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Pristine Alaska!!

By : Monika Sundem
Trip Begins June 9, 2012
Trip Ends June 17, 2012

A beautiful journey into the Inside Passage in Alaska. We went kayaking, hiking, whale watching and had a grand old time on the MS Endeavour.
See my photos : Discovering Alaska

Want to go? Safari Endeavour: Alaska's Inside Passage

I went to: Alaska
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June 9, 2012
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Flying to Juneau

juneau, AK

We flew on a quick island hopper from Missoula to Seattle, grabbed a quick terriyaki dinner during our 40 minute layover, an then flew the rest of the way north to Juneau. The landscape out the window is beautiful, white, snow-capped mountains with blue ocean and forested steep hills plunging into the water. It is absolutely stunning.

We arrive at 10 PM and I’m surprised to see it just as light when I remember it is light almost 24 hours a day here in June. That could take some getting used to! We arrive in to Juneau and touch down, deplane and get our luggage all in a matter of minutes (small airports have their advantages)! Then we step outside, grab a taxi, and head to our hotel – the Alaskan Bar & Hotel.

Now let me explain myself. We booked our cruise last minute for the first full weekend in June, planning to arrange for 1 hotel night before to allow for any flight delays. What we didn’t realize is this is the weekend of some huge local festival and every hotel in town has been booked solid for this weekend for weeks. After trying many hotels without luck – I finally, reluctantly, called the last one on the list – the one that received the worst reviews on tripadvisor. And guess what, they had 2 rooms left – one with a private bath, and one without. This is the oldest operating hotel in town, and still has the newspaper clipping from its grand opening nearly 100 years ago in 1913 proudly displayed in the foyer.

Aside from the shared bathroom facilities (we could hear someone showering in the hallway as we walked), the smell of weed in the foyer an the loud bar noise, and every feeling like I stepped into an old western movie, the hotel is quite nice. I wouldn’t ever recommend someone stay here by choice unless they were trying to avoid sleeping on the streets as we were, or had an affinity for authentic western style architecture and design. I’m not joking – you half expect to see a cowboy walk down the hall, its that strange.

June 10, 2012
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Juneau and Embarkation

juneau, AK

We wandered around Juneau today for 6 hours. A quaint gift shop town. While it felt like being in a mall all day, it was fascinating at the same time. The big celebrity cruise ship was in port and the people swarmed the town from 11-3. We bought our gifts in advance, sent a postcard, ate a quick lunch, called on our cells to say good-bye one last time to our family, and then went to the hotel to board the boat. We enjoyed a nice interpretive lecture by a gal from the Huna community. We heard her sing some songs in Tlingit, share some old photos and artifacts. We then headed to the vessel next where the captain and crew were waiting to greet us.

We boarded the vessel, settled in to our cabins with nice down comforters, desk, DVD/TV and plenty of closet space for all our clothes. It was very nice and more spacious than I had expected. We explore the boat a bit, then went to the lounge for our briefing by the crew and our welcome drinks. Our mandatory coast guard drill came next and we donned our sporty life-vests on the rear deck together and next ate a late dinner. The food was delicious, but a bit small for our appetites. In the evening, we settled in to our cabin early to watch a movie and go to bed (while it was still light again).

June 11, 2012
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Glacier Bay National Park Headquarters

glacier bay national park

Rise and Shine early! We heard people doing the “wellness walk” this morning at 6:45 AM outside our cabin – yay. Needless to say, we had opted not to participate, but ended up getting woken up by it anyway. We stumble down to breakfast at 7:30 Am (yes, we started that early today). Breakfast was pancakes, sausage, bacon, fruit, oatmeal and yogurt. We’ve enjoyed so far getting to know some others on the vessel at meal times, particularly there is a spread of people across the board from all over the US and even some international guests. It is fun to hear their stories. We dock at the Glacier Bay National Park entrance. E get off at 9:30 Am and stroll around the visitors center and see small exhibits about the wildlife and process that glaciers undergo. They have some artifacts, whale bones and stuffed animals to see and a nice gift shop. We then set out for a short ¾ mile guided loop through the forest in a group of about 15, keeping our eyes peeled for bears, porcupines, birds, and moose. We didn’t see any – I have a feeling that the human presence is much too strong to warrant close encounters here. We enjoy hearing about the flora and fauna of the temperate rain forest, although being raised in western WA, it felt odd to be on a guided hike in an ecosystem that had been my backyard.

We then head back and have the opportunity to wander around until we board the Endeavour again at 12:15 PM. After a fresh fish lunch, we continue raveling north, this time with the Glacier Bay National Park Ranger who will be accompanying us for the next two days. The National Park Ranger gives us a wildlife briefing and then we stop at Marble Island, a rock outcropping in the middle of the inlet with a whole harem of male sea lions, just hanging out. Sea birds are swarming along with a bald eagle and we see later some mt. Goats and an elk or caribou on the side of the fjord. Amazing!

We travel slowly north, steering past icebergs, and stop when we see three bears on the shore. The boat slows and turns so we can all see them, and then one bear starts to mount another and we literally watch two bears get it on for about fifteen minutes until we all get bored of waiting for them to be finished that the boat pulls out and continues on our way. We arrive to our destination by evening, the northen Tarr inlet, where Marjorie Glacier and the Grand Pacific Glacier meet the tidal waters. Marjorie is advancing at a rate of about 7 feet a day and we stand out on the deck to watch her calve chunks of ice into the sea, and then listen for the subsequent thunderous crack! The other glacier is retreating, and actually is black glacial ice due to all the dirt and debris it accumulated when it was formed that it is now leaving behind as it retreats.

June 12, 2012
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Glacier Bay Kayaking

glacier bay

This morning we woke up even earlier at 7 AM to get a jump start on the day. After a hearty breakfast we broke off into our assigned groups (we had signed up for activities the day before). Jens and I were in the first kayaking group. We headed to the aft deck to get our gear and then board our tandem sea kayak. We sit in the kayaks on the aft deck, get our skirts in place and paddles in hand, and then they push us off into the water. It was a cinch to do. The weather this morning was gorgeous with blue skies and calm turquoise water from the glacial ice. We motored overnight close to the John Hopkins Glacier (which is advancing) and the Reid glacier which is retreating. We paddle about fifteen minutes to reach the opening of the Reid Glacier. It looks very close and as though we will reach it within ten minutes, but the longer we paddle, the longer it gets and still seems just as far away! The sound in the U shaped fjord carved out by his massive ice floe has tons of waterfalls flowing on its walls – making a background rushing water music that gets louder as you approach one side of the valley. The Reid Glacier is about ½ mile wide and you can see the blue ice face in parts where it has recently calved. As we paddle, we see lots of various birds, bitty bergs, floating around as well as a couple of harbor seals that seem to enjoy following us as we paddle along. What a gorgeous morning. Being in places like these that make me feel so small , as the scenery is so immensely enormous and yet is just one small fraction of a portion of the entire park size on the map. Which again, is just one small piece of land in reference to the entire world.

We return to the boat for a brief rest time before our next activity, the zip boat ride along the shore. We drive a ways while our guide keeps a look out for bears on shore, eagles, and other wildlife. Sadly, all the brown bears are sleeping as we scan the mountains and tidal beach areas, but we do get to see a bald eagle perched on a rock. As we approach closer, he spans his almost 6” span and flies off to avoid us. We return after an hour and then prepare for a nice Thai chicken early lunch. After lunch I head off to receive my complimentary massage. I am completely relaxed and peaceful as I get my sore shoulder muscles loosened. Now for an afternoon of relaxation We asked about possibly taking the paddle boards out and the park ranger is going to check on the permits for that. Jens is up top biking on the sun deck to get a workout in, and its still only Day 2! Love it!

We send the rest of the day reading, playing backgammon and chatting with others before a wonderful and creative presentation in the evening about the history of Glacier Bay Park, including seeing old photos comparing with new photos the changes the glaciers have made over that past decades.

June 13, 2012
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Elfin Cove and Point Adolphus

icy strait, AK

We motor back out of Glacier Bay and anchor near Elfin Cove. This morning they offer a short kayak, hikes and a dib boat ride along with a long “bushwack challenge” hike on game trails and then a long kayak to nearby islands. Jens and I choose the long paddle and set out after breakfast with all the other youngins on the boat (8 total I’d say under age 40). We head to circle around Shaw Island, and as we do, we spot porpoises all around us in the water. They come up all around and get within 10 feet of our boats, clearing their blowholes and re-submerging. We see out in the channel a ways a group of sea otters floating on their back with the current. Next we continue paddling to see a huge bald eagle circling around the cove. He has a wing span of about 6 ft – and must be a female due to its big size. Off to our right is a small shallow bay are in front of a small island where a whole group of sea lions are hanging out in the water. One of our kayaks starts to approach and they swim up to it and splash around as if to say “Back off our piece of water”. So we do, next out in the open channel, we spot orcas a bit off. They are likely 1-2 miles away so we can’t paddle to them, but we can see them very well with our binoculars as well as hear them clearing their blowholes and making sounds. One of our dib boats drove out with people on board and they all got within 100 feet of this pod of about 20 whales. On our way back, we spot some humpbacks breaching and jumping about two miles off as well. What a full kayak it was!

Upon reboarding the vessel Jens asks about grabbing out a paddle board. They show him briefly how to do it and he takes off. Staying close to the boat in case he tips and has to swim back. As he paddles off to do a loop around the vessel, a humpback surfaces about 100 feet in front of him. Now! Don’t ride them Jens – its not allowed.

After seafood chowder for lunch, he boat got underway and heads first out towards the open ocean, but next to a spot where a lot of currents and nutrients come together and make for great humpback spotting opportunities. This is in Icy Strait near Point Adolphus. We spot multiple groups of humpbacks feeding together and catch many photos of them taling and makings their dives. Jens and I decide to get in the hot tub to watch for more as we sail onour way South. What a great whale-spotting Day!

June 14, 2012
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Red Bluff Inlet and Bears

icy strait, AK

This morning we wake just as the boat arrives to Red Bluff inlet. As we come into the narrow passageway, we see a bear on shore hanging around our activities today are either a shot kayak or a dib boat ride, or a long kayak into the back of the cove. We opt again for the long kayak and set off in our same group, plus a few (after our great luck with wildlife spotting, I think some people decided to join us). We paddle for a ways along the shore, being quiet so we don’t scare a bear if we encounter one. The sides of this canyon are steep and gorgeous with many waterfalls bringing melted snow down. We paddle up close at the foot of a large waterfall. You are so close you can feel the spray on you’re face. Net we approach the rear and spot one large brown bear hanging out along the shoreline. We paddle up as close as we can (you can’t get too close as bears are very good swimmers) and stop for about ten minutes to watch him. There we spot another brown bear off to the left, crossing the stream. It is so amazing to see wildlife like this in its natural habitat. So pristine and surreal on the paddle back a seal pops its head up to say hi. After 2.5 hours we return to the boat.

After returning to the boat, we spend the afternoon just relaxing and watching for whales off the bow as the ship motors south. We spot some about 100 ft from the main vessel and get some amazing whale tale shots and videos. This evening they did a small presentation about how the boat mechanically works and what some of the holds look like. And then had a movie night in the lounge after dinner.

June 15, 2012
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Thomas Bay

Thomas Bay, AK

This morning we woke up in Thomas Bay, located just north of Wrangell and Petersburg. Here we dropped anchor for the whole day for some kayaking and hiking opportunities. In the morning Jens and I went out on the kayak again across the way to Ruth Island. The water was again extremely calm and the weather even a bit sunny. We spot some birds and harbor seals and saw some amazing layers in the rocky cliffs during our 2 hour paddle.

We returned to the boat and then got out the paddleboards again. This time a lot of people decided to try it! I was able to get on and paddle around for about ten minutes until I decided to come back in. Jens stayed out for almost an hour with another passenger attempting to pop wheelies on them. It was fun to watch. One of our older passengers, Bob, even got on it and managed to stand up too.

After lunch we got ready for a more challenging hike they were offering. They offered also a leisurely stroll and then a longer flat hike option along Patterson River, but we opted for the more challenging choice. We were climbing up and over rocks and roots along a gorgeous waterfall creek bed. The forest was spectacular! Everyone in our group of 10 kept great pace and we had a great time on the three hour hike and even spotted a porcupine! When we returned to the ship we heard that other travelers spotted a baby moose on their dib boat excursion too! After a soak in the hot tub, we decide to head back downstairs for cocktail hour before diner.

June 16, 2012
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Ford's Terror and Dawes Glacier

Dawe's Glacier, AK

This morning we woke up motoring to Endicott Arm to kayak around Dawes Glacier, but the wind and ice conditions made it too difficult to do, so they turned the boat around and headed back down the arm to Ford’s Terror. Ford’s Terror is a tiny inlet that creates a tidal bore when tides come in and out. The expanse in the back of the inlet is almost a mile wide, but the water has to pass through a narrow few hundred feet wide space to get in and out with the tides. This can create a wall of water as tides come in that literally suck a kayaker into it and won’t let you out until the tides changes. We paddled into the back of it past huge high steep rocky cliffs and past gorgeous cascading waterfalls. We also paddled around some icebergs floating in the arm.

After a good paddle everyone loaded back up. The winds had died down and the water was calmer, so we head back up the arm towards the glacier. As we putt along, the water is increasingly turning the turquoise blue for glacier water, and we see stark blue icebergs floating in the water. Occasionally we see seals and seal pups floating on the ice as well as this is a common place for them to calve. We next load into the dib boats and make our way another 5 miles in the ice fields and past a lot of icebergs up to the glacier. It looks very close but the longer we o in the boat, the more we realize how very far away it is After 30 minutes, we approach to within ¼ mile of the glacier. We all wait, watching, without a word for it to calve. We see small pieces fall at first. You can here the splash and thunderous echo to follow as it crashes down and then see the new blue ice it exposed. We see a chunk over 100 ft tall fall into the water with a huge crash. We wait for a few more minutes and then get to see a whole chunk – the entire height of the glacier which is almost 300 ft high, fall down. The crack and boom is tremendous and it creates a massive small swell that reaches our boat within minutes. We turn around for the thirty minute boat ride back to the vessel, please that we were so lucky to see such a display.

This evening, we have he captain’s dinner of crab and steak, along with some flaming baked Alaska before the send off. The crew put together a slide show of pictures for us that they gave us on a memory stick, and we shared a thank you farewell song, thanking the crew. We returned to our cabins for the last time.

June 17, 2012
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Disembarkation and Return Home

juneau, AK

We wake and eat breakfast before disembarking. We have 5 hours to kill in Juneau, but luckily the hospitality suite is available to us at the hotel for the day. We wander around Juneau some more before our transfer back to the Juneau airport and the journey home.

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