DAY 11 – June 28
Seward to Aialik Bay
We ate breakfast in the room, then packed our bags for storage at the Kayak Adventures Worldwide office. They were just across the street, so we walked over with our stuff. KAW drove us to the small boat harbor where we met with the water taxi, "Weather or Knot." The taxi was also being loaded with construction materials for a lodge being built at Pederson Lagoon.
The taxi picked up another family doing a day trip, then took us from Resurrection Bay to Aialik Bay, stopping for wildlife sightings along the way. We saw sea otters, Steller sea lions, puffins, and Dall's porpoises. A highlight of the trip was seeing a group of humpback whales, close enough that we could hear their breathing.
The water taxi dropped us off at our beach camp. We walked up the rise of the beach to find a black bear just on the other side. He didn't bother us, and he didn't seem to mind our presence either.
After sandwiches for lunch, we set up our tents and a cooking tarp. Then we were ready for an afternoon of kayaking. The kayaks were cached at the campsite, so we got them out and Justine gave us instructions on paddling and entering the kayaks. Noah was unhappy at first when he learned he would need to wear a "skirt."
We were all in double kayaks – Julianna with Tina, Noah with Ben, and Rob with Justine. As we paddled towards Aialik Glacier, a light rain started. Our sleeves also got wet from water running off our paddles. I eventually figured out that I was dipping the paddle too deeply in the water. The rain, the wet sleeves, and the cool glacier air made us a bit uncomfortable, but we still enjoyed the sights and sounds of the glacier calving. We saw harbor seals popping up their heads here and there, which the kids really enjoyed.
We pulled out for a snack and pictures near the glacier, then paddled back to our campsite. My arms were getting sore by this time. As we approached the camp, we saw another bear by the shore. At camp, the bear from earlier was back, along with another bear that was more shy.
We could hear the glacier calving from camp. It sounded like thunder, often with big booms.
We changed into dry clothes, then had a delicious dinner of tomato soup with spinach and tortellini. Justine was kind enough to prepare macaroni and cheese for the kids. She was also great about keeping the kids warm, leading them in games and exercises, and sharing dry clothes with them. We were all cold and went to bed early. Once in our tents and out of the rain and wind, we were warm and cozy and slept well.
Next: Day 12, Aialik Bay to Seward
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