Alaska has always been on my bucket list of places to see/ go to. It just so happens that things worked out in a way that allowed me to head travel to Alaska. It should be noted that Ive been dreaming abut Alaska for years. Rather than do a pre planned tour like Iceland, I opted to design my own over the course of 8 days.
Logistically speaking I opted to fly out of Boston as to prevent more lay overs. We will fast forward to the travel day. I left early in the morning, I recall it was prior to 1am. Funny thing is I had never driven to Boston let alone Logan airport so that was certainly a fun memory. I got into parking and was able to get checked in and everything else. Despite being early and on time my flight arrived late and had left late. So much for arriving early and leaving early.
Fast Forwarding through alot of flying and delays I had finally arrived into Ted Stevens Airport in Anchorage Alaska. To this point it had all been cloudy. The minute I stepped out into the airport I was seeing large snow covered mountains I was quite happy. We will skip the boring airport stuff. With that out of the way I started the 126 Mile drive from Ancorage to Seward which would take me about 2.5 hours. The drive was beautiful with picturesque mountains everywhere and amazing views.
Day 1 Arrival in Seward
I can’t recall what time it was with the differences and delays next I would get my vehicle rental and try to make up lost time starting the 120 mile drive to a small B and B outside of Whittier which would according to GPS take me about 2.17 hours, This B and B was a tiny home and very close to Whittier which was where I would be for 3 days. I had gotten checked in to the B and B, unpacked and pretty much passed out.
Day Kenai Ford wildlife cruise.
The next morning I would be going on a Kenai Fjord Wild life cruise. It was a short drive from the BnB. It turns out Seward was a stop for most cruise ships so it was impressive to see how large some of the cruise ships were.
During the wild life cruise we were able to see some whales, bald eagles, sea lions and Sea otters.
Day 3. Exit Glacier hike
This was one of the highlights of my trips. I would be hiking a trail in the Kenai National Park. This was a hike I had planned out and was looking forward to since I had booked the trip, months in advance. I would be doing the Harding Icefield Trail which according to most sites would be a 8.6 Mile hike with an elevation gain of 3234. I decided to get an early start. Interestingly enough this would be my first time hiking in Brown bear territory. I woke up extremely early and was the first one on the trail. Needless to say I was very happy about being the first one there. I had lucked out with the weather as the view of the glacier from the road the previous night was cloudy.
After reading the initial signs I started the on trail that would lead me to the start of the Harding Icefield Trail. Again I was the only one out this early and it was peaceful.
The hike was not as hard as I thought it was gonna be after hearing it get talked up. It was very cloudy until I hit treeline where it opened up.
It was also very interesting to be in different alpine terrain and see how quick it shifted.
After miles of hiking and getting lost in my thoughts I was closing in on my goal for the day which was the end of the trail. The hard part was not stopping every few moments to take pictures. After awhile I finally got to see snow and some amazing views. The weather had cleared up and I had great visibility.
After enjoying this vista view point for awhile I headed back down traversing slight snow and what seemed like tons of people. It was interesting, that people were already surprised I was heading down. I did get the common ” How much further”. That never gets old. Upon arriving back down to the trail register there were even more people and I was able to see that the lot was pretty much full including a couple of busses. Needless to say I was happy that I had left early. This quick hike certainly did not disappoint.
Day 4. Tons of Driving Seward to Valdez
This would be one of the longer driving days. Google maps indicated roughly that it would be 423 miles of driving with an estimated time of 7.5 hours. I packed up early in the morning admiring the lovely air b and b that I spend the last 3 days at. I took a last minute drive into Seward and then hit the road. I ended up driving back through Anchorage briefly and then Palmer and other towns. It was a dense combination of rural and urban. The nice thing was that it had cleared up so I had some views that I hadn’t had during the initial drive.
I was fortunate enough after hours of driving to stop by the Wrangell-St. Elias Visitor Center. You will see below just how beautiful and clear the skies and day was. I would soon learn that had gotten lucky with the viability.
After spending some time here and of course getting a magnet from the gift shop I headed back on the road and would soon be shocked by the beauty of Thompson Pass.
A view from Thompson Pass.
After more driving I finally a sign that mentioned Valdez. Now this is where there is a funny tibit. I saw a marked police cruiser with its lights on, so part of me was like whats about to go down. Shortly after 2 Officers got out and took a picture of the Valdez sign. They must have been very excited to see that sign as much as I had. I continued down the pass and was surrounded by waterfalls which I learned were incredible ice climbing in the winter.
After finally getting into Valdez I got into my hotel room. Ironically As I am typing this I am trying to remember where I stayed but I do recall it was downtown. Another plot twist was last minute I was able to book a guided kayak trip that takes you up to a Glacier. This was unplanned but I figure that I wasn’t sure when the next time I would be back so, what the heck.
Before it got dark I did some exploring and found the Solomon Gulch Hatchery which was frequented by Brown bears and sea lions t hat happened to be there feasting while I had stopped by. I was not expecting this, but it was an incredible sight.
I probably spent more time than I should have here but I was intrigued I also acquired t he fish smell on my footwear.
After watching the Sea lions for awhile I decided to get some grub and chose the local pub called “the fat mermaid” which had an amazing burger.
Day 5 Kayaking near a Glacier
After getting up early and my gear I linked up with a local guide service that would take us to the western branch of the Columbia Glacier that was one of the most active Glaicier that was calving meaning ice chunks would fall into the ocean. Upon arrival I was with other travelers as well. We would take a small boat that would haul the sea kayaks and then we would get into the water and kayak
It was quite an experience to be able to see chunks of the Glacier break off fall into the water and create a wake. The sound they make was incredible. At one point we also kayaked through loose chunks of ice and would occasionally see wildlife pop up. The occasional Tour boat would make an appearance but being up close in a kayak was certainly a unique and memorable experience. Speaking of memorable prior to my trip I had reached out to try to book a Glacier plunge was striking out as it required two people.
After an amazing time out on the water we would get back on shore and then proceed to head back to Valdez. After getting gear back I think grabbed subway after exploring more. I went back checked out the Hatchery.
I was surprised the amount of Bald Eagles I had seen in just a few hours. I explored a bit more around town and then headed to the hotel. I was extremely excited for the next day to the long awaited Denali National Park, a place I had dreamed about visiting. This was a dream that was finally coming true.
Day 6. Driving from Valez to Denali National Park.
Google maps suggested that from Valdez to Cantwell where my hotel was it was another 7.5 hour drive with 432 miles of driving. Alot of the views that I was able to see during the initial drive I wasn’t able to see the second.
Gonna get some rest now so I can get an early an training hike in. Enjoy the read so far,