Aialik Bay Guided Rental June 4-7, 2009

Audrey kicked our season off with a 4-day paddle in Aialik Bay. This trip was a guided rental and the paddlers, Mary, Tracy and Kristen had reserved the Aialik Cabin. Audrey took a lot of photos while on the trip...below are a few.

Audrey

View from Coleman Bay

Aialik Glacier

Aialik Glacier and Paddlers
Pederson Lagoon

Mary in Abra Cove

Guided rentals are a good way to go if you have your own camping equipment and you want to save a few bucks. We offer guided rental options on all of our overnight trips. You bring the food and camping gear, we'll bring the guide and paddling equipment!

Seward Adventures

Well...I had an opportunity to get out into Kenai Fjords National Park and Aialik Bay another way...by tour boat. While its not exactly the one on one experience you'll get in a kayak it sure is a good way to cover some serious distance. We traveled through Resurrection Bay, along Caines and Calisto Head, into Porcupine Cove, around Cape Aialik and finally to Holgate Glacier before returning.

Before we even made it out of the Bay we had our first encounter with a North Pacific Sea Otter.

Then the Dall's Porpoise made their way over. The Dall's love to bow surf with the big boats.

As we made our way towards Cape Aialik we found ourselves in the middle of a show. Our boat captain had found a group of two pods of resident Orcas and set us up in a good position to view that allowed for plenty of distance to allow the Orcas space. Now, you may look at that picture and think..'wow, that looks pretty close to me!' Well, it is! Three of the Orca's made their way to the boat, swam UNDER the boat and then proceeded to give us a show that lasted at least 15 minutes.

Wow, right! Can't really top seeing something like that....

But, we tried our best and headed over to Holgate Glacier. The glacier wasn't overly active, but the day was beautiful!

Interested in learning more about Orcas? Try this link or this link...

Want to combine a wildlife cruise with a few hours of kayaking in front of Holgate Glacier? Check out our Grand Day trip or email us at kayakak@alaska.net.

-Stephanie

Spring paddle and ski

Early April offers lots of fun outdoor opportunities. We loaded up the touring skis and paddled out to Tonsina Creek for  a ski up the river drainage. Its one of our favorite winter tours. 

 

All it involves is a switch from  Xtratufs to ski boots. The frozen Rivers provide easy access to areas which would be much more challenging to visit during summer. 

It was a beautiful day to explore. We took a nice lunch and a bottle of wine. Temperatures were in the lower 30s, very comfortable especially when skiing.  

 It's a couple of miles to the end of the valley. The mountains climb steeply from the valley floor. We passed by several avalanche chutes all showing recent activity. We'll save any mountain exploring for a more bombproof avalanche day.

Winter Paddle in search of a Humpback Whale

Close encounters with a shore cruising Humpback Whale encouraged us to take a paddle. With temps in the high teens, no wind and bright sun the day was crisp.  The water was beautiful. We dug the kayaks out and headed toward Tonsina Creek. My first encounter was with a shy sea otter who was munching a crab. By the time I got my camera out he was gone.

With poggies and layered clothing we were warm and comfortable. The eagles that soared above and the seal that swam near me also appeared comfortable. It was a stunning day. 

The Humpback didn’t appear but it didn’t matter.  We paddled yesterday and will ski today.  It's an incredible time of year and we're enjoying it. 

John and Kat

November Paddle

We woke to sunshine and snow. The choice today was to ski or paddle. Paddling won.




I caught high tide at Tonsina, Four seals were also enjoying the beautiful day.

The mountains are tempting today. Another snow and it will be time to break out the telly skis 

What a beautiful place

John

Fall paddle - 10/3/08

It felt like a mid summer day. Resurrection Bay was flat calm, sunny and absolutely beautiful paddling.



We paddled down to Tonsina Creek to check on the salmon. There were still a few pink salmon swimming. Fish fuel the ecosystem here and the eagles, ravens, and gulls were feasting.



Paddling here is possible year around. We frequently paddle down bay in winter to ski up the Tonsina drainage.



Life is slowing down, days are shorter and the temperatures are dropping. While Sunny Cove is no longer offering tours we're busy preparing for 2009.



Paddling toward Lowell Point



Another beautiful day.

Aialik Bay 7.31-8.02.08

Our trip was fantastic! We had a great crew...Karl and Craig, father and son, Harry and Susan, seasoned paddlers, Melissa and Ken, first timers to AK, Sarah, solo backpacking through AK and Thom, my brother, kidnapped for a birthday trip.















Here's Jillyin....my co-guide posing in front of Holgate Glacier. We had perfect weather this day with a bit of sun, minimal wind and comfortable temperatures.














Jillyin gets a photo of Sarah and Thom in front of a huge berg in Pederson.

Our second day we paddled into Pederson Lagoon. This is always a highlight, even for the guides, mostly because we can't always make it into this special place. The tide has to be just right for this option to work out in our favor.




















Pederson Bergs.















Glassy waters of Pederson.















The crew exiting Pederson Lagoon.















Jillyin with Ken and Melissa in Aialik Bay.















Tufted Puffin















Paddling the sea cave at Holgate Head.

Our third day was a bit soggier than the rest...but that didn't ruin our fun. After a short morning paddle we load up onto the Stellar Explorer for our wildlife cruise back into town.














Sea Otter















Sea Lions basking in the sun.

-Stephanie