Can I get that with ice please?

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[youtube=2uz5aV65H-0]

The ferry got us to Valdez at 8:30 sharp. The campground and our cabin was just a couple minutes drive from the dock. That night we just crashed after I took a quick walk around the city.

At 8:00 the next morning, we were at the offices of Anadyr Adventures for the much anticipated kayak expedition. Our guide Kate, who hails from Wisconsin, got us outfitted along with 3 other would-be paddlers: Doug, from Rochester, NY, Junalee, from Anchorage and Les, a 52-year old hitchhiker from Edmonton, AB.

After a quick briefing on safety procedures, we hauled our gear to the dock and loaded it onto a water taxi that also was carrying the 3 double kayaks we would be using. The boat took us on a 1.5 hour trip up the Prince William Sound to our launch area. The highlight of the cruise was spotting a pair of sea lions who had made themselves at home on a navigational buoy. The water taxi beached itself and we unloaded the gear and kayaks. We found ourselves in a little inlet surrounded by nothing but mountains and ice.

Once we got into the water, we paddled a short distance before a field of floating icebergs revealed itself to us. We were greated by a sea otter lounging on one of them grooming her little one. We paddled for a few hours amongst the icebergs, going right up to them and touching the ancient ice. They all broke off of a giant glacier known as the Columbia glacier that was visible in the distance. Every so often you could hear a cracking sound as one of the icebergers would calve. That is an actual term that describes chunks of ice breaking off icebergs and glaciers - look it up!

The sun was out on this day, and when its rays hit the bergs, made for a beautiful show of blue and silver light. A few eagles soared overhead and seals were watching us from a safe distance away, occasionally swimming closer to us to catch a glimpse of the weird creatures in boats. Surreal.

We paddled away from the iceberg field and onto a beach for a snack and a quick hike up a hill that offered spectacular views of the area and the glacier. I had a very nice chat with Doug, who it turns out has travelled extensively. He had just returned from Nepal.

After our break, we paddled up a small river for a few hours, and eventually met with the water taxi and loaded up for the trip back to Valdez. Just an amazing day!

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Photos

Reflections
look at the clouds reflecting in the calm waters... This pic may make my wall...

kayaks on beach
gives a sense of the size of the ice