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Destination: An Insider's Alaska

Once you've seen our northernmost state from a cruise ship, try the view from a kayak

BY KIM HEACOX

Sea lions are a regular sight on the shoreline that runs from Icy Strait to the Aleutian Islands; kayaks at the ready on Glacier Bay.

“An icebox!” cried the press when Secretary of State William Seward bought Alaska from Russia in 1867. Believing the Russians had suckered the country into a bad deal, they named it Seward’s Folly. Then in the early 1900s, John Muir and Jack London created a new Alaska in the national consciousness: a lyrical place full of whales, gold, bears and, most important, promise. It was the America that used to be—still wet with dew.

Today, Alaska’s Inside Passage is one of the most popular cruising destinations in the world after the Caribbean. On the trip, ships glide past coastal mountains and green shores shaggy with 400-year-old Sitka spruce. Icebergs calved from glaciers crowd rockribbed inlets. It’s a grand experience, but one spent primarily in various ports while the rest of Alaska goes largely unseen.

DEEPER INTO THE COUNTRY
Alaska has been my home for more than a quarter century. Over the years I’ve worked as a park ranger, written a book on the Iditarod and made a living photographing this state’s natural beauty. Lately, I’ve been speaking aboard cruise ships bound for Alaska. Invariably, passengers ask my advice. “We’ve had this amazing cruise-ship introduction to Alaska,” they’ll say, “but we’d like to come back with the kids and go deeper into the country. How should we do it?”

My first question is always, “Are you willing to sleep on the ground?” If the answer is yes, I recommend that they start in the hamlet of Gustavus, at the entrance to Glacier Bay National Park. This is a nobody-locks-their-door kind of town, home to roughly 400 people, 100 dogs, 12 horses, 20 bald eagles and 0 traffic lights. It’s easily reached from Juneau on a once-a-day commercial flight, or you can hire an air taxi that makes the 70-mile trip in 25 minutes.

The rest of your stay can be handled by Spirit Walker Expeditions, a locally owned outfit that specializes in sea kayaking. On your first night in Gustavus, you’ll meet the guides over dinner to hash out the details of your trip, usually a two- or three-day affair. They’ll ask if you want to paddle every morning and hike in the afternoon; if you like to sleep late or prefer to be in your kayak, camera at the ready, by sunrise. They’ll also provide tents, sleeping bags and boats, and plan your meals according to your tastes: wine lover, vegetarian, diabetic—you name it, the guides are happy to oblige.

WHALE DREAMS
The next morning, a large open-air twin-engine boat takes you eight miles across Icy Strait to Point Adolphus, where you’re dropped off with your guides. As your mind quiets, the surrounding world seems to spring to life. The temperate rain forest rises thick behind you, while humpback whales spout off shore. Sea otters roll in the kelp beds, bald eagles soar over treetops and salmon appear to be jumping everywhere.

Soon enough, you’re pushing off and paddling. The first hour “in kayak” is worth the entire trip. You might see a harbor seal, head just above water, eyes flickering with curiosity. Then a humpback whale might reveal itself by leaping from the sea, flapping its pectoral fins in a full body breach. It’s a bracing sight, especially from a kayak.

By early evening, you’ve stopped for the day—even though the sun doesn’t set till 10:30 p.m. or so in summer. As golden light slices over the Fairweather Range, the guides grill king salmon and tell frontier stories. These quietly capable guys not only paddle kayaks with skill, they can explain the diving physiology of seals, play harmonica and tie a bowline knot with their eyes closed. They’re also funny and down-to-earth—a plus with kids and teens, who are all but guaranteed to be blown away by Alaska’s magnificent landscapes. After dinner, you retire to tents pitched just inside the forest and fall asleep to the sounds of those surprisingly noisy whales.

In the morning, you’re off again in your kayaks, or maybe hiking the mossy slopes of Chicago Island, part of the Tongass National Forest’s 17 million acres. After about an hour, you reach an opening where giant conifers surrender to stunted shore pines that resemble elegant Japanese bonsai. Long after your reentry into the “real” world, these magical details remain with you.

STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER
Back in Gustavus, stay a few nights at the 13-room Gustavus Inn, with its homestead flavor and naturalist library. Family-style dinners reveal the area’s embarrassment of riches, rotating between freshly caught halibut, sablefish, Dungeness crab and salmon. During the day, be sure to borrow one of the inn’s bikes—light traffic and flat terrain make Gustavus an ideal cycling town. Anglers should pedal straight to the Salmon River, where fields of wild strawberries flourish by the broad sandy beach.

A more ambitious itinerary might include a day trip to Bartlett Cove, 10 miles away in Glacier Bay National Park. There, you’ll pick blueberries in the forest or ride the “day boat” 70 miles up the bay to commune with a tidewater glacier. (Book this through your accommodations in Gustavus.)

If the Gustavus Inn is full, check out the artfully decorated Bear’s Nest B&B. Either way, you should visit their café to catch local musicians playing originals and covers. (The Beatles and Crosby, Stills & Nash are favorites.) Since summer nights are long, you can finish your day with a twilight stroll.

LODGE TO LODGE
Averse to camping? Spirit Walker also offers “lodge to lodge” custom trips. Each day you hike or kayak, and spend the night in a lodge, inn or B&B. A motorboat does all the hard work, getting you to the launch site and back. By the end of your trip, you’ll understand the Alaskan saying: The deeper you go into the country, the deeper you go into yourself.

GO NORTH

GETTING THERE
Alaska Airlines has seven daily flights
from Seattle to Juneau, and one a day
from Juneau to Gustavus (a 35-
minute flight), from early June until
early September. Air taxis from Juneau
to Gustavus cost about $170 round-trip.
It’s a good idea to arrange your
flights through your hotel.

HOTELS

GUSTAVUS INN
800-649-5220; gustavusinn.com;
doubles $380, including meals and
airport transfers

BEAR’S NEST B&B
602-399-4367; gustavus.com/bearsnest;
doubles $282, including meals and airport transfers;
cabins $120

OUTFITTERS
Guided sea-kayaking trips range from
$200 to $500 per person per day,
depending on the length and design
of your trip. Age or medical restrictions
may apply.

SPIRIT WALKER EXPEDITIONS
Trips focus on Icy Strait, to the south
and west of Gustavus. Excellent for
families and others with special needs.
800-529-2537; seakayakalaska.com

ALASKA DISCOVERY
Another good sea-kayaking outfit,
owned by California-based Mountain
Travel Sobek. Trips target Glacier Bay,
north of Gustavus. 888-831-7526;
mtsobek.com

For more information, visit the Gustavus
Visitor Association at gustavusak.com

Published: July/Aug 2008

Photos: Kim Heacox/Accent Alaska; Kim Heacox