the experience was even stronger because of that.

We paddled through small icebergs floating around in the water as soon as we left camp. Some icebergs were stranded on land due to low tide, making them look like funky organic sculptures. It was nothing short of magical. Almost surreal. This was what we had come to Alaska to experience: Sea kayaking around icebergs, paddling close to gigantic glaciers, and only sharing the experience with local wildlife.

We took our time paddling around, enjoying the magnificent surroundings and of course, snapping a lot of photos too. This was something that couldn’t be rushed. In hindsight I wish we had made plans for staying here even longer, but you can only plan so much, especially with not knowing what kind of weather conditions you will be faced with. One thing I am pretty sure about, though: I don’t think this is the last time Jen and I will be sea kayaking in Alaska.

After a while we started heading back up the bay back towards our campsite, mostly because we had somewhat of a time schedule to adhere to. We had to be back in Whittier, by the evening next day, in order to return the kayaks. But we were super thrilled that we had been given a clear day to experience the glaciers and some of the wonderful views that in many ways are what define Alaska.

We had a quick lunch back in camp, complete with Heineken, which as always seems to taste extra good out here in the wilderness. While eating lunch we had all our wet clothes and sleeping bags hanging up on suspended strings and trees hoping that some of it would dry at least a little bit before we had to pack it all up again. And I think it did – at least our sleeping bags which was crucial since both Jen and my bags were down bags.

After lunch we broke down camp and got it all packed up in the kayaks again, ready to start heading back towards Whittier. The paddle back up and out of Blackstone Bay was almost as incredible as our touring down by the glaciers, with all the many waterfalls running down the cliffs defining the east bank of the bay.

The absence of wind caused the waters to be super still, almost glassy, even out in the middle of the sound. Something that was very welcomed as we had to make the widest crossing of our trip getting from the east side to the west side of Blackstone Bay.

Having crossed over to the west side we continued along the shore line out of Blackstone Bay up North and then West towards Whittier, finally deciding to stop for the night at Decision Point Marina. We checked out a few other potential campsite on our way, but they were either too hard to access or were overgrown with Devil’s Club.

Decision Point Marina was an established camp site area, with platforms built for pitching tents, and even an outhouse for doing your business. We were clearly getting back closer to civilization.

As we were setting up camp, the weather was building up again, and by dinner time it was raining and the clouds were once again hanging low around us. The next morning we couldn’t even see the mountains on the other side of the waters, which was just fine. All we had to accomplish was to get back to Whittier in time for returning the rented kayaks and gear, as well as get back to Anchorage in time for Jen to purchase a real rain jacket! We did all that, and that concludes our very first sea kayaking experience in Alaska, with more to come.

Well, let me quickly also mention that back in Whittier we had probably THE BEST and MOST FRESH Fish and Chips I have ever had!