Sunday, September 12, 2010

Kayak Camping Trip in Glacier Bay #3


After exploring McBride Glacier and the iceberg filled lagoon, four of us paddled hard to the south. Our kayak was gliding smooth in the calm fjord ocean under the beautiful blue sky.

Our second night was on the beach of Goose Cove with a view of Mt. Wright.

We were shocked to discover two good sized holes surrounded by bear prints...the holes were bear's day beds! Wherever we stayed, there were signs of bears in this remote Alaskan wilderness.

The bugs in Alaska were worse than bears. During the sunset, clouds of mosquitoes and flies attacked us... There is a joke that the "Alaskan state bird is a mosquito." (The true Alaskan state bird is the Ptarmigan.)

It was misty the next morning...heavy clouds covered up the entire bay and Mt. Wright as well as the mountains on the other side of the fjord hid under the gray clouds. The misty rain quietly fell all day while we were paddling. We were soaking wet.

The final night of camping was on a small island. It wasn't fun to set up a tent in the rain...this is part of the Southeast Alaskan experience.

It was raining hard the next morning too... We waited for the boat to pick us up in Sebree Island. The boat arrived on time. It was great to sit in the dry warm cabin and use a "real" bathroom. However, I already miss the wilderness experience I just had.