Beach bumming in faraway Northwestern Fjord

July 17th-24th:  Northwestern Lagoon, at the head of Harris Bay, is one of those special places left in the world that remains as remote as it is majestic.  It's a destination only accessible by half-day boat ride around rocky capes and across open ocean waters.  Few people get to witness its beauty firsthand.  Fewer still embrace the isolation and stay overnight.  But for those willing to brave the elements, the reward is a glacial landscape newborn and unspoiled -- a sanctuary in which to worship the full spectrum of Nature's sovereignty and splendor.  And the only viable means of exploring such obscure coastline is via kayak.

 

Southwestern encampment:  You'd be hard-pressed to find a campsite anywhere in the world with a better view of multiple, actively-calving glaciers -- their presence immense and humbling.  Somehow able to lull even the most tireless mind to quiet introspection.

Mother Nature's pendulum was swinging fortuitously in our favor on this five day excursion.  We passed time leisurely with humpback whales, harbor seals, icebergs, and glistening waters.  Three straight days of sunshine and warm temperatures inspired gratuitous loafing and impetuous napping.  With our group of seven, the journey was the destination.  Their was simply no passing up the rare occasion for genuine Alaska hedonism...

...supplemented with a little Sunny Cove-style epicureanism.

Our second campsite, somehow more divine than the last, was not only a springboard for further exploration, but became a temporary home for a temporary family.  Fellowship of the sort is inevitable when surrounded by such pristine wilderness.

"Standing here, with facts so fresh and telling and held up so vividly before us, every seeing observer, not to say geologist, must readily apprehend the earth-sculpturing, landscape-making action of flowing ice.  And here, too, one learns that the world, though made, is yet being made; that this is still the morning of creation."  - John Muir

Dall's Porpoise on Grand Day Tour July 6

The Grand Day Tour takes kayakers out to Aialik Bay's Holgate Arm in a small tour boat. Along the way it is common to view humpback whales, orcas (killer whales), Stellar sea lions, puffins, and the fastest marine mammal, Dall's porpoise. This porpoise is named after American naturalist W. H. Dall, averages 6-7 feet long, weighs approximately 300 pounds, and can reach speeds of up to 35 mph. Here they are playing in the bow wake of the Stellar Explorer on our way out of Ressurection Bay.

Holgate provides a humble retreat for a group from Japan

The end of July spelled the beginning of rejuvenation for six adventurists from Japan.  A small travel company brought their company owner and an outdoor chef that is renowned in Japan.  All brought years of paddling experience to the cockpits of our new fiberglass boats.  Audrey and I had a workout while the six of them styled every stroke.  After moving in to Holgate cabin, the group joined Audrey and I on an evening paddle up to Holgate glacier (see below photo).

The water was calm as glass and every creak, growl, and moan of Holgate and Surprise glaciers could be understood in Japanese as much as every language.  We had a late evening meal and arose the next day to spectacular weather!  The water was flat and only small patches of bristle thin clouds found their way into our sky.  Shortly after rounding into Aialik bay, a "kuma" (bear) appeared on a beach.  We watched the solitary black bush stomper clamber its way up a scree slide and disappear into the alder patch and continued to Pederson Lagoon.  Entering the lagoon shortly before high tide gave us time to enjoy our picnic lunch in the sun with wonderful views all around.  There were tracks from a black bear that were perhaps left shortly before we had arrived.  With bellies full, we entered the ice-sanctuary where Pederson glacier spills into the lagoon (below).

Our progress was glacial as we sat and observed the wonder of bergs and seals.  As we left the land of incandescence we passed four other parties ready to crowd what we experienced humbly to ourselves.

The next day was too windy to paddle so we enjoyed resting and exploring near the cabin.  We had an adventure to find water and found over 20 bear scats.  Chocolate lilies and chipmunks brought us some fascinating observations.  The final day was again serene.  Our early morning paddle took us across Holgate arm to find oystercatchers, auklets, and lots of ice floating in the placid waters.  Once we found ourselves as near the face of the glacier as safety allowed, we sat in awe at the calving and rumbling resounding between the narrow fjord walls.

After cleaning up camp, the sun allowed us to relax in warmth on the beach as we waited for our pickup.  A few of us tested our ability to float in the frigid waters and bath in the sun in just our shorts.  Just to top off the day, and the trip, we had a show from the AK pod of resident orca on the ride back to Seward!  All said and done, the trip was a relaxing and brisk rejuvenation for everyone involved and excitement for the next trip has already set in for the entire group.  Domo arigato goazaimasu Alaska!

Drought Makes Fox Island Seem Tropical

Upon arriving in Seward, all the word was "the rain is coming...the rain is coming...are you prepared?"  I have to admit, I was considering calling NASA to see what they use to stay dry.  As it has turned out, the weather in Resurrection Bay has been warm and sunny, allowing Sunny Cove to stand up to its name.  I had heard many people on the Fox Island trips comment on how Tropical the spit appeared.

        A view of the Fox Island spit / Paddle talk on Fox Island (right)

August is nearing and the weather for the moment has returned to the typical Seward drizzle, and yet people are still loving the adventure of our three hour trips!

Season's start

It's spring... snows melting, fiddle head ferns are sprouting, whales breeching and the cottonwoods blooming. Sunny Cove guides are busy training.

Guide training involves 10 days of intense activity. Kayak instruction skills is just one topic.

We also focus on natural history, getting acquainted with the birds like the tufted puffin above. Many of our guide staff come to us with a natural history background.

We spent an afternoon at the Alaska Sealife Center checking out the displays and doing a behind the scene tour of the facility.

Our three day kayak camping trip was a great way to get guides acquainted with the area and Sunny Cove food. We ate well.

The rest of Seward was also celebrating spring. Luna Dance Circle performed in front of our reservation office at the Small Boat Harbor.

We've been enjoying some great paddling with lots of wildlife. Yesterdays outing included sea otters, sea lions, a humpback whale and a swimming bald eagle.

The eagle had selected a fish a bit to large to fly with and had to swim to short to land its meal. Red salmon for dinner. 

March Adventures - Lowell Point Paddle/Hike

It's been an odd March in Seward. Most of the month has been cold and sunny with very little new snow.  Skiers have found themselves ice skating, hiking, and paddling. We've taken advantage of the weather to do some combination paddle/hike trips up the drainage's along Resurrection Bay.

Starting at Lowell Point we paddled down to Tonsina beach.  Landing at Tonsina we grabbed our ski poles and started up stream towards a rumored waterfall in the back of the valley.

An hour creek walk brought us to this spectacular waterfall. This is an area that would require bush bashing/stream wading to get into during the summer.

Nothing like a picnic lunch on Tonsina beach. The trees are ghost trees killed by the 1964 earthquake. When the land here dropped approximately 6 feet the tree roots were exposed to salt water. This killed the trees and preserved the standing deadwood.

On the paddle home we encountered a sea otter, two sea lions and a seal. They all checked us out. They don't see many winter paddlers and seemed more curious then usual. Another beautiful Seward day.

John 

Five days in wonderland

A magical morning welcomed our third day of paddling. Friend Harry Brod was back for another Northwestern adventure bringing with him the Tuttle and Singer families and his girlfriend Courtney Cox.

We got to experience a mix of weather. Good rain gear is a must for a comfortable trip.

 We didn't let a bit of rain limit the fun... The fjord was absolutely beautiful with mist, waterfalls and bergy bits.

We had a sunny day to break camp for a move to a new campsite closer to Harris Bay.

It's amazing to think this was all under ice 75 years ago...

Beach time... Jack and Allan brought guitars...

Two serenity shelters kept bugs to a minimum.. Really good food kept us fueled.

It seemed all to soon that we were packing up for our charter boat to pick us up. Another great trip.

John