This is a request for help in pointing me in the right direction as I design an Alaska sea kayaking trip. I have never been to Alaska. I have one or possibly two trips in mind (described below), and I would appreciate anything that anyone cares to forward to me that might be of assistance. E.g., good or bad books on Alaska kayaking, not-to-miss places or routes, recommended launch points, suggestions for base camps, things you wish you had done differently when you paddled, good local outfitters, places to stay, etc. At this point, I am focusing on the Inside Passage area, so if we paddled there, we would operating out of somewhere near Juneau. The trips will be in August 2004 or 2005. Trip A: 1 - 3 adults, experienced cold-water sea kayakers. 5 - 7 days, combination of paddling and island/coastal hiking. Trip B: 7 - 12 Senior boy scouts plus some adult leaders. A few experienced sea kayakers, but mostly inexperienced boys and dads (although all will have significant backpacking and camping backgrounds). 5 - 7 days, combination of paddling and island/coastal hiking. Thanks! Tom Joyce tfj4_at_attbi.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 11/5/2002 7:32:50 PM Central Standard Time, tfj4_at_attbi.com writes: > Trip A: 1 - 3 adults, experienced cold-water sea kayakers. 5 - 7 days, > combination of paddling and island/coastal hiking. > > Misty Fjords has some developed trails and scenery as fantastic as any in Alaska, IMHO. 3000 ft tall cliffs, old growth forests, wildlife including whales, brown and black bears, wolves, etc. Potentially wild water in the Dixon entrance, Cape Alava area. If you exclude that from Trip B it could be ok. Be careful of larger groups as camping space is hard to find. Be prepared to spend long days in the saddle to find good campsites. If you go solo, be careful of bears as there are tons of them and over 85% of bear attacks occur on solo travelers (Herrero: Bear Attacks: Their cause and Avoidance). > > > > Trip B: 7 - 12 Senior boy scouts plus some adult leaders. A few > experienced > sea kayakers, but mostly inexperienced boys and dads (although all will > have > significant backpacking and camping backgrounds). 5 - 7 days, combination > of > paddling and island/coastal hiking. Glacier Bay is a great place for that kind of trip. It has plenty of hazards, chief among them ice cold water, bears, and wild weather. However, it has a ranger presence and enough vessels to aid in an emergency. It is, however, a huge wilderness with some of the best scenery anywhere and enough nooks and crannies to be completely alone. I do have further info available if you need it. Have fun planning, it's one of the best parts of travelling. Rob G *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
[Moderator's Note: Content unaltered. Excessive quoting (i.e. headers/footers/sig lines/comments from previous posts, etc.) have been removed. Please edit quoted material in addition to removing header/trailers when replying to posts.] You might want to talk to NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School). They run a variety sea kayaking trips in the Prince William Sound area out of their field headquarters just north of Anchorage. I know PWS is not the Inside Passage, but the area has a lot to recommend it including more protected water, warmer water (definitely swimable and relatively low salinity so it is a pleasure to take bath/swim), plenty of glaciers, islands, wildlife, campsites, etc. etc. I paddled a glorious fourteen day trip with them in 1996. I don't know how eager they would be to share their itineraries, but I kept a diary and can tell about the route we traveled. Enjoy Bill Wetzel ----- Original Message ----- From: <tfj4_at_attbi.com> > This is a request for help in pointing me in the right direction as I design > an Alaska sea kayaking trip. I have never been to Alaska. I have one or > possibly two trips in mind (described below), and I would appreciate anything > that anyone cares to forward to me that might be of assistance. > > Trip A: 1 - 3 adults, experienced cold-water sea kayakers. 5 - 7 days, > combination of paddling and island/coastal hiking. > > Trip B: 7 - 12 Senior boy scouts plus some adult leaders. A few experienced > sea kayakers, but mostly inexperienced boys and dads (although all will have > significant backpacking and camping backgrounds). 5 - 7 days, combination of > paddling and island/coastal hiking. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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