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Hello again adventurers! This is Ilene and I’m back with another post from our second camping trip of the season, a four-day journey from Columbia Bay to Glacier Island. I have to give a grateful shout-out to my wonderful expedition mates, Elaine and Dennis from Long Island, and Susanne and Matthias from Switzerland! What wonderful people to paddle with in paradise.

We began our trip in peaceful Heather Bay, where we enjoyed an afternoon of paddling around lots of ice in Columbia Bay. We saw a lot of Sea Otters, Harbor Seals and many birds and ducks.

Look at that blue ice! There’s nothing else like it in the world!

Anyone who has witnessed the beauty of Columbia ice will tell you that the photos and videos don’t do the scenery justice. You really have to come out here to experience it! Paddling around ice is one of my favorite things to do, so I can’t help myself to post lots of photos of icebergs. They’re all so uniquely mesmerizing.

From Heather and Columbia Bays we paddled south to the north side of Glacier Island, where we spent a peaceful night, looking back at Columbia Bay and the Chugach Mountains beyond. We also witnessed many Humpback whales fluking. It got to the point where I heard someone say, “Oh, it’s just another whales’ tail.” I could watch that all day long and never get bored.

In the morning just before bidding farewell to Susanne and Matthias (who had to return a day earlier than the rest of us) we woke up to a blue-bird sky and decided to take the opportunitiy for a lovely hike up the hillside. We were gifted with this magnificant view, where we could see both to the north (into Columbia Bay) and the south. We had a photo shoot at the top and spent an hour basking in the stillness and tranquility of our surroundings.

Dennis, Elaine and I continued around to the south side of Glacier Island, a rugged and exposed coastline with steep vertical rockfaces, caves and an expansive view of Prince William Sound.

Oh and did I mention hundreds of Sea Lions. .  The south side of Glacier Island is full of them.

That night we enjoyed a fire on the beach, as Sea Lions cruised by repeatedly to ensure we were staying out of trouble.

On pick-up day we completed our journey of the entire south side of Glacier Island, and rounded the point back to the north side. We enjoyed one final extremely close encounter with a mother Harbor Seal and her newborn pup. Paddling out of Jackson Cove we just happened to be in the right place at the right time and witnessed this mother nursing her newborn. We watched in silent awe this special moment, which none of us will soon forget.

I will leave you with that incredible image to inspire you to make your Alaska trip-of-a-lifetime a reality! The wildlife, ice and breathtaking scenery awaits you. I’m waiting for you also:) Check out all of our camping trip and day trip options. Give us a call or an email and book a trip today! We’ll see you soon.

Hello adventurers! This is Ilene, back for my fifth summer of sea kayak guiding for Anadyr Adventures. I love this place so much! That’s why I keep coming back. Take a look at our photos and videos and you’ll see why. Then book a trip with us and experience the magic for yourself!

This post is from our first camping trip of the 2016 season. May is such a lovely time to paddle here. A huge thank you to Aaron and Amelia for being out there with me, experiencing the tranquility and beauty of Prince William Sound.

This camping trip takes you out for three days of exploration and paddling along the coastline between peaceful Sawmill Bay, into Shoup Bay State Marine Park, where you can paddle up to the face of Shoup Glacier, and then back into the port of Valdez.

Any time on the water here offers you the opportunity to get up close and personal with marine wildlife, such as Sea Otters, Harbor Seals and Whales! We were fortunate enough to spend some time with the latter. Here is a cool video of a Humpback Whale that we followed for about 1.5 hours in the Port of Valdez. It’s not every day that you get to say that! (click on the words “Humpback Whale” to see our close encounter with this whale.)

For most, our trips will be the first time that people paddle up to the face of a large glacier, such as Shoup Glacier.

Shoup Bay is home to a large Black-Legged Kittiwake (a small Seagull) rookery, which offers you an up-close glimpse into the exciting life of this active bird. There are many other types of birds and ducks that you can see, including Bald Eagles, Loons and Black Oystercatchers.

Contact Anadyr Adventures (and stop in to visit us if you’re in Valdez) for more information on our exciting camping trips and day trips!

Fall is in the air in Valdez, Alaska. Devil club leaves are turning burnt orange, the mornings are crisp, and the blueberries are everywhere. Though the commercial fishing boats are trudging into the harbor, there is still a plethura of salmon in all of the streams. A new guide favorite seems to be pulling into these salmon streams, getting out of the kayaks, and seeing who can catch the slippery salmon in their hands. Our winner this past week was an eight year old boy who caught two! It also seems that with less commercial fishing boats in Valdez Port and Valdez Narrows, the whale sightings are a more common occurance again (like they were in the Spring). Yesterday the boat coming back from the Columbia Glacier trip saw a pod of Orcas hunting Doll Porpoise. Though not witnessed, a frothy pool of blood seemed to indicate a successful kill for the Orcas.   With the seasons change comes these new sights, adventures, and appreciations. Cheers to the stars that are once again appearing in the sky, the guides who are putting a new season of guiding knowledge under their belts, and the brand new T-shirts that we just received a shipment of.

Cheers,

Kira