Alaska was amazing. After Zambia last year, I wasn't expecting to be wowed by a place, but I was. The beauty and grandeur of the place is just out of this world. Plus the facilities and roads are stellar (certainly something that Zambia doesn't have going for it).
We started our trip by flying into Anchorage. Anchorage seems like a pretty pleasant little town with some great bike paths and a vibrant downtown area, but we didn't stay too long.
We headed up to Denali. It's a four or five hour drive. It wasn't too exciting heading up because of all the rain. Rain is a serious risk when you go to Alaska, especially in August. This was an area that we ended up lucking out in immensely on this trip. It cleared up by the time we got to the park, and we did a hike up Mount Healy, one of the trails accessible from the Visitors Center.
Denali is a little different from most national parks. Only the first 14 miles are accessible by private car; to get any further, you've got to hop on a shuttle or tour bus. You can get on and off shuttle buses anywhere on the route you paid for and hike. Since much of the park is tundra, you can hike anywhere you want. This was our plan, but it was pouring all day long. Just thinking about getting off the bus made me shiver.
The rain didn't have the same effect on the wildlife. We saw four grizzles, two wolves, two caribou, two moose, and countless sheep. Here are a few pics:
The only thing missing was seeing the mountain. Only one in four visitors to Denali see it, and we were expecting to be in the majority on that one. The next day we headed south from Denali down to Seward. Along the way, the skies cleared and mountain appeared. It is a pretty amazing site:
The weather stayed clear down in Seward, which is good because we had a lot planned down there. We booked a package deal with Kayak Adventures Worldwide to go sea kayaking in Aialik Bay and hiking on Exit Glacier. It cost $468.50/person which felt like a huge splurge but ended up being some of the best money I've spent this year.
The sea kayaking started with a two hour boat ride out to Aialik Bay. It was an amazing ride. We saw sea lions, seals, puffins, and orcas. If you aren't up for the sea kayaking, it might be worth hiring a water taxi just to take this ride.
We got dropped off in Aialik Bay and headed out to Pederson Glacier in kayaks. Pederson is behind a spit off of Aialik Bay and has some amazing icebergs in its upper lagoon. It also has some amazing wildlife. We saw more bears, river otters, and seals.
The next day we headed out to Exit Glacier with Exit Glacier Guides. It's a 1 1/2 mile hike up to the glacier. From there, we donned crampons and headed out onto the glacier.
As for accommodations, we went the hostel route. In Denali, we stayed at the Denali Mountain Morning Hostel. They have a variety of cabins, tents, and bunks. We chose the Ice Worm for $150/night. It was a pretty spacious two room cabin with four double beds. It was next to a creek and had decent bathrooms nearby.
In Seward, we rented a house from Moby Dick Hostel for $150. It was right in the mid
dle of Seward and could have slept 15 people. It had two rooms with double beds and ten single beds in a loft upstairs. If you need that much space, you need to book early since the rooms and beds are usually rented out individually.
Beyond accommodations, it's really expensive to eat out, and pitchers of beer run $17. We could have used the kitchens at the hostels to save some dough, but we were on vacation. Who wants to cook?
You can see more pictures on Flickr.
