I want to do a two week Alaska vacation in August and am looking for
some recommendations about what to do. I took a cruise to Alaska once
and loved it.

I like hiking and kayaking (have only kayaked about three or four
times.

I plan to camp out the majority of the time.

Have been thinking about visiting Glacier Bay and taking the ferry
part of the trip.

Where should I fly into and what are some recommendations about what
to do.

Thanks so much!

On Sat, 26 Jun 2004 16:19:52 GMT, Darrell Criswell
wrote:

I want to do a two week Alaska vacation in August and am looking for
some recommendations about what to do. I took a cruise to Alaska once
and loved it.

I like hiking and kayaking (have only kayaked about three or four
times.

I plan to camp out the majority of the time.

Have been thinking about visiting Glacier Bay and taking the ferry
part of the trip.

Where should I fly into and what are some recommendations about what
to do.

Thanks so much!

Darrell,

You might consider the Kenai peninsula, there's plenty to do there for
a two week period. If you look at the map, the roads form something
like a backwards h down from Anchorage. The way we did it was to cut
across the h down to Homer, from Homer take a water taxi across to
Kachemak Bay State Park.. a huge state park you could spend days in
(they have reservable cabins or, just camp in the wilderness!). We
worked our way back up the h and across, which is very scenic, again
with lots of camping - it's hard to explain but there are places you
can just go and camp, all first come first served, and these sites are
incredible - lake & mtn views, trails right off of them. There are
also several major rivers where the salmon fishers (and bears) like to
gather, extended hiking etc. You will not be at a loss to find things.

Next down to Seward, where we departed from Seward to a remote
location for a fjord kayak trip. This was among glaciers and we kayak
camped in the fjord. The tour outfitter (www.kayakak.com) was great
and a number of ppl in our group had not done much kayaking before. Be
prepared to be wet the whole time (hopefully you will not be but that
is just the nature of the fjords even in August, it rains a lot and
the air is very moisture heavy and cool). All the best fabrics will
still only be marginally effective for several days on the water.

I did this in 2002, was definitely a phenominal trip and one I think
about a lot still. I definitely plan to go back to Alaska again, it
was such a great experience. But you've already been there, so you
know that...

-Tygab
www.underonesky.com

I'd like to kayak in Alaska at some point. I'm fairly experienced but
I usually like to go solo, unguided. They have a neat little trip
finder on Gorp and they list Kenai Fjords as one of the most
spectacular kayaking locations.

I only saw one guidebook by Washburne, The coastal kayaker: Kayak
camping on the Alaska and B.C. Coast which is available used. Is the
best info source the government authorities for that area?

Other possibilities are -

Aialik bay
Point Adolphus
Glacier bay

Comments welcome, thanks.







Tygab wrote in message . ..
On Sat, 26 Jun 2004 16:19:52 GMT, Darrell Criswell
wrote:

I want to do a two week Alaska vacation in August and am looking for
some recommendations about what to do. I took a cruise to Alaska once
and loved it.

I like hiking and kayaking (have only kayaked about three or four
times.

I plan to camp out the majority of the time.

Have been thinking about visiting Glacier Bay and taking the ferry
part of the trip.

Where should I fly into and what are some recommendations about what
to do.

Thanks so much!

Darrell,

You might consider the Kenai peninsula, there's plenty to do there for
a two week period. If you look at the map, the roads form something
like a backwards h down from Anchorage. The way we did it was to cut
across the h down to Homer, from Homer take a water taxi across to
Kachemak Bay State Park.. a huge state park you could spend days in
(they have reservable cabins or, just camp in the wilderness!). We
worked our way back up the h and across, which is very scenic, again
with lots of camping - it's hard to explain but there are places you
can just go and camp, all first come first served, and these sites are
incredible - lake & mtn views, trails right off of them. There are
also several major rivers where the salmon fishers (and bears) like to
gather, extended hiking etc. You will not be at a loss to find things.

Next down to Seward, where we departed from Seward to a remote
location for a fjord kayak trip. This was among glaciers and we kayak
camped in the fjord. The tour outfitter (www.kayakak.com) was great
and a number of ppl in our group had not done much kayaking before. Be
prepared to be wet the whole time (hopefully you will not be but that
is just the nature of the fjords even in August, it rains a lot and
the air is very moisture heavy and cool). All the best fabrics will
still only be marginally effective for several days on the water.

I did this in 2002, was definitely a phenominal trip and one I think
about a lot still. I definitely plan to go back to Alaska again, it
was such a great experience. But you've already been there, so you
know that...

-Tygab
www.underonesky.com

I guess one requirement is that I can drive to the put-in location. I
don't know if any of the trips I listed qualify. Or perhaps I can hire
someone to take me on a boat if necessary to my put-in. I have to get
some detailed maps of Alaska and do some research.



Tygab wrote in message . ..
On Sat, 26 Jun 2004 16:19:52 GMT, Darrell Criswell
wrote:

I want to do a two week Alaska vacation in August and am looking for
some recommendations about what to do. I took a cruise to Alaska once
and loved it.

I like hiking and kayaking (have only kayaked about three or four
times.

I plan to camp out the majority of the time.

Have been thinking about visiting Glacier Bay and taking the ferry
part of the trip.

Where should I fly into and what are some recommendations about what
to do.

Thanks so much!

Darrell,

You might consider the Kenai peninsula, there's plenty to do there for
a two week period. If you look at the map, the roads form something
like a backwards h down from Anchorage. The way we did it was to cut
across the h down to Homer, from Homer take a water taxi across to
Kachemak Bay State Park.. a huge state park you could spend days in
(they have reservable cabins or, just camp in the wilderness!). We
worked our way back up the h and across, which is very scenic, again
with lots of camping - it's hard to explain but there are places you
can just go and camp, all first come first served, and these sites are
incredible - lake & mtn views, trails right off of them. There are
also several major rivers where the salmon fishers (and bears) like to
gather, extended hiking etc. You will not be at a loss to find things.

Next down to Seward, where we departed from Seward to a remote
location for a fjord kayak trip. This was among glaciers and we kayak
camped in the fjord. The tour outfitter (www.kayakak.com) was great
and a number of ppl in our group had not done much kayaking before. Be
prepared to be wet the whole time (hopefully you will not be but that
is just the nature of the fjords even in August, it rains a lot and
the air is very moisture heavy and cool). All the best fabrics will
still only be marginally effective for several days on the water.

I did this in 2002, was definitely a phenominal trip and one I think
about a lot still. I definitely plan to go back to Alaska again, it
was such a great experience. But you've already been there, so you
know that...

-Tygab
www.underonesky.com

Ok found a book on Amazon. They have a lousy search engine - kayak +
alaska does not return anything. Have to input it as kayaking +
alaska.
The book is Guide to Sea Kayaking in Southeast Alaska.

I also saw that the Kenai Fjords National Park does not recommend
launching from Seward. I suppose it's fairly easy to get water taxi.



(Alex Horvath) wrote in message . com...
I'd like to kayak in Alaska at some point. I'm fairly experienced but
I usually like to go solo, unguided. They have a neat little trip
finder on Gorp and they list Kenai Fjords as one of the most
spectacular kayaking locations.

I only saw one guidebook by Washburne, The coastal kayaker: Kayak
camping on the Alaska and B.C. Coast which is available used. Is the
best info source the government authorities for that area?

Other possibilities are -

Aialik bay
Point Adolphus
Glacier bay

Comments welcome, thanks.







Tygab wrote in message . ..
On Sat, 26 Jun 2004 16:19:52 GMT, Darrell Criswell
wrote:

I want to do a two week Alaska vacation in August and am looking for
some recommendations about what to do. I took a cruise to Alaska once
and loved it.

I like hiking and kayaking (have only kayaked about three or four
times.

I plan to camp out the majority of the time.

Have been thinking about visiting Glacier Bay and taking the ferry
part of the trip.

Where should I fly into and what are some recommendations about what
to do.

Thanks so much!

Darrell,

You might consider the Kenai peninsula, there's plenty to do there for
a two week period. If you look at the map, the roads form something
like a backwards h down from Anchorage. The way we did it was to cut
across the h down to Homer, from Homer take a water taxi across to
Kachemak Bay State Park.. a huge state park you could spend days in
(they have reservable cabins or, just camp in the wilderness!). We
worked our way back up the h and across, which is very scenic, again
with lots of camping - it's hard to explain but there are places you
can just go and camp, all first come first served, and these sites are
incredible - lake & mtn views, trails right off of them. There are
also several major rivers where the salmon fishers (and bears) like to
gather, extended hiking etc. You will not be at a loss to find things.

Next down to Seward, where we departed from Seward to a remote
location for a fjord kayak trip. This was among glaciers and we kayak
camped in the fjord. The tour outfitter (www.kayakak.com) was great
and a number of ppl in our group had not done much kayaking before. Be
prepared to be wet the whole time (hopefully you will not be but that
is just the nature of the fjords even in August, it rains a lot and
the air is very moisture heavy and cool). All the best fabrics will
still only be marginally effective for several days on the water.

I did this in 2002, was definitely a phenominal trip and one I think
about a lot still. I definitely plan to go back to Alaska again, it
was such a great experience. But you've already been there, so you
know that...

-Tygab
www.underonesky.com

On Tue, 29 Jun 2004 12:02:43 -0700, Alex Horvath wrote:

I guess one requirement is that I can drive to the put-in location. I
don't know if any of the trips I listed qualify. Or perhaps I can hire
someone to take me on a boat if necessary to my put-in. I have to get
some detailed maps of Alaska and do some research.


You can't drive to Glacier bay. You could fly there and rent a kayak
locally, fly with a foldable kayak, or take a ferry (but not, apparently,
the Alaska Marine Highway, which is the state ferry line). Whether the
ferry would transport a kayak, I don't know. See http://www.nps.gov/glba/
(click on "Plan your visit") for more details re transportation.

There is a book on kayaking Glacier Bay, published, I think, by The
Mountaineers. It is the only thing I've come across that focuses just on
this place. But, as I recall, some of the text is taken verbatim (I didn't
say "plagiarized," now, did I?) from the U.S. Coast Pilot.

Lastly, the Coast Pilot is now online (in a non-certified version), and
is loaded with detailed information. The presentation is dry and factual,
but in the case of Glacier Bay (chart 17318), the dry facts are pretty
spectacular, and make mouth-watering reading. See Chapter 15, "Cross Sound
and Icy Strait," at http://chartmaker.ncd.noaa.gov/nsd/coastpilot8.htm.

It is a truly beautiful place (as many grizzly bears can testify).

Have a great trip!

-AMG