Alaska Trip Reports

Alaska Photos

Summer 2015

In July, 2015 Christy and I returned to Alaska. This trip focused on the rain forest of southeastern Alaska. Part one features 4+ days near Juneau. On our first full day, we hiked the West Glacier Trail above the Mendenhall Glacier..     (Photos). The next day we did a rainy hike at Point Bridget State Park.     (Photos). On Tuesday we did another rainy day hike to the Herbert Glacier.     (Photos). Our final hike in the Juneau area was on the Perseverance Trail along Gold Creek to Ebner Falls, Lurvey Falls, and the AJ Glory Hole.     (Photos). Part 2 of our trip was a 6-day sea kayaking trip in Glacier Bay National Park. We paddled the west arm of Glacier Bay, from Blue Mouse Cove to the John Hopkins Glacier. A map of our route. First, we took the ferry from Juneau to Gustavus, before taking the tour boat up the west arm to the Grand Pacific and Margerie Glaciers. The boat dropped us off at Blue Mouse Cove, where we started our sea kayaking trip.     (Photos). Then we paddled from Scidmore Bay to the Reid Glacier and the John Hopkins Glacier.    (Photos). The next day we paddled back down the bay to Ptarmigan Creek before embarking on a killer bushwhack to the top of a ridge with an incredible aerial view of Glacier Bay.    (Photos). We concluded our trip with a paddle from Ptarmigan Creek back to Scidmore Bay and Blue Mouse Cove.     (Photos). After catching the tour boat back to Park Headquarters I did a short hike to the Bartlett River. That night we took the ferry back to Juneau to rest and prepare for the next portion of our trip. Part 3 of our trip was a long weekend in Sitka. After a ferry ride from Juneau, we took a water taxi to Kruzof Island so we could climb Mount Edgecumbe.     (Photos). We spent our last couple of days in Sitka hiking to Indian River Falls and checking out totem poles.     (Photos). Part 4 of our trip started with a ferry ride from Juneau to Skagway.     (Photos). We spent a couple of days in town and did several hikes, including Upper Dewey Lake and Lower Reid Creek Falls. Then we spent 3 days following in the foot steps of the prospectors of the 1898 Klondike gold rush, backpacking the Chilkoot Trail.     (Photos). Part 5 of our trip started with a drive from Skagway to Whitehorse and Dawson City in Canada's Yukon Territory, followed by dayhikes in the Tombstone Mountains.     (Photos). I hiked to Grizzly Lake solo on the first day, and we did the Goldensides Trail together on the second day. Then we drove back towards Whitehorse and camped at Takhini Hot Springs. From there we drove to Kluane National Park and camped at Kathleen Lake. we only did one hike in Kluane, but it was a monster as we climbed Mount Decoeli.     (Photos). We finished the trip with a drive to Haines where I did hikes to Seduction Point and Mount Riley.     (Photos).

Juneau Photos The Herbert Glacier

July 2009

Part 1: Kenai

In July, 2009 Christy and I finally traveled to Alaska. We started the trip with 3 days around Anchorage and on the Kenai Peninsula.. Highlights of the first few days included a glacier cruise in Kenai Fjords National Park and a hike from the Exit Glacier to the Harding Icefield. We also did some short hikes in Portage Valley and in Chugach State Park, just outside of Anchorage.

Kenai Photos Christy on the Harding Icefield Trail

Part 2: Katmai

The next portion of our trip took place in Katmai National Park. Katmai is located on the Alaskan Peninsula southwest of Anchorage. We spent 6 days there, including about 2 days watching the grizzly bears catch salmon at Brooks_Falls. The other 4 days in Katmai were spent backpacking in the Valley of 10,000 Smokes. The valley was the site of the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century. The valley is no longer smoking, but it is still surrounded by dramatic volcanoes.

Katmai Photos Christy in the Valley of 10,000 Smokes

Part 3: Chugach

The third part of our trip was spent in south-central Alaska's Chugach National Forest. The Chugach NF surrounds Prince William Sound, and we spent time in several different areas. On our first day, I dayhiked to Crow Pass solo. Later we drove to the town of Whittier, and I did the short hike to Portage Pass. After spending a night in Whittier, we took a ferry across Prince William Sound to the fishing town of Cordova. From Cordova, we drove to the end of the road to watch the Child's Glacier Calve. We also hiked to views of several other glaciers, including the Miles Glacier, the Saddlebag Glacier, the Sheriden Glacier, and the Sherman Glacier. On our last day in the area, I did a solo hike up Mount Eyak. The following morning we took a ferry to Valdez. There we visited Mineral Canyon and the Worthington Glacier before continuing on to Wrangell St. Elias National Park.

Chugach NF photos Below the Sherman Glacier

Part 4: Wrangell St. Elias

Next, we visited the historic copper mining towns of McCarthy and Kennecott in Wrangell St. Elias National Park. We spent two nights camping near McCarthy, and did a dayhike to the Root Glacier and the Stairway Icefall.

Wrangell St. Elias photos The Stairway Icefall

Part 5: Denali

From McCarthy we drove the Denali Highway to Denali National Park. From park headquarters, we took a bus out to the campground at Wonder Lake. We spent two nights camping there and did several short dayhikes in the area. We then concluded our trip with a 3-day backpacking trip along the Upper Teklanika River.

Denali photos Mount McKinley from Wonder Lake

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