In May 2001, Judy and I, along with Amy, Brian, Bob, Jacques, Patty, and Dave, spent 6 days and 5 nights kayaking and camping through Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska.

Weather-wise, May is typically the best time of year in Alaska, usually characterized by warm, sunny days with few clouds in the sky. As our luck would have it, May 2001 was, according to one of the locals we spoke with, one of the worst Mays in the last 10 years.

The first few days we ran into some inclement weather, with rain and wind roughing up the water. It certainly made for some interesting and somewhat disconcerting kayaking! Nevertheless, the surroundings were gorgeous. We saw many kinds of wildlife including orca whales, humpback whales, spinner dolphins, sea lions, bald eagles, and various kinds of birds. A few of us even saw a large brown bear! Moose droppings were frequently sited and we even found some moose antlers, but unfortunately, no moose were sighted.

In addition to the wildlife, we were all taken by the extraordinary beauty of Alaska. McBride’s Glacier was perhaps the highlight of the trip. The bluish glacier itself was quite a sight to behold. As the glacier meets the water of the bay, ice chunks break off and float to sea. On our way back from McBride’s, we left early in the morning and were fortunate to have completely calm and glassy conditions. Kayaking through this sea of icebergs was almost surreal - it was truly an awesome experience.

The weather cleared up towards the last few days of our trip. In fact, one of the days was actually quite warm. We finally got to experience what a typical Alaska May felt like. I actually enjoyed the conditions we had (even the more inclement weather) because we got a chance to experience both spectrums of weather (although I have a suspicion that several on the trip might disagree with me ). Alaska’s natural beauty was stunning and by kayaking, you really are able to “get away from it all”. During our entire trip, we only saw 4 people, and that was only as tiny specs since they were so far away. All in all, it was an incredible trip and we highly recommend it!

Here are all the pictures that were taken among the group. Unfortunately, many of us used disposable waterproof cameras during the trip. We found out, after they were developed of course, that these cameras suck at taking pictures in low light conditions. Even a good picture can’t compare with actually being physically there and taking in the view, so these lower quality pictures definitely don’t even come close to doing Alaska justice. There are, however, some fairly good ones if you take the time to look through them. In general, I think that Amy and Brian’s photos came out the best. Check ‘em out and enjoy!

Posted by Roger at 2:21 pm.