Alaskan Adventure Part 1 - Getting There

My big kayaking trip to Alaska started a few years ago when my cousin Rena mentioned that we never get to paddle together. We grew up on different sides of the same huge country, never really got to know each other except through the odd visit but both managed to have found a love for the water. She always seems to visit the East Coast when I am away and we never got to kayak together. At one point she suggested we needed to do something about it and I just said: when and where?

Two years later and we are planning a trip to Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska. It was supposed to be in the Queen Charlotte Islands off the coast of British Columbia, but an opportunity to go further north presented itself so we went for it. I suppose she simply told me and I went along with it. I really didn't have much say in the matter since most of the logistics were being taken care of from her end anyway.

I booked my flight and started making lists.

Now I'll cut to the chase (for a bit) and start getting to the trip itself. I left Greenville on a beautiful Sunday morning and flew Continental Airlines to Seattle. The trip was uneventful except for the first class upgrade. All that travelling I did for work finally payed off. I met the rest of the team at the Seattle airport and we started getting to know each other. There was a little mix up figuring out which gate we needed to be at and some issues for some of the guys who were flying from Kamloops, BC, but we got passed that. As the date of the trip neared there had been a few Skype calls with everyone but those were really all about itineraries, kayak rentals, food, and gear. This was the first time we got to talk about other things.

The team for this trip was made up of an interesting bunch. We had (and correct me if I am wrong) Susan, a marine biology professor, Duncan, a retired fire chief, Paul (not me) a former member of the Canadian armed forces who is a nurse and an EMT, Jake, another engineer with a whole bunch of outdoor experience, Rob, a (former, I think) employee of BC Forest Services, Rena, my cousin the kayak guide, and me. A good friend from Nova Scotia, Paul P. (yet another Paul), was supposed to come along too but a last minute issue forced him to postpone. I say postpone because I know he will be back on the water soon and itching to sign up for a big trip when the opportunity comes up. He's the one came up with the trip name. He called it Operation Ice Cube and even came up with a great little logo for us.

He and I tweaked the logo and now I need to get it put on t-shirts, along with some of the quotes from the trip. I think it's clever.

The last few days before the trip were a little harried as I had a lot of packing to do and Jane and Isabelle prepared for their annual pilgrimage to Nova Scotia. The gear and food situation pretty much looked like the image below (and no that isn't a gun in the black case, that's my paddle bag):

The blue duffel in the back left is full of food and was my heaviest bag. I also put all the other stuff, except for the paddle, into two other large duffels: one for kayaking gear, and one for paddling gear. The food was all non-perishable. There was lots of nuts and chocolate, noodles, hot and cold drink mix, dried apples and pears, salami and jerky, more chocolate, oatmeal, smoked salmon (in case we didn't catch any), some canned tomatoes, granola bars, Clif bars, a ready to back desert, a few spices and other bits, and of course several bottles of dark rum. The three bags weighed in at 50 lbs, 40 lbs, and 35 lbs. I also carried a small carry on with my electronics: GPS, camera, iPod, and so on.

The flight to Alaska was cool as we crossed the mountains and the plains of the desserts of the western United States but it was nothing like the flight from Juneau to Gustavus (pronounced Gus-TAY-vus). When we arrived in Juneau the plane was full and all but 20 of us got off. We then flew the last 50 miles to our final destination. This is not a long flight for a twin engine jet and it only took about 14 minutes, but it was a great 14 minutes. Imagine a Boeing 737 with a capacity of over 100 passengers flying practically empty at about two thousand feet up the fjord, weaving between the mountains. It was pretty cool. The view was great and the at the end when I walked by the the pilot he admitted it was the best part of the flight. He enjoyed it as much as we did. He flew that thing like a bush plane.

After arriving in Gustavus we collected our things at the outdoor baggage claim and loaded up the 15 passenger van that was there to pick us up. The seven of us and all the gear barely fit. We drove through town to get to the Glacier Bay National Park campground to register, get our bear barrels, do the park induction, and settle in for the night. The park has a free campground for people like us headed out on adventures in the park. I like to think it's free because if you've spent your money to get that far north you deserve a little break.


Next installment: Gearing Up and Heading Out on the Water

A Few Waterfalls and a New Kayak

Well the waterfalls were a few weeks ago, and the new kayak isn't mine (unfortunately).

A few weeks ago I hit the road with a couple of friends to do some hiking. I haven't done as much here in SC as I would have liked but it is getting better. Jane likes it (some) and Isabelle I think tolerates it (are we there yet? when are we going to be there? can we go home?), sort of. The Geocaching helps since it makes it more like treasure hunt but it's still hard sometimes. So with the girls in Nova Scotia and a few weekends alone I went north to the mountains. Fabrice and Mylene came along, or maybe I went with them, I can't remember. Either way we were all without kids so the only complaining came from ourselves. We had no one else to blame.

We went to Jones Gap State Park. It was pretty a pretty cool spot. There is some great hiking there with lots of trails and several really good waterfalls. The campsites seem very nice too. They're right along the creek. The two waterfalls we visited were Rainbow Falls and Jones Gap Falls. There were both amazing, but the hike up to Rainbow Falls made it the best by far. We took a dip under the pounding water to cool of and truly enjoyed the hike.

On the way down we could hear the thunder coming our way but managed to get our lunch in before the clouds opened up. At the higher altitudes it feels like the thunder is right next to you. As we finished up with lunch it started to rain so we sat under the veranda at the visitors center and all had a nap until the storm passed.

On the way back to Greenville I introduced the other two to Geocaching with a short hike in the rain. It was a good walk but I think we all slept well that night.

Here are some shots of the falls and the trail.

You should be able to click the pictures for a larger view.

Now for the boat. I think Pascal has been waiting to buy a boat since I took him to the Sunrift Adventures fall sale last year. This is the big sale where they put out all their rental gear and have a huge yard sale. This year there was food and music too, and they raffled off some really cool gear. I think there was a boat, a tent, a bike, and some sort of adventure up for grabs. (There was also a fire truck and an ambulance, before the sale even began, but I think the fellow who fell off the mountain bike course in the front parking lot will be OK in the end).

They usually have about 200 kayaks and canoes, 50 or more tents, and about a 100 of so bikes for sale. In addition all the accessories are marked down and everything in the store is on sale too. The whole thing is just a great time for anyone looking to get some new or used gear.

I always tend to go too late so this time I was up before the sun rose and picked up Pascal by 7:00. We we got there about 7:30 and were not the first by long shot. Some had been there since 5:00 or earlier. It was quiet for a while but by the time the doors opened at 9:00 the place was very busy. In the end I got the spare whitewater paddle I wanted (to go with my other boat) and Pascal got a 12 foot Native Watercraft kayak, complete with paddle, PFD, and spray skirt. I think he's happy, at least he looked happy on Lake Robinson earlier today. He wouldn't stop smiling, but then again that's how I get when I buy new toys.

For the record I did not buy a boat to add to the armada I already have, but I did see a few I liked. Maybe next time...