Seward
July 27, 2023
On our drive into Seward from our comping spot on Upper Trail Lake, we stopped to hike the Exit Glacier terminus.
The trail was a little more than two miles, and along the way, we passed the spot where the glacier ended the last time we were here in 2010. Exit Glacier has receded so now the toe is around the corner.
The Herman Leirer Road to the Exit Glacier is known for moose sightings and we were not disappointed.
We stopped in at the Seward Visitor Center to get additional suggestions about the area and mug it up with this guy.
I had made reservations for the Seward Municipal campground the first day reservations opened, and we got a quiet spot on the water near the marina.
The Kenai Fjords National Park Visitor Center was a short walk away where we both picked up Junior Ranger booklets to complete.
Larry got his Junior Ranger badge the very next day!
Our big adventure for Seward was to kayak the Aialik Glacier. Aialik is pronounced ignoring the first vowel and pronouncing the next two vowels long. Our paddle tour involved a 2.5-hour boat ride each way out to the glacier and we both are prone to motion sickness. On the suggestion of a fellow traveler, we took meclizine first thing in the morning the day before and the day of our tour. Bottom Line Up Front–this technique worked perfectly so we repeated it later on other water adventures.
We met our tour group at 7 a.m. and got fitted for the gear we would need to paddle before the 24 of us walked over to the marina to our water taxi.
The weather did start foggy at first, but that added to the ruggedness and mystery of the scenery.
On the way, our captain found a pod of bubble-feeding humpback whales. This behavior is new for whales in this area who normally feed alone.
At one point the whales even went under our boat.
Some orcas also cruised by.
The folks at the back of the boat must have great pictures!
The water taxi dropped us off at a beach about 2 miles from the glacier and unloaded the boats.
Bears like this beach as well so we walked up the hill behind us as a group to scare them away. We didn’t see any bears but it was a fun exercise.
After settling into our kayaks, we paddled several miles until we were in front of the glacier.
We ate lunch with an awesome view!
All too soon we were paddling back to the beach and loading up for our ride back. The weather cleared up nicely, and the captain spotted seals and puffins for us.
On top of this 650-foot cliff is Fort McGilvray, an abandoned WW2 US military installation built to protect ice-free Resurrection Bay. The Fort was never completed once the Aleutian Islands were recaptured since construction was a huge challenge. It is now part of the Alaska Division of Parks and you can hike to it! Something to do next time!!
We took a day off to wander around Seward and enjoy all the murals and monuments downtown.
Now that we know how to avoid being seasick, maybe next time we can go halibut fishing!
During our last visit to Seward, we went to the Sealife Center, rode a helicopter up to a glacier for dogsledding, and climbed Mount Marathon—so we didn’t repeat those this trip! I had wanted to go back up Mount Marathon but with all the recent rain it reportedly was more treacherous than “normal.” When I climbed it before, the fastest route down was a snow chute you had to exit before a waterfall into heaven knows where. Yeah, not very smart. Every July 4 Seward has a grueling 5K race up the mountain so risky that a runner once disappeared never to be found. Only in Alaska!
Early one morning we drove back out to the Exit Glacier and hiked up to the Harding Ice Field.
This hike was 11-plus miles round trip with a 4000 ft elevation change. We started in the fog and had the trail to ourselves.
As we climbed, we found ourselves above the fog with spectacular views.
As Larry was taking photos, I spotted a black bear poking his nose up from the bushes 25 yards uphill.
We have a rule that you only say “bear” if there is one, so he turned around pretty quickly to get this video.
The bear decided the trail was getting crowded and left—black bears are almost a daily sighting along this trail. As always in Alaska, we were wearing our bear spray!
The scenery slowly changed to subalpine then alpine with snow fields to cross.
There is an Emergency Shelter just before the Icefield where we stopped to make a hot lunch for the end of the trail.
The Harding Icefield covers over 700 square miles and is the source of at least 40 glaciers.
We were blessed with beautiful weather and stunning views.
This was hands down the hike with the best views of our Alaska trip!
The hike down always seems longer than the hike up, and we rewarded ourselves with dinner at the Salmon Bake as recommended by some locals.
Although they advertised warm beer and lousy food—the meal was a delicious way to finish this trip to Seward.
A younger me at the top of Mount Marathon (on the left 😀)
