Seward, Alaska - Our First Kayaking Adventure

As we descended into Anchorage, we passed over the Harding Ice Field.  Never have I seen so many snow-capped peaks.  The air was crisp and clean even in Anchorage, and we could see the Alaskan range from the city streets.  I hated Anchorage.

So we left for Seward.  About 200 - 300 miles south of Anchorage, Seward is a small town by the sea - where huge cruise ships come to drop people off starting the day Alaska opens - May 15.  Seriously, in Alaska, nothing is open before May 15 or after September 21st.  Since Captain and I were there May 1st, we were the first customers at the hostel in Seward, Moby Dick (highly recommended!), and struggled to get transportation there from Anchorage.

We were there for the purpose of sea kayaking - to explore the fjords and enormous tidewater glaciers up close and see the sea life.  The only kayaking rental place available at the time was a few miles from town and they denied us the Kenai Fjords National Park.  This was due to the weather, Aialik Bay faces directly into the open Pacific Ocean and the weather is notoriously bad.  This was our first time sea kayaking, and they were taking a risk just letting us go into Resurrection Bay.  We had to do an underwater exit from our kayak, which we did extremely successfully and quickly (the water is a numbing 45 degrees).

Since we were the first customers, they lent us wet suits, wet bags, and a map for free, but it was still expensive for the boat ride and renting the kayaks for a few nights.  We originally thought we were going for only one night, and had only brought enough food for 2 days.  Except for rice.  We had a lot of rice. The boat ride over we saw otters and dolphins.

We were dropped off in Thumb Cove, to be picked up two days later on Fox Island.  The first day was a rare one - perfect cerulean skies, warm sun, ice covered mountains and cold gray sea.  We kayaked the whole cove, taking pictures of purple and pink starfish, seals, and picturesque houses on tiny islands, only accessible by sea plane or boat. I tried fishing for the first time, only for an hour and by kayak.  Not a nibble, but there wasn't much to get apparently.  I'm certainly no expert and I still say I haven't been fishing yet.

That night, instead of camping, we stayed in a cabin that gets rented out - the door was open and we stayed the night.  Reading the cabin's log, we realized that less than a week before a female bear had inhabited the space below the cabin.  I had nightmares.  For dinner, in order to preserve our rations, we had seaweed, Tabasco sauce and rice for dinner.  Kinda bland but pretty salty.  Not bad overall.

The forest there is rainforest - big ole pine trees with lots of moss everywhere.  It's very quiet, only a murmur from boats passing by in the Bay and the dripping of water off the pine needles.  Truly a beautiful place.

The next day we went out of Thumb Cove heading for Sandspit Point State Marine Park on Fox Island.  But we had to get to Humpy Cove first.  The wind was fierce and we paddled with all our strength - it was very tiring and very cold.  We finally made it to Humpy Cove, where the wind abated dramatically, and we ate some ramen to recover our warmth and strength.  We stuck to the coves, checking out the sea caves filled with anemones, starfish, and snails.  One little inlet was the most beautiful of all - a perfect waterfall, a sea cave with sunlight reflecting off the water, and an otter playing in the midst.  It made me want to cry, it was so perfect.  Soul-filling, you see it and you don't need to eat...almost.

Since we were making such good time, Captain and I went past Fox Island towards the open ocean.   We heard there was a sea lion den on the rocks to the south.  But we saw no sea lions, only a really cool arch - Captain wanted to go through, but I was scared of getting stuck, for good reason, and we didn't risk it.

We made it to the Sandspit Point on Fox Island and made camp.  It looked like the moon Endor in the final Star Wars - I kept expecting to see an Ewok hiding behind a tree.  Since Captain was really all about seeing a tidewater glacier, we looked at the map for the nearest one.  It was the Bear Glacier - directly across Resurrection Bay, exposed to open (dangerous) ocean.  We agreed that if it was calm the next morning we would risk it and head for the glacier.

The next day, I woke up hung over due to some whiskey we had the night before.  But the sea was as calm as could be - we headed across the Bay.  It was hard work, but we saw so many bald eagles, one even went fishing in front of us!  We saw a lot of waterfalls, but when we got to where the glacier should be, we realized there was a spit of land separating us.  We went up a tidal river - dragging the kayak at many points, and came across a seal den - there must have been at least 6 seals watching us.  The tidal river opened up into a tidal lake, but was too shallow for the kayak to continue.  Looking at the watch, we decided to head back, doing some whitewater kayaking in a tandem sea kayak.  It was a lot of fun.  On the way back across the bay, we saw humpback whales and porpoises!

We arrived an hour before pickup, cold with all our clothes wet.  It felt like purgatory - uncomfortable and nothing to be done about it.  On the boat ride back, the porpoises played in the wake - they like the vibrations of the boat.  They splashed Captain in the face.  It was excellent.

We went back to Anchorage to be picked up to go to work in Denali.  Loved the adventure, love this world.


*I don't have any pictures yet of our kayaking trip - Captain has them on his waterproof camera!

Puffins Making Puffins in the Seward SeaLife Center!

Wild Wonderful West Virginian MisAdventure

The Beginning of the Dolly Sods Wilderness

 
After 9 months of no backpacking and few adventures besides playing in the mega snowstorms, Captain and I decided to venture into the wilds of West Virginia.  It was spring in the DC area, and we made plans for a three night adventure.

It did not start with the best foot forward.  The night before, we were both working, and got off late.  It was 10 pm before I got a chance to start packing, and we still hadn't gotten any food for the trip.  It had been awhile since we'd gone backpacking, and it took awhile to remember how to pack for it.  At midnight, I realized that I'd left both toilet paper and my sleeping pad at my parent's house, more inconveniently, in my brother's closet.  At two in the morning, I woke up my brother to get the supplies, and went shopping for food at the 24 hour Giant.  I was so exhausted when we started driving the next day.

Captain had written the directions down, and I was in charge of navigation.  The first direction, turn onto 340 West from 270 North was where I failed. I told Captain to keep going on 70.  We ended up in Pennsylvania two hours later.  Angry and feeling retarded (at least, I was), we bought a map and followed it through Virginia and towards W. Virginia.  Because we wanted to start hiking by 3 pm, Captain decided to put pedal to the metal and got a $125 ticket for his troubles. *It ended up being 300 dollars because we went to Alaska and he forgot to pay it...

We finally made it to the Dolly Sods Wilderness Area in Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia at about 5 pm.  As we were unpacking the car, a woman with her Great Dane came by.  She said that the trails were not marked well at all and indicated to us on the map where she "thought" we were.  Her advice screwed us.  Since we assumed the trails weren't marked, we took the first path off the road, which led only to camping grounds.  We thought we lost the trail, but there really was no trail there.  But since it was 6 pm and the sun setting, we set up camp, not more than a mile away from our car.

*Note* I was practicing with the compass the whole time we walked that mile. 

The Wrong Road...But We Took It Anyway

That night, we woke to thunder.  Captain asked me if we should go back to the car, because we didn't put the tent in a good place for rain.  When the thunder was directly overhead, we agreed to go back to the car.  As we were quickly packing up the tent, huge drops of water began to fall.  In two minutes we were soaked through.  We should have stayed in the tent. With the compass, since we couldn't find the path, I led the way - the completely wrong way.  The lightning was terrifying, the thunder suffocating, the raindrops blinding us - I was stumbling on tiny rocks.  After 20 minutes, Captain grabbed the compass from me and realized my stupidity.  He immediately set off in the opposite direction and we found the path and the road and, eventually, the car.  When we got in the car, it stopped raining heavily.  We fitfully fell asleep.

Red Creek Waterfall

When we got up in the morning, we both agreed that yesterday's misadventure was unlucky.  We also determined that we were in the wrong place.  We reversed the car, saw the sign for Red Creek Campground (we were heading for Red Creek Trail), and then parked the car right where it had been sitting.  Little did we know that Red Creek Trail and Red Creek Campground were on opposite ends of the Forest.  :)  So, once again we went up the same road we were on, passed the false trail we took the night before, and, miracles of miracles, found a WELL-MARKED TRAILHEAD!  On the sign, it stated: "WARNING!  UNEXPLODED ARMAMENTS!  DO NOT APPROACH!  Turned out, the Dolly Sods Wilderness was a testing ground for mines and other explosives for the Army, who never cleaned it up.  We took the Wilderness Trail and went through beautiful forest and followed a tall ridge.  We followed another trail to beautiful waterfalls, and finally reached Red Creek, which is really red from the iron content of its bed.

A Snake I Almost Stepped On

We passed so many beautiful and scenic spots, and on the entire trip I almost stepped on at least 3 snakes.  Once again we got lost, or rather, we lost the trail.  We had to climb down a cliff to return to it.  I went down partway first, then Captain passed me the bags. I set his bag down, and it slid right off the cliff! See the picture of the cliff!  I passed Captain my bag, he set it down at the foot of the cliff and it went rolling down the mountain too!  We were both pissed at each other, thinking that the other did it on purpose.  Neither the video camera nor my camera were hurt, fortunately.

The creeks were relatively easy to cross, until the last time we crossed Red Creek.  We crossed barefoot, with a walking stick in one hand and our shoes in another.  When we reached a relatively deep section of the creek, I chucked, first one shoe, then the other to the other side.  Captain said "Hey, that's a good idea!"  And chucked his shoes directly into the water.  Captain turned to me. "Do you remember the Animainiacs?  Remember the skit "Good Idea, Bad Idea?  Your's was the good idea and mine was the bad."

The Dolly Sods Wilderness looks like The Last of the Mohicans

The last night we camped on the edge of a cliff and saw a beautiful sunset.  The scene reminded me of the move "The Last of the Mohicans" with the mountain views.  I love the Alleghenies. The next day we hiked out, completing a leisurely 20 mile hike in 2 and a half days.  An excellent misadventure, except for the monetary pains.

The Dolly Sods Wilderness

Venus, Captain, and the Campfire

Jellystone

After graduating college, I was at a loss.  I decided to go adventuring, so I got a job bartending at Yellowstone National Park for the summer.  It was a lonely summer, because Captain wasn't with me, but it was still a lot of fun and I made some great friends.  The highlight of my experience was when Captain visited me.

When I picked him up from the airport, it was the hottest day yet in Boseman, MT and Yellowstone.  Because of this, Captain thought the nights would be just as warm. We hiked a few mountains, visited some key waterfalls and decided to go backpacking for the first time.  We learned a lot from this experience.  Very ambitious, we planned a 3 night - 4 day backpacking adventure through the backcountry in the Northeastern quadrant between Fishing Bridge and Canyon.  We chose this particular area to see the wolf packs, and this spot was infested with grizzlies and other bears.  So much so that half the area is closed off after 7pm and before 8 am.

When we were buying supplies, Captain refused to spend money on a sleeping pad, saying that he had a sleeping bag and he doesn't care about rocks.  Little did we know that sleeping pads help more against the cold than the rocks.  So he went without and we started off on our first backpacking adventure.

The first day began well.  We met a teacher from Manitoba who hiked with us on the first part of Pelican Valley, and together we saw an enormous black bear.  Captain insisted on getting closer, until we ended up practically on top of the bear.  We were at the top of the hill, and the bear at the foot.  I didn't realize how big they were.  Very fluffy looking.  After awhile, we separated from the teacher and went deeper into the back country.    Then the rain started.  It is dispiriting to hike for hours in the wetness, and at several points we lost the trail and had to backtrack. It being my first experience in the wilderness, I would constantly freak out that we had lost the trail, only to find it a few minutes later, 100 yards from where we lost it.

The rain started to let up, and I looked up and saw a big thing in the middle of the path, more than 2 football fields away.   "Captain!  It's a bear!  I think it's a grizzly!!!"  (direct quote)  Since the bear was in the middle of the trail, we decided to watch it and eat some trail mix while we waited.  We munched and looked on, and then realized that the bear was being very still.  Too still.  We groaned, got up and put the backpacks on and realized that that bear was a bear rock.  Captain took a picture of ourfirst grizzly bear rock.   We saw bald eagles that day, and some Sandhill cranes, which were doing an intricate dance - very interesting.  We thought they were crazy birds.

Broad Creek

The camping site that night was wonderful, next to beautiful Broad Creek which zigzagged through tall grasses, and pine trees crested the hills, making it one of my favorite places in the world.  I have since learned that on every camping trip, the place I camp is generally one of my favorite places in the world.  Captain started a fire after much perseverance (since it had been raining all day, the wood was wet).  We ate, my first meal in the wilderness, it was delicious - something about the fire and the outdoors makes anything taste good.

That night, Captain froze.   His sleeping bag was was very thin and since he had no sleeping pad, he was sleeping directly on the cold ground.  When I woke up and started getting things moving, Captain rolled onto my sleeping pad and got a few minutes of sleep, the only sleep he got that night.  We started again, and as we climbed the hill Captain whispered harshly "It's a wolf!" I turned, my heart in my throat, and there he was.  All white and gray and absolutely beautiful.  It turned out to be a coyote, but still amazingly beautiful.  He kept staring at us, and we stared right back.  Eventually he turned and ran off, but Captain and I lingered, enjoying the memory of where the coyote was.  We never got a picture though. :(

We moved on, going into burn areas, grassy valleys, and some forested areas.  We found several enormous skulls of elk with huge antlers attached, Captain and I could easily fit in the antlers they were so big.  They were bleached from the sun, and reminded me that this truly is the wilderness, and no one would come to save us if we got hurt.  We climbed up a steep slope, and saw a lake - full of fish, but we weren't allowed to take them because they were Cutthroat Trout and endangered.  We went on, only to get attack by mosquitoes, so much so that I cried.

We continued on, about to head up into the rockier highlands.  We crossed another grassland area when I stepped into what looked like firm sand - it was quicksand.  My leg went in all the way above my knee and I screamed as I fell.   Captain had to come back and pull me out - we had to take my backpack off! I was covered in mud after that.  It was a rough day, especially because we lost the trail  again, finally finding it high on a ridge.  We hiked closer to the Canyon area; the soil became rockier, with big boulders sticking out.  It was beautiful.  When at last we reached out campsite, it was by far one of my favorites. It was right next to Wapiti Lake.  The water was crystal clear, the pine trees tall and green.  It felt like I was seeing my soul for the first time.  The campsite was covered in pine needles and just smelled delicious.  Everything was so sublime, more so for all the hard work we put into it - carrying about 40 pounds each for about 15 or so miles.  I never slept better that night.  Captain never slept worse, again because of the cold ground.
We got up slowly the next day and headed South through mostly grasslands.  We saw some steam rising off in the distance, and went off the trail in search of the source.  We came across the coolest thing ever.  It was a mud pot, a huge hole in the ground where mud lay bubbling and boiling.  We climbed a pine tree nearby to get a closer and safer look.  It's never safe to walk where there are no trees growing in Yellowstone.  The magma chamber is always less than 5 miles below the surface and it is no fun to fall into a steam vent or mud pot.  We took some great photos, then continued south in Pelican Valley. 

We came across some more bones and boiling streams where gases seeped from below, with crazy colored thermophile covering the ground.  Thermophiles means bacteria that can live in extremely hot conditions.  We saw an enormous steam vent, and another huge mud pot.  After 18 miles, we finally came to the main Pelican Valley and  turned Northeast to get to our next campsite.  As we were walking, we saw the reason why Pelican Valley was closed from 7pm to 8am.  A huge grizzly bear was running away from us.  Directly where we were supposed to go.  We couldn't find the trail though, and it was after 7pm, so Captain and I decided to go home.  That meant another 5 miles in the setting sun, through mega bear territory.  I sang Disney songs the whole time home to keep the bears away.

When we reached the road we were so exhausted we needed to hitchhike.  Captain literally stepped in front of a car, and the Mormons in it gave us a crowded lift. They actually knew where we were from too, because home is near the Mormon Temple in DC.  We got back, Captain took a much needed hot bath to warm his soul, and we went to the pub and got a huge pizza with everything on it.  What an awesome first backpacking adventure.