Alaska, Day 7: Going Single, Top 5 at the Icefields, Favorites

Day 7 started early for the boys, who took single kayaks back to the waterfall to check for any salmon.  They saw river otters about 10 feet away on their venture while the girls drank hot cocoa on the covered deck and read books.  Once they were back, they threw poles in the water and we went out and took a turn, too.  It was my first time on a single kayak, and I loved the quiet and peace I felt paddling around all by myself.

The boys, who caught some more of Seward's rain. 

Brady going solo:

Julie:

Me:

Saying goodbye to our perfect vacay spot.  I would do Orca Island all over again tomorrow.

Driving back to the Marina, I thought how perfect the trip had been.  It was exactly what we hoped for, and we still had another great day lined up and hopefully a good hike that afternoon.  On the drive to Kenai Fjords National Park/Exit Glacier, we called up our sitters.  This trip was filled with off-the-grid moments so we were anxious to hear about our kids from the previous 2 days.  Kate was sad!  Hearing this made me want to go home right away.  I had a difficult time shaking it off on the way up to our hike.

The hike was a perfect distraction from my angst.  It was raining with low visibility on the way up, but we enjoyed hiking through the forests and meadows to ultimately get a stunning view of the glacier.

This hike gains 1,000 feet of elevation with every mile. Aaron and Julie had their fancy hiking poles, but we were clearly more hard-core with our gigantic tree limbs to aid us on the ascent.

Quaint little water feature:

And the glacier! This is Exit Glacier.  According to Mr. Wiki, this glacier received it's name because it was the exit for the first recorded crossing of Harding Icefields back in 1968.

Harding Icefield itself is one of the 4 remaining icefields in the United States, and the only one that can claim being entirely within the US.  It covers 300 square miles and contains 40 types of glaciers.

A marmot:

 Another:

At about this point, we commented that this hike was in our top 5 ever.  I loved the varied terrain and unique sights, as well as the nice climb.  I have to rank things--a little obsessively.  Pretty quickly after assigning the ranking, we saw this black bear in the distance, which only added to the hike's appeal.

Aaron took advantage of the panorama feature of his camera:

REI ad featuring Aaron and Julie:

Me and Brady:

After reaching the hike's end, we saw other hikers continuing on closer to an ice cave.  After reading that you should not approach the glacier, and hearing from another hiker that it was "sketchy," and if you fall, "you will slide a long way," I was pretty bent on staying right where I was.  After all, if anyone was going to fall, it would be me (remember that I busted my toe jumping into water).  I may or may not have made a catty remark to Brady about "one of us needing to stay alive for the children."  I was eventually convinced that it was not dangerous, and after hiking down to the cave, realized that all my anxiety was unjustified--the part we descended was very safe.

My favorite picture of Aaron and Julie from the whole trip:

This is everyone smiling and laughing despite my awkward stubbornness just moments before:

Boys have to throw rocks...

...and hit ice caves with them.

The best part of this hike was the sun coming out on our descent.  It was the second time we saw the sun while out adventuring, and gave us spectacular views of the lit-up glacier.

Just as we were coming to the end, we spotted this fellow about 5 yards off the trail.  We watched him for ages, and then finally continued along the trail with a large group of people.

We caught a few classic, Alaska signs.  "If it starts to eat you fight back."

Since we are ranking things in this post, I will go ahead and say that hiking is my #1 favorite activity.

We finished off the day eating dinner at 11pm, and hot tubbing at the Bear Paw Lodge.  Best day of the trip!

Day 7 Totals:
Kayaked: 3 miles or less
Hiked:  10 miles, elevation gain 3,600 + 400-500 for ice cave
Wildlife:  20+ porpoises (Karen and Julie spotted from deck at Orca Island), 5 marmots, 2 black bears (1 within 5 yards)