Cape Spencer! This is the last of Southeast Alaska before the exposed Gulf. As we passed this and Point Adulphus with its breaching humpbacks, I enjoyed getting to see the scenery from the side of the Kennicott Ferry. 'We' being me and Her Majesty who was in the car deck.
Mount Fairweather.
Mt St Elias, at just over 18,000 feet has 11,000 feet of prominence and is just 10 miles from Icy Bay, making it one of the highest rises from tidewater in the world.
Kayak Island.
Making a repair to my wrist gasket by gluing on a new latex gasket. Electrical tape works really well in front and behind the adhesion zone so glue doesnt stick to the mold.
Kim having her first strokes out of Whittier! She came up to join me for a week of paddling around Blackstone Bay and hiking in Cordova.
Right out of the starting gates, a squal came into the Whittier Bay and we had to paddle hard to shore, but Kim found it envigorating and was undaunted about continuing into the backcountry.
Our first campsite had a tent platform which is really helpful when it rains like crazy.
We worked pretty hard for this shot...but alas, we missed getting a photo with the waterfall behind us because the current kept us sliding in front of it.
What's behind Door #2, Vana?
Making breakfast with a window to heaven.
Blackstone Glacier behind us. We camped on Willard Island for two nights so we could enjoy a day in between to see the glaciers.
I figured a few good posed photos will help shake up the 1000s of landscape photos that I've been taking.
Does Her Majesty look as awesome to you? I love my boat!
There is a fantastic waterfall just west of Blackstone Glacier.
The terminal wall of Blackstone Glacier was about 1500 feet and the deep blues were exciting because of the contrasting black rock.
Two Happy Valley Boats. Kim rented this Valley Nordkapp from our friend Ryan in Whittier. We met him in San Francisco at GGSKS and had a few good beers before we headed out on the water.
Kim saw a little bugger scramble past our campfire and I chased it into the woods. It was a tree climbing porcupine!
The nuts of the tree climbing porcupine!
This was our fire till the tide came in and extinguished it and told us to go to bed. Still daylight after midnight.
Our last two days of kayaking were very rainy and windy so in order to back to Whittier, we opted to paddle in the wee hours of the morning. Rudy met us on the dock around 6.45am when we finished.
This little guy had grand aspirations and we just had to let him paddle out into the clouds in his imagination.
Rudy and I taking a rest break as we hiked to the Power Ferry cabin outside of Cordova.
Wearing a backpack for the first time in months was rough on my little atrophied legs but it felt good to have a change.
And then we saw this cute little fella...the beaver used his webbed feet to gracefully meander around his pond which he damned with his own wee paws.
Just after passing the beaver damn, Kim slipped on some wet grass on a steep section of trail. With one shriek and a 5 foot slide, she had major pain in her ankle. She caught herself and was a trooper to have hiked the rest of the way to the cabin. It could have happened anywhere at anytime, but at this backcountry location, it was going to be hard for us to hike out. So we iced it and compressed it with an ace bandage. The next morning, we called the National Forest authorities to help us get out. Thank goodness for the satellite phone!
We had a plethora of help for the three miles out to an alternate fire road. Kim could have gone out on a stretcher but preferred to hike out. Her hiking boot provided a good amount of support but the real tricks were some hiking poles and Kim's good attitude.
After the hike and within 24 hours of the fracture, Kim was at the hospital where we had a look at the grapefruit growing in her ankle.
Kim sorting out the puzzle that was her X-ray showing 3 fractures! Tibia, fibula, and calcaneus. What a champ for walking out 3 miles on that! We were all a bit shocked.
Kim was eager to enjoy her last few days in Alaska and continue with the camping trip that she and Rudy planned out to Childs Glacier in the Chugach NF.
A bit of calving. Definitely look on Youtube for some videos.
Kim, Rudy and me on the Million Dollar Bridge with the Miles Glacier in the distance. We celebrated the 100th birthday with many of the folks we met in Cordova, which is a really cool and tight-knit community.
Kim's left leg was out of commission, but her right was Yoga strong. She now has a full cast but didnt need to have a pin or major operation for it, thankfully!
Still a Happy Camper!
This is a favorite!
After one more night at Childs and breakfast at the COHO in Cordova, Kim and Rudy flew home...then it was back to solo paddling.
The seat pan on my boat had 3 of 4 broken connections so I was lucky to get in contact with my friend at Valley who shipped me up a new seat. Here is Her Majesty mid-operation. I added a few more layers of foam under the seat to reduce the stress on the fasteners to the seat pan. Thanks to Cordova Coastal Outfitters for letting me use their space!
Aaaah. Out on the water again after 4 days of land-lubbering. An otter mom with her pup. Tis the season and many sea otters were nursing.
My campsite at Gravina Point was a good recommendation from my new friend Andy who we met on the ferry. I love getting recommendations from folks along the way and chatting about the trip, which doesnt happen often, but when it does it is very nourishing.
My view at dinner. What is not shown are the myriad of black flies that waged war on my headnet.
Moon rising on the right.
This is the reflection on the ocean surface of the sun through the clouds.
On my way to Bligh Island.
This black bear sow saw me approaching her cub from almost a mile and came down to the shore.
The cub. This is a zoomed in shot because I couldnt get within 500 feet before he stopped foraging and went into the woods.
This is a really bad picture of Bligh Reef where the Exxon Valdez oil freighter grounded 21 years ago. The Reef is unexposed except for a light that stands above and is hard to see in this picture. I had a good chat with a local expert on the oil spill, David Jarva, who pointed me to a few beaches where residual oil could still be found under rocks and in crevices. The Exxon Valdez oil spill in PWS was such a tragic event because of the 250,000 shore birds and hundreds of other deaths to whales, otter, eagles, and fish and the lasting effects to this spectacular environment. As I have paddled and got updates on the current Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, I am haunted to think of the threat we pose to our world.
After crossing Valdez Arm I landed at Elf Point. On the next beach I met a group of 15 NOLS students and guides and had a good chat with them. We talked about safety and conservation in the backcountry. I was a bit unsettled after because the guide kept mentioning that we do things so that we dont die...while I know it was good for the students, I dont try to dwell on the worst case, but simply focus on all the mitigators that I continue to be diligent about.
Ice from Columbia Glacier.
This shoal is made of the silt and glacier flour deposited over years. At low tide, the bergs are stuck and obstruct passage.
But the shoal is well used by the gulls, kittiwakes, and Arctic Terns that were all ready to dive bomb me if I came close. I dodged many a flying poop that night.
My campsite just away from the muskeg. On the land, the hiking looked so good until I realized it was muskeg, a spongy soaking mess that is sensitive to trampling.
After days of being blocked up at the shoal, a large amount of icebergs broke free and went all the way into Valdez Arm.
The various ices of Columbia Glacier.
Glacier Island.
Many good seal rookeries on the south side of Glacier Island.
This is how popular the Alpha male is.
Rhharrrrr! I'm lonely because I cant get chicks since I'm not Alpha.
I got some chicks...Ahhh yeah.
While filling water, I met Cory and Chuck who were really enthusiastic about the trip. Cory gave me many good camping recommendations in PWS, and many of them I used.
This beach on Little Fairmont Island made for a good camp and a great swim.
Father and son fishing.
This is how gillnetter fisherman make their catch. These 3-4 year old Chum and Red Salmon swam into the nylon nets and got their gills stuck in the netting. They were raised to smelt in a local hatchery and returned to these waters for the fisherman to bring delicious salmon to our dinner table.
The gillnet extends out from their boats to a buoy about 900 feet away and only sits in the water about 5 feet deep. They dotted the areas of Esther Islnd and Main Bay which I passed. Both areas were like paddling an obstacle course, but I got to learn how it all happens.
The piano keys of the College Fiord.
As I paddled up the Harvard Arm, I was listening to Sigur Ros and really enjoying the peace and tranquility. I hope to be able to remember this time when I'm under stress as a peaceful meditation technique.
My camp below Wellsley Glacier.
College Fiord was named after expdition leaders from Harvard and Amherst who chose to name the main glacier tongues Wellsely, Bryn Mawr, Vassar, Amherst, Yale, and Harvard as well as others.
This glacier dust was rubbed off of rocks, then floated on the ice till it melted on the ocean, but it held together by surface tension. So cool!
Harvard Glacier.
Seal sleeping on the bergs.
Seal sleeping on the ice.
I switched campsites in the College Fiord because a black bear came walking around my previous site while I was cooking breakfast.
Yale Glacier.
What's this? Blue sky? I hadnt seen that in days.
As I entered Harriman Fiord, the Cascade Glacier greeted me with a purple glow above it's ice as blue sky tried to peek through.
My first view of Surprise Glacier! Truly an awe inspiring event.
I got some fresh water from this waterfall...no need to filter this, it is the best water you can find. so close to the source.
Serpentine Glacier.
Dinner and camping overlooking Surprise and Serpentine Glaciers.
A black bear scraped up the tops of my bear canisters...but lost ambition to get at the smell pretty quickly.
The next day I spent touring the Harriman Fiord before heading 25 miles south to Culross that evening.
Otter Otter Everywhere!
Culross Passage was really tranquil and had many cool rocky islands to check out.
In the Culross Passage, there was the most dense population of moon jellies I'd ever seen!
Fisherman Nick and Nick offered me a Red Salmon and a good chat which were soul-nourishing.
The beautiful pink of a salmon on the skillet. I ate the entire salmon the next day.
My campsite at Knight Island.
Knight Island. This evening I learned to take heed of rising clouds. If I have an opportunity to see the mountains high and they can squint down to my fragile boat, then big winds are building and a low pressure change is underway. So I crossed to Evans Island that evening rather than waiting for the next day like I planned.
After some seriously wet weather on Latouche Island, I carried on to Squirrel island on Evans Island.
Procession Islands.
Looking toward Cape Puget in Port Bainbridge. I had waited for this good weather day and was eager to get out on the open ocean.
You can see the 4 foot swell below the glacier.
My first thought was how this coast reminded me of Big Sur in California. These cliffs are only 1500 to 2500 feet high as opposed to the 4000 foot mountains of Big Sur, but they are even more rugged and intimidating. Glaciers extend to the water and so many chutes cut by erosion show a cliffside still in rapid change.
My first good view of Resurrection Peninsula.
I was having a great day of paddling and I knew the weather was deteriorating because of the high clouds and a bad forecast for the next day, so I decided to paddle late to get around the Cape.
This is what midnight looks like on the open Pacific of the Gulf coast. Yes, I know it isnt a good habit, but I really enjoy twighlight and when sunset is at 11.44pm, it is doable. That night I camped at Sunny Cove on Renard Island in Resurrection Bay. I was still so supercharged when I got into my sleeping bag that I couldnt rest, so I slowly reviewed my views of the cliffsides in my memory before drifting to sleep.
The next day dumped rain, so as I made my way to Seward I had ill feelings about setting up a saturated tent. Luckily, the Callisto Cabin that I passed happened to be unused so I took the opportunity to dry out and enjoy an evening with a roof. After dinner, I washed my 1.5 Liter pot with the pouring rainwater that filled it within 1 hour. Then I had a swim in the rain.
Picking up my supplies shipment in Seward and eating some of the chocolate my family sent in two care packages. My nephew Neil is getting so big and is crawling now. Seward is a really cool town and I've managed to finish a bunch of errands and preparation work for my last leg around the Kenai fiords. Now it is time to get going!
