Alaska. The first image that it conjures is that of a cold place, eskimos and mountains of ice. A frozen place.
And it is all true.
But, for 3 months in a year, the Alaskan summer transforms itself into a heavenly place. I travelled Alaska this summer for 9 days. Denali and Kenai were on the agenda.
But, let's start from the beginning. There is one train every day to and from Denali. So, to take the train meant 6 hour wait at Anchorage airport and it was well worth it. The airport noises are very peculiar. The constant 30 minute reminder of the time, the constant 20 minute reminder of the baggage and security, an hourly airport staff guy make the awkward sleeping in the chair effort more annoying.
The airport however is very well equipped with morning related stuff. Pastries, coffee and clean restrooms.
The train, gold star-glass dome, is a beautiful mode of transportation. It comes with a separate car for dining, an open carriage for viewing and a full bar! Glass dome of course affords you full weather effects (rain drops on roof sliding down panes) and 360 degree views. An amazing ride to erase all memories of the airport benches. You are thrown into nature's workshop right away. We saw some moose, rivers, rain, mountains, lush valleys on both sides. It is as if you're riding right into a painting. I felt like the train was headed into Hogwarts. But, it ended up in a huge national park.
Denali, our destination, is known for three things. Mount McKinley, bears and valleys. I saw 1 of 3 things. Valleys! McKinley (called Denali in native language) is an elusive mountain. People spend days to wait for clouds to clear, rain to stop and view the glorious peak of McKinley. People joke that the mountain is so elusive that you'd think it is not even there. But, rest assured, it is. People have seen it, photographed it and have been amazed by its grandeur. As it stands as one mountain range, seeing it across from valley...from bottom to top must be a magical sight. But, as the other 300 days, the day I was the there, the giant was covered in clouds. Luckily though, it didn't rain and a hike at mile 14 (Savage river) gave me opportunity to see Denali valleys. Beautiful lush valley floor, lazy rivers and amazing sounds and sights create near perfect landscape. No bears though!
The most amazing thing about Denali was the endless 24 hour days. Sun never came over head and there was always twilight. There was always enough light for anyone to not need flash-light to walk on road at 2 or 3 am in the morning. As a concept, it is cool but it is very weird to not experience night and see stars.
The next stop was Seward (Soo-ard) and the drive from Anchorage to Seward is like you read in fiction. Iconic lake and mountains with snow, crisp and bright blue skies and flowers of all possible colors. Seward is the place to be if you want to see the mighty fjords. A small town that you can learn in a day, runs on tourism and fishing. The fertile resurrection bay flanks the town and protects it from choppy ocean.
Seward was absolutely terrific.
The kayaking in the sea was a great experience. To sit on a tiny boat in the middle of bay and to see the forests, mountains with ice and end of land was just outstanding, a totally different perspective than being on land. The ghost forests from earthquake and tsunami, bald eagle fights, sea otter, lunch in kayak made my day.
Next was a hike to a glacier and an icefield. “Exit” glacier is the only glacier in Kenai which is accessible by road/trail. You can literally touch the glacier. As you walk towards it, the tiny glacier turns into mammoth blue rock and radiates cold as you get near it. It is very humbling to stand it front of tons of ice. The harding icefield that feeds the glacier is reachable if you are up for 14 miles (round-trip) of grueling hiking. 1000 ft with every mile is a steep hike. I managed to hike far enough to get the first glimpse of the icefield. It is like looking at surface of another planet with nothing but ice as far as you can see. The surprise was a valley of flower that shows up on the top. With beautiful summer flowers and views it looks like valley of Gods.
The last day was reserved for a relaxing boat cruise. But, alaska is = adventure. The sea, as we crossed the last frontier, was so rough that at some point half the boat (40 people) were sick and in blankets with pills. The other half were suffering and pretending to enjoy the roller coaster of 5-6 ft waves. However, the rough ride had its rewards. The captain tracked and found almost all marine life that is found in bay. Otters and sea lion colony, puffins, hump-back whales, orcas, starfish, porpoise (8-9 playing around the boat)...it was just a fabulous to see animals in their playground. Alaskan waters are very fertile in summer and attract unbelievable amount of marine life that feeds and reproduces in those waters. And the finale was the Aialik glacier! The relic from ice-age, it stands strong and silent. It smolders with ice-cold breadth and brandishes blue halo around grooves. And it roars occasionally as ice blocks crash into blue waters. In its icy cold water, littered with floating ice, every now and then pop puffins and sea otters frolicking around. Standing in front of a glacier, your senses, your mind goes numb and all you feel is humble and awestruck.
And then of course came the end and the dreaded flight and all that's left of those beautiful days is a 500 picture deck. With 2 SLRs, 2 point and shoot and 6 iPones, our group was very well prepared. We were weather agnostic and never failed to grab a chance to eat well, hike when we found a trail and have fun. Though salmon runs hadn't started, we saw salmon creeks. Even in drizzles and cold conditions we went hiking. Even at mid-night, we ventured out to beach to look at perfectly carved mountains dusted with ice glowing under twilight.
Summer vacation well spent!
