Wednesday July 5, 2006
Paddlers: Jodie, Pat, Kelly(guide), another couple, and a family of three
Weather: 60ºF, Cloudy with breaks of sun
We had called from the ship and booked ourselves on the 1:00pm Alaska Sea Kayakers tour, so we had a bunch of time to use before the tour. We decided to hike out of town towards the tunnel and then up the Portage Glacier Trail. It was a very nice little hike. We climbed up to a small overlook where we could see across the valley to the glacier. We enjoyed the nice view for a little while and saw a couple marmots. We returned to town and had lunch at the Whittier Inn.
After lunch, we hung out at the kayak place for a while before our tour started. We found out there was going to be another couple and a family of three on the tour, making an odd number. The guide asked us, since we had previous experience, if one of us would mind going in a single kayak. We preferred to go together, but since no one else was willing, we’d split up. The family of three had a young 10-year-old girl. The girl wanted to go with her mom, but the guide suggested she go with her dad to make things a little more even in paddling strength. Despite several suggestions from the guide, the family decided to have the girl and mom in one kayak and the dad go with Jodie. I was in the single kayak. As the guide expected, the mother and girl went at a very slow pace, the girl didn’t paddle for very long. Jodie said it wouldn’t have made much difference if the dad was with the girl because he was “dead weight” in her boat, but I think he would have learned how to paddle if he needed to.
The kayak trip was straightforward; just around the end of the inlet, but it was still fun. I enjoyed using the single kayak. We saw about 5,000 nesting black-legged Kittiwakes (seagulls) at one location in the inlet as well as a pair of oystercatchers (more birds). The water was murky with glacial silt and about 40 degrees F, which is quite different from the clear, warm waters of Ketchikan. I think the tour covered less distance than normal because of the family, but we were on the water a long time. It was about 4:45 when we got back on land.
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