SPENCER GLACIER WHISTLE STOP BACKPACK TRIP 2013

The GPS track of our trip.  Yellow=Alaska Railroad ~10miles. Red=hiking ~6.2 miles.  We hiked the trail several times during our three day/two night stay.  The camp area has gravel tent pads, picnic tables, a water pump, and even an outhouse.  Everything is new construction  Quite nice and we were the only ones there.

Liz, Karen, and Emily with the backpacks at the Portage train depot.  This is where we boarded the Alaska Railroad and rode it to Spencer Glacier Whistle Stop.

Karen and Liz aboard the Chugach Explorer on the way to Spencer Glacier Whistle Stop.

The crew at Spencer Whistle Stop.

The obligatory photo in front of the Spencer Glacier Whistle Stop sign.  We are ready to hike to the campground.

Liz, Emily, and Karen at the edge of Spencer Lake.  Spencer Glacier is in the background.

Icebergs in Spencer Lake.

Emily and Karen eat some 'deserves' before dinner at the campground.

Karen is ready for a freeze dried dinner.

This moose walked out of the brush as we walked down the trail one evening.

Liz, Emily, and Karen at Spencer Glacier.

Ready to backpack back to the train stop.

Backpacker selfie.

We stopped on the way back for a photo op on the newly constructed bridge over the Placer River.

SWAN LAKE CANOE TRIP 2013

The GPS track of our trip.

The crew at the start of the trip: Liz, me, Karen, Emily, Trent, and Zach.  Photo courtesy Michelle.

Emily paddled in the bow seat of the green canoe.

Karen is loaded and ready for a portage.  They were very difficult due to the relentless bugs.

Eating lunch at the Marten to Spruce Lake portage.

The campsite on the island in Gavia Lake.  Everyone liked this place very much.  It was fantastic and the breeze kept the bugs away.

Liz and Karen depart the Gavia Lake island campsite.

The group on the way to Swan lake.

The campfire at Swan lake.

The tents at Swan lake.

A Swan Lake sunset.

Pulling into another portage

The paddlers at the end of the trip.

DAY 1

We all met at the Carrs parking lot in Kenai for the drive out Swanson River Road to the west entrance of the Swan Lake Canoe Trail.  The weather was perfect even though we had a precarious drive wondering whether or not the canoes were gong to stay on the roof of the truck.  They shifted while we were driving and we had to stop one time to secure the loosened straps.  Once at the put-in Trent and I completed the shuttle and we were quickly on the water.  Two kayakers had left shortly before us.

We paddled across Canoe Lake and made our way through several small lakes before stopping at Marten Lake for lunch.  We sat in the sun and enjoyed a breeze that kept the bugs away.  We soon learned that the portages would be torture as the bugs were ferocious in the woods where the breeze did not affect them.  When we got to Spruce Lake we saw the two kayakers as we paddled past their camp.  We pressed on to Gavia Lake where we found an island that previous campers had used and best of all it was practically bug free due to the wind off the water.  We quickly set up tents and began cooking dinner which consisted of freeze dried food.  We were glad to be done paddling and portaging for the day and couldn't believe our luck in finding such and incredible campsite.  We stayed up late talking, watching the sunset, and reading aloud from the Kenai Canoe Trails book by Daniel L. Quick.  Nobody wanted to go to bed because they wanted to take in the place for as long as possible.

DAY 2

The next morning we woke up to more beautiful weather.  After a breakfast of oatmeal and hot chocolate we packed the canoes and paddled for Swan Lake.  Along the way we passed 'Swimmers Rock' in Konchanee Lake.  Nobody felt like swimming but we took plenty of photos of the rock.  Before long we were at Swan Lake where we found a campsite on a point which was affected by the breeze and relatively bug free.  It wasn't as good as the Gavia Lake camp but it wasn't too bad.  The afternoon was spent fishing and sitting around the campfire.  We had hoped to have a fish fry for dinner but didn't have any luck catching them, so it was freeze dried food again.  The evening was beautiful and we stayed up late into the night again.

DAY3

We woke up to overcast skies and another breakfast of instant oatmeal and hot chocolate.  After packing up camp we paddled toward our first portage of the day.  The bugs were relentless and we tried to complete the portages as quickly as possible.  We eventually made our way to the take-out and it was over.  After loading gear into the trucks we made the drive back to Nikiski where we readied things for another trip to Spencer Glacier Whistle Stop aboard the Alaska Railroad.  More on that later!

DENALI NATIONAL PARK 2013

This was our 13th trip to Teklanika campground in Denali National Park.  We enjoyed six days of fantastic weather, hiking, biking, and photographing.  Wildlife activity was minimal due to the heat, but we did see four bears and lots of caribou while we were there.  Laura was on a different adventure in New Mexico so she didn't get to make the trip with us this year.

The three of us at the Polychrome Pass rest area.

We circumnavigated Stony Hill in sweltering heat and every time the wind stopped we were attacked by clouds of mosquitoes.  ~4.0 miles.

Emily and Mrs. Huffy in front of the scenery on our hike around Stony Hill.

We found these caribou antlers in the grass as we hiked along.

 

The GPS track of our ride from Sable Pass to Teklanika Campground.  10.5 miles.

 

We put our bikes on the bike rack on the front of the bus and rode to the top of Sable Pass where we took them off and rode back to Teklanika Campground.  It was downhill the entire way.

 

 

The sign atop Sable Pass.  The nails are supposed to dissuade the bears from chewing on it.

 

Emily and I are ready to ride.

We stopped for a picnic at Tattler Creek in Igloo canyon.

We hiked from Teklanika Campground up the riverbed where we saw bear tracks, a caribou, and had a picnic.  6 miles RT.

Mrs. Huffy and Emily at the Teklanika River bridge.

We found this grizzly track in the dust as we hiked along the edge of the river.

We watched this caribou for a very long time.

We also took a short hike in Highway Pass amongst the blooming wildflowers.

We hiked a social trail around the backside of Cathedral Mountain.  We were treated to beautiful scenery and bears.  4.4 miles.

Emily and Mrs. Huffy in front of a scree slope on Cathedral Mountain.

This is the view looking up the Teklanika River from the backside of Cathedral Mountain.  Mrs. Huffy wants to go backpacking in this area.

On our way back to the road we ran into a sow with two cubs.  I came around a corner and there they were right on the trail about 300 feet away.  The sow looked at me and coughed, then went back to eating.  The cubs continued to rough house with each other.  We decided to go back the direction we had come from and wait a few minute for them to move along.  Then the bears decided to take naps...on the trail.  We couldn't get around them due to a steep scree slope on one side and dense brush on the other.  After an hour passed we decided to get as high on the scree slope as we could so we cold keep an eye on the bears and move around that section of the trail.  Liz had to crawl on all fours so she wouldn't slide down the slope, but it worked.  We rejoined the trail and met several hikers coming from the opposite direction.  We told them of the bears and they all were excited to see them.

The cubs.

Emily earned her Junior Ranger badge and was sworn in by a Denali National Park Ranger.

PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND KAYAK TRIP




We took a water taxi from Whittier to 13 Mile Beach. Then we paddled to Camp 1 near Lawrence Glacier. Camp 2 was located on a beach between Beloit and Blackstone Glaciers. We left camp 2 and paddle along Willard Island and out of Blackstone Bay to Camp 3 at Decision Point. From there we paddled Passage Canal back to Whittier.

DAY 1

Waiting to go through the tunnel to Whittier.

Our kayaks loaded on the water taxi at the dock in Whittier.  Ready to go!

DAY 1:  I picked up Doug Armstrong and Doug Emmerich early on the morning of June 7th, 2013.  We had been planning this trip for the past 10 months and we were excited to finally get together and get going.  We made our way to Whittier, Alaska, where we rented a kayak for Doug E. then loaded our gear onto a water taxi operated by Epic Charters.  The weather was beautiful with clear, sunny skies and flat seas.  It would remain that way for the first three days of our trip.

Unloading the kayaks at 13 Mile Beach.

Doug A. ready to paddle into Blackstone Bay.

Doug E. and Doug A. listening to the weather forecast on the VHF radio.  They were happy because it called for sunshine and temps near 70 degrees.

At 1:29 AM the water from the high tide was within inches of the tent.  Luckily it receded before getting anything wet.

The water taxi dropped us off at 13 Mile Beach where we unloaded our gear and organized everything to fit in the kayaks.  That didn't take very long and we were on our way.  We paddled further into Blackstone Bay taking lots of photos and making a few stops along the way.  We finally arrived at Camp 1, near Lawrence Glacier, where we set up the tents on a small grassy area between the beach and shoulder high snow on the shore and cooked dinner.  We spent the rest of the evening talking and listening to the glacier rumble and roar.  It sounded like thunder in the distance. We went to bed at 9:30 PM.  At 1:15 AM I heard Doug E. say, "We're gonna have to sled this tent out of here.  I hear water lapping right outside!"  I unzipped the tent door to see that high tide had crept within inches of the tent.  I scrambled outside to look the situation over and realized we were on a mound totally surrounded by water.  We had no place to go.  I frantically searched for the tide book to see when the tide would turn and was glad to realize that it would begin to ebb at 1:29 AM.  We could only wait the few minutes and hope the water wouldn't reach us or that a big wave wouldn't come along and submerge our gear.  By 1:40 AM we knew everything was good and the water was receding.  It was a close call, but everything turned out fine.  Back to sleep we all went until morning.

MILES PADDLED:  7.9

DAY 2

Doug A. enjoys a morning cup of coffee at Camp 1 on the start of the second day.

 

Doug E. kayaking in front of Beloit Glacier.

Self-portrait at Beloit Glacier.

Kayaking among the Beloit bergs.

Doug E. and the waterfall at Blackstone Glacier.

Doug E. reviews the map at Camp 2.

Doug A. cooks dinner at Camp 2.

We woke up the next morning and made breakfast in more beautiful weather.  Afterward we packed the kayaks and watched a black bear high on Lawrence Glacier.   I have no idea what it was doing up there on all the ice and snow.  We shoved off and paddled our way through the glacial bergs that had fallen from the face of Beloit Glacier.  It was fun dodging and turning to miss the bergs that were floating in the water.  It was also neat to hear them because they snapped, crackled, and popped like Rice Krispies.  We enjoyed the company of many curious seals and sea otters.  We found another very small campsite and put up the tents before kayaking over to Blackstone Glacier where we spent the afternoon floating around watching the glacier calve, a giant waterfall, and a bird rookery.  We even got out on a beach and sat in the sun for over an hour watching the spectacle in front of us.  It was perhaps the most beautiful place I have ever been.

Returning to Camp 2 we cooked dinner and was surprised at how quickly the temperature dropped when the sun went behind the mountain.  Soon it was was time for sleep and we made it through the night without any worries about the tide getting us.  The warm sun was back the next morning and as we listened to the weather forecast on the VHF radio we learned it would probably be there for the remainder of our trip.

MILES PADDLED:  5.8

DAY 3

Decision Point State Marine Park signage.

The tent site at Decision Point State Marine Park.  Passage Canal is in the background.

The evening campfire at Decision Point.

We loaded up the kayaks and set out along Willard Island with our destination being Decision Point.  This was to be our longest paddling day mileage-wise.  We stopped at the tip of Willard Island for a snack then scooted over to 13 Mile Beach where we ate lunch and chatted with several other kayakers.  Everyone raved about the weather and excellent kayaking conditions.  From 13 Mile Beach we paddled on the outgoing tide to Decision Point which is a State Marine Park, complete with food storage lockers, wooden walkways, and an outhouse.  It was quite different than our previous two camps.  We unloaded the kayaks, made dinner, watched the boat traffic in Passage Canal, and had the first campfire of the trip.  The weather continued to be perfect and sleep came easy.
MILES PADDLED:  13.8

DAY 4

Kayaking in Passage Canal toward Whittier...and cheeseburgers!

We woke up on the final morning of our trip and made the last breakfast before breaking camp and loading the kayaks.  We were on the water by 10:30 AM, making way to Whittier.  At the beginning the water was flat and the air calm, but when we passed Squirrel Cove the wind picked up and the seas became choppy and confused.  We passed the front of Shotgun Cove and paddled to shore where we could relax for a few minutes and consider our options.  We decided to go around Trinity Point and see if things would calm down.  They didn't.  The waves were big enough that when I looked at the other kayaks I would frequently see both the bow and stern of their boats out of the water the mid section riding the peak of the wave.  We paddled a bit further and pulled into Emerald Cove where we called Epic Charters to see if they would be able to come and get us.  They said that things had begun to settle down in Whittier so we decided to wait a while before calling the paddle short.  We eventually took off and upon rounding the next point we could see Whittier in the distance.  The waters weren't any worse so we went for it.  Before long we were paddling into the Smitty's Beach where we picked up and taken to the truck.

We loaded our gear in the truck and put the kayaks on top.  Then we were off for a celebratory cheeseburger at one of Whittier's eating establishments.  It was the perfect ending to the perfect kayak trip.

MILES PADDLED:  10.1