Scott Hocking

COVID update

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to change and evolve, our little town of Valdez and small owner-operated business are adjusting to a new normal like you. Still, we want you to know that you can expect the same high quality, small group trips this season that have established Anadyr Adventures as the premier kayaking company in Prince William Sound over the last 30 years. As we realize the importance of offering guests access to wild spaces and outdoor activity, we are excited to announce that Anadyr Adventures is open for business.

Our priorities have always been the safety and well-being of our guests, team and community. They remain our focus. Anadyr is fortunate to have a dedicated and experienced staff. We’ve been able to examine each detail of our operations, from guest communications and pre-trip prep to post-trip cleaning and disinfecting procedures and establish new practices where needed. While risk management has been essential to achieving our goals for three decades, the risk of infection and transmission of COVID is a new addition to our safety plan. By operating under the State of Alaska Health Mandates and CDC guidelines, we’re doing everything possible to minimize that risk. We ask you for your help in our effort, as you are an essential partner in our safety plan.

These are just some of the things we’re doing differently that we wanted to share with you:

  • We’re monitoring the health of both our team and guests.
    • If you’re not feeling well or may have been exposed to COVID, please pass on your kayaking day. Our team will show you the same respect.
  • Our storefront is currently closed to the public.
    • Our office staff is still available by phone or email and as always, happy to answer any questions.
    • We are staggering trip times to minimize interaction between parties. This may limit availability so please plan your kayaking day well in advance.
    • We are gearing up outside but have a covered area for wet days.
  • We know that given the uncertainty of times, guests may need more flexibility when booking so we’ve updated our cancellation policy for 2020 to accommodate this.
  • We’ve made changes to our packing list.
    • We ask that you bring a face covering and wear them for trip prep, water taxi ride and when launching/landing kayaks. If you don’t have one, we have them for sale at $9. They are locally designed and/or made.
    • We encourage you to invest in and/or bring rain gear. Rain gear is especially labor intensive to disinfect and the process hard on that gear.
  • Transportation poses challenges in social distancing so we’ve instituted the following:
    • Valdez Glacier Lake trips – We ask that after gearing up at our shop, you follow us in your private vehicle to the trip location. If this isn’t possible please let us know and we’ll provide private party transportation.
    • Water taxi trips – (Shoup Glacier, Columbia Iceberg & Face, Glacier Island) Through June 1st we are combining no more than 2 parties to allow for distancing to the extent possible.
  • Following CDC guidelines, we have enhanced our protocols for cleaning our workplace and kayak equipment. From the chair you sit in when you arrive, to the kayak that you spend the day exploring in, all surfaces and equipment are disinfected after each use.

While much has changed, once the kayaks are launched into our pristine corner of the Prince William Sound, you will find a welcomed return to normalcy. So, if you’re ready to get out and explore, please consider visiting Valdez and booking a trip with us. We look forward to getting on the water with you and truly appreciate your business!

Valdez Glacier Lake_Kayak_Icebergs
Valdez Glacier Lake

Ilene Price

MILLENNIALS EXPLORE ALASKA BY KAYAK

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Frolicking in front of Shoup Glacier

The title of this blog might sound like the newest action-packed (with some romance, of course) film coming to a theater near you. I hope you won’t be let down that it is about three different three-day sea kayaking trips that I had the pleasure of guiding here in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Yes, the trips were action-packed and yes, some of the clients probably enjoyed some romance. I’m here to share some of the highlights from these great trips.

This three-day sea kayaking trip starts and finishes in beautiful Valdez, which offers a glorious coastline to paddle. What makes this trip so wonderful? Old-growth forest, rushing waterfalls, colorful wildflowers, juicy Blueberries and Salmonberries to eat, Bald Eagles diving for jumping salmon, serene bays, snow-capped peaks, adorable Sea Otters and curious Harbor Seals, and the holy grail of exploring the magnificently blue and alive Shoup Glacier.

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Ilene Price

SEA KAYAK CAMPING TRIP TO THE FACE OF COLUMBIA GLACIER

Preface: Get ready for a longer blog about this unforgettable trip. Stick it out to the end to see my top two all-time favorite icebergs, and find out what finally merited busting out the emergency tequila:)

Photo is so nice, I had to use it twice. Cheers!

For five days in a row I awoke to the sound of two Brits giggling in their tent. That’s right. . . giggling like school children! (I don’t think they’d mind me saying so.) As I lit the stove to boil water for coffee, gazing out over the ice-filled bay in front of Columbia Glacier, I thought giddily to myself, “somewhere along the line I must’ve made a really good decision if this is what I do for my life’s work”!

Our vessels of choice at our campsite in Columbia Bay

I get to share with wonderful people the most beautiful places in the world using my favorite mode of transportation, sea kayaks. This trip, a five-day kayak and camping expedition starting on the south side of Glacier Island and finishing off with three amazing days exploring the recently-revealed landscape at the face of Columbia Glacier, was one of the best yet! A huge thank you and enthusiastic cheers goes out to my two clients, Rob and Anya, who just happened to squeeze in this kayak adventure amidst their lengthy motorcycle tour starting in Washington. Umm, yea. . . they’re kind of badasses on two wheels. Now they can proudly say they’re badasses with double-bladed paddles.

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