Kenai Fjords National Park and Plan B

The journey to Seward was about 3 hours long through mountain passes near the coast. We wound our way to the little town of Moose Pass, population 187, that the Milepost says is noted for its Solstice Festival, and we were disappointed that we were so close to timing this event with our schedule, missing it by one day.

Lunch by Upper Trail Lake

We saw some beautiful lakes as opposed to the rivers and creeks we had been seeing, always with a mountainous backdrop. We stopped at one such lake, Upper Trail Lake, had a picnic lunch, then drove on to Seward. When we arrived in Seward we still had some time before checking into our lodge, so we decided to visit the Kenai Fjords N.P. visitor’s center and get the stamp, before entering the park the next day. We drove to where we would check in for our boat ride into the park then headed to our lodge to check in. Once again we found that someone was looking out for us and were upgraded to their deluxe accommodations (maybe we just spent too much money and everyone is feeling guilty!).

The next morning we went to the Kenai Fjords Glacier Lodge office to register and meet our boat for a 4 hour ride into the park. Plan A was to take this boat trip, spend a delightful night at the lodge, and return vibrant and ecstatic the next day.

Seward Harbor

We followed Plan B. Our boat was an estimated 45’ all-aluminum catamaran with twin diesels and an enlarged pilot house and flybridge with bench seating for the passengers and enlarged windows for viewing the scenery.

On our way

Capt. Larry judged it to be a very seaworthy vessel. We registered in the office then parked the car in a municipal parking lot, paying $20 for a 2-day parking fee. After boarding the boat, the captain and first mate gave us an orientation and reviewed the safety procedures. Off we went out of the Seward harbor and into Resurrection Bay. Resurrection Bay got its name from a Russian captain in the late 1700’s when he discovered it while seeking refuge from a storm on the Russian Orthodox Resurrection Day.

Not looking good

Our trip to the lodge was going to be centered around spotting wildlife, and we were no more than 10 minutes from the harbor when we spotted a sea otter. The sea otter population was almost decimated by early fur traders for its prized pelt.

A sea otter

Sea otters do not insulate themselves with a layer of blubber like many other arctic marine mammals, but have a very dense, up to 700,000 hairs/square inch, fur that traps insulating air. We moved on and Capt. Larry started to hear all kinds of chatter on the VHF radio. The trip through Resurrection Bay would be about 20-25 miles and then we would be in the open Gulf of Alaska while rounding a cape that would put us in the next protected bay to the west. We were close to open water when the seas started to get really confused.

Heading for the islands

There was a southeast wind that was pretty strong and Capt. Larry guessed that the tide was going out about this time, based on his observation at Lake Clark two days earlier. This sets the stage for some uneasy seas and we were in 4 foot swells within the next 15 minutes.

Heave ho here!

Based on the reports from other boats, the captain made a decision to head for some islands to the east and look for calmer waters in their lee. He announced what he was doing and said that we would see if conditions improved with a change in the tide. It took us about 25 minutes to get to those islands, and it was hell. Going into more open water, we were now being met with 6 footers, and people started to get sick. They were encouraged to heave off the stern of the boat and were promised a prize for whoever heaved the furthest! But things continued to deteriorate and we were slamming into definite 8 footers. We thought that maybe we were filming a segment of The Deadliest Catch! When you are in the trough and there is a wall of green water in front of you and you see no sky, you know things are bad. The bow pulpit went underwater several times, and while we were uncomfortable, we felt safe. At one point Capt. Larry looked out the back at 6 passengers contributing chum to the ocean, and none of them had a life jacket on. Why the captain allowed this is a mystery.

We made it to the islands and things did settle down. There were several other boats scattered among the islands doing the same thing we were. Someone spotted a pod of orcas or killer whales and all the boats congregated to see.

Female orca

Female orcas are the largest with the males being smaller. We saw 3 dorsal fins, a very large one, a medium-sized one, and a little small one that first mate said was a baby. We watched them for a while them moved on to look for other wildlife. At this point Capt. Larry told Jane that he didn’t think they were going to make it to the lodge.

Orca up close

Another boat that left 2 hours earlier did make it around the cape, but lost one of their encapsulated life rafts in the process. The captain expressed a look that this validated is already determined decision not to go out. We looked for some more wildlife and spotted a humpback whale in the distance. Because they can stay underwater for 15-25 minutes and cover a lot of ground, it is hard to tell where they will surface and get a photo. We did spot it 4 times and one time it fluked us, but it was impossible for us to focus and shoot a picture. We (some of us, anyway) had lunch, and the captain announced that we would not be going to the cape but would be returning to Seward.

Cave used in WWII

Although we were disappointed, we both knew it was the correct decision. We headed back in calmer, protected waters gunkholing in little coves, while looking for wildlife. Seward is the northernmost ice free port and was important logistically during WWII. For this reason you can spot caves and bunkers along the bay that protected the port from possible enemy invasion.

When we returned to Seward, we were given an option of staying at a sister lodge or getting a refund. Many of our group had signed up for a 2-day trip into the park and elected to be housed in the sister lodge and try again tomorrow. We didn’t have the option of another try, but we initially elected to be housed overnight and then resume our schedule tomorrow.

Jane and a harbor seal

When we learned that the sister lodge was 1½  hours away, we thought a full refund would be best. The management did try and make things right and offered everyone free admission into Seward’s Alaska Sea Center. We tagged along with the group and visited the center before leaving for our lodge.

Glacier recession since 1951

Although we didn’t get to stay at the lodge in the park, we were within the park boundary while on the water. But to really cement a visit to the park we decided to visit the park’s Exit Glacier which was 8 miles from our lodge and accessible by car the next day.

Taking a break at Exit Glacier

When we got to Exit Glacier we visited the visitor’s center and got that center’s park stamp (naturally!). Then we hiked about ½ mile to a viewing point to see the glacier. As you enter this part of the park, there are signs along the road and walkways that show the limit of the glacier for that year and illustrates the glacier’s recession. We found a sign labeled “1951,” the year Capt. Larry was born. We took a photograph of him in front of the glacier today which demonstrates how far the glacier has receded in his lifetime. We returned to our lodge for another night before heading onto our next park.

And that was our trip to Kenai Fjords, N.P.!

Alaskans love their big dogs