Kenai Peninsula

When I last posted I was in Anchorage. I was feeling a bit run down, so I grabbed a hotel for a night and slept lots. I also caught up on my internet time wasting. Then I got back on the road and headed south to the Kenai Peninsula. 

My first stop there was Kenai Fjords National Park where I did a day hike on a trail that runs alongside the Exit Glacier up to the Harding Ice Field, which is the largest ice field in the country. A few pics of the Exit Glacier (which is one of over 40 glaciers spawned by the ice field) and the ice field follow. 

Exit Glacier from the road.

And from the trail alongside the glacier. 

The Harding Ice Field. 

The next day I headed to Whittier to go sea kayaking. Whittier is one of the strangest little towns I’ve ever been to. The town was built as a deep-water port during WWII. One of the reasons the military chose the site is that it is rather inaccessible. The only ways to get to the town today are by sea or through a one-lane tunnel that is almost 2.5 miles long. All land-based traffic, including cars, trucks, passenger trains and freight trains, going into or coming out of Whittier shares this one lane. (For any RRG climbers reading this, imagine a much longer version of the Nada tunnel with lights and railroad tracks.) There’s a pretty complex schedule to accommodate all this traffic. Fortunately I didn't have to wait too long for my turn. 

Quick shot of the tunnel taken through the windshield while driving. (Don't try this at home, kids.)

The not-so-pretty town of Whittier, viewed from a kayak. 

The Billings Glacier. 

One of many eagles we saw that day. 

Me! (Funny how few of the pictures on this blog actually have me in them!)

A small waterfall near where we stopped for lunch.

Birds! There is a kittiwake (a type of gull) rookery here, which is one of the largest in the world. 

I don't know what I'm doing in a sea kayak, so I hired a guide from Alaska Sea Kayakers. This is the paddling crew. Me (I swear I’m not that huge--it’s just the angle), Megan (the guide) and a couple from Texas (who apparently don’t know how to look at a camera). 

After the kayaking trip I headed back to Anchorage. I went for a quick bike ride on a nice 10-mile paved trail through town. It was a very pleasant ride. The only thing unusual about it was having to stop for a moose!

Thanks for reading!