Day 10 -- to Aialik Glacier

I slept curled up on my side last night, and when I rolled out of bed this morning, I needed several minutes to unfold my body into a standing position. 

Yesterday’s hike did a number on my muscles (going up) and my joints (going down). My knees are wrecked. And, for some reason, so are my Achilles tendons, which screamed out this morning when my feet hit the floor. Am I really that old? 

No rest for the weary. We assembled at the adventure outfitter office at 7:15 this morning to get ready for our kayak trip to Aialik Glacier. We met Tess, our guide, and picked out floatation vests and pogies — Neoprene mittens that attach to the kayak paddles. We then drove a few blocks to the Seward Harbor, where we, along with about 15 other people, boarded the water taxi, a 40-ft catamaran, that took us on the two and a half-hour journey through Resurrection Bay, across the Harding Gateway and into Aialik Bay. Along the way, we saw fin whales and humpbacks surfacing off both sides of the boat, as well as Dall's porpoises racing along in front of the bow, and a sea lion rookery lounging on a rocky island.

We departed Seward this morning in on-and-off drizzle. At some point during the long boat ride to Aialik Bay, the drizzle turned to a steady rain, which stayed with us the rest of the day.

The water taxi dropped us on a rocky beach near Petersen Lagoon, and we unloaded the kayaks and gear.  A couple of people stayed on the boat — they were being dropped off at a remote cabin — while the rest of the passengers went with another guide; the five of us had Tess to ourselves. She showed us how to load the kayaks, assemble the paddles, adjust the rudder pedals, slip into our flotation vests and spray skirts, and also wipe out the deep pools of rainwater that had accumulated in our kayak seats while we had addressed the other tasks. Soon, we were launching ourselves out into the bay.

From the beach, we could hear the thunder of Aialik Glacier as it calved. We paddled in that direction and soon could see its entire face — about a mile wide. When we looked closely, we could see the huge slabs of ice slide off the glacier and into the bay.

We padded around for a couple hours — spotting harbor seals, dodging ice bergs the size of Volkswagens and eventually warming up with hot drinks from Tess’s thermos. 

I was so grateful for our heavy duty rain gear, as well as our splash skirts, which kept our butts and legs dry, at least. 

Actually, it was the five of us, plus Tess, plus a photographer, Garrett, who tagged along for the day and filmed us with his GoPro. Garret is an old friend of the owner of the kayak outfit, and he’s up in Alaska for three months paddling with clients and gathering footage for a revamped website and ad campaign. I was excited to sign up after glimpsing photos on the web site of icebergs glistening under brilliant blue skies. I cannot imagine how footage of our wretchedly waterlogged kayaking expedition could improve the web design or convince anyone to enlist for this trip. 

Through it all, Tess proved to be an amazing guide — staying positive and keeping the kids involved and interested. When Clare expressed an interested in navigating, Tess made sure to explain to her how to read the map. And when Clare was shivering and wet and close to tears, Tess whipped up a hot chocolate, just for her.

I left my camera back at the cabin; it would have gotten drenched. I took pictures with my phone, which was sealed in a dry-bag, so the quality isn't great. 

We got back to the beach just as the other group of kayakers was returning, but we still had about 45 minutes until the water taxi was due to retrieve us. So we helped Tess set up a rain shelter — propped up with kayak paddles and secured with rocks — and we sat under it and ate sandwiches and granola bars. Once the boat arrived, we were able to change into warm, dry clothes that we had stashed away in dry bags. 

On the way back to Seward, we were thrilled to humpback whales — a mother and her calf — double-breach. 

Tonight, once again: hats and gloves on the stove, and hot showers.