Prince William Sound Sea Kayaking Traverse
This past summer, I had the awesome job of guiding a sea kayaking traverse of Prince William Sound in Alaska. Prince William Sound is where I started my guiding career back in 2013 and so it was wild to return there both to see how much i’ve changed, but also to see how much the world has changed. The place feels different — the massive glaciers that used to spew out icebergs are now a ghost of their former selves. And yet, still, it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. We paddled with Orcas and Humpback whales, made fires under the midnight sun, paddled crystal clear ocean in lightly falling rain, and paddled to the face of Meares Glacier — the only advancing (as opposed to retreating) glacier in the Sound.
In 2014 I did this paddle in two absurd days with my friend Ian Colegrove just to see if we could. it was an adventure I’ll never forget complete with surfing storm-raging six foot seas and a raft of sea otters and their pups 300 deep. This time around we took things a bit slower which gave alot more time to take it all in and a lot less throbbing in my tendons.
Below are some photos from the trip and a rough itinerary. Occasionally, we guide sea kayaking expeditions of 8 days or longer in Prince William Sound. If you want to make one happen, feel free to reach out!
DAY 1: We started the trip in Valdez and set off from the small boat beach by the harbor. We paddled all the way to Shoup Bay where we had to line our boats into the upper bay. It was a good bit of work. Better to time the tides right or skip the upper bay altogether.
Day 2: We paddled Shoup Bay to Fremantle Beach. I’d never camped there before because it’s so exposed to swell from the open ocean (there’s a gap in the barrier islands where the swell gets through), but the ocean was calm that day, forecasted to be calm the next, and we all had drysuits so we had a bit more flexibility to launch in rougher seas if needed. This camp surprisingly turned out to be my favorite of them all. There’s so many dreamy campsites in Prince William Sound… the challenge is finding them! I’ve had the experience many times of making camp in an ok spot and then going for a walk only to find a stunning campsite minutes away. We made a beautiful large fire on the beach below the high tide line and it almost felt like the Caribbean.
Day 3: Today was a long and miraculous day! We paddled around 24 miles from our camp near Freemantle Beach all the way to Granite Pt. Where the thin peninsula of Granite Pt. meets the mainland on the west side is a spectacular campsite. Paddling the south side of Glacier Island never disappoints. The sea had just enough swell to keep things interesting, with lots of options for playing around in the big boulders. There were more land-able beaches than I’d remembered.
On this side of this island is a massive sea lion bachelor pad with around 3-400 male sea lions. They put on quite the show barking at us and tapping our boats. They have the same skull structure as Grizzly Bears, and when they feel threatened they get together in a big pod, stick their long necks out of the water like massive gophers and show you their truly impressive fangs while barking an absolute ruckus.
The water was crystal clear and the massive granite faces of Glacier Island rose up out of the mist. If I could build my recluse cabin anywhere it would be here on the island. Tonight Dan caught Salmon and we ate super well with it roasted perfectly over the fire.
Day 4: Today we paddled another mega day most of the way up Unakwik Inlet. People were starting to wonder what kind of suffering they’d signed up for (today the weather was not so kind, and we paddled all day in the rain). But we made it to Magic Beach, a beautiful flood plain with a hanging glacier above. All our paddling granted us a rest day. So we made camp and settled in for the night.
Day 5: Today we paddled up to the glacier face. You can camp right up next to it, but unless its sunny and warm it makes for a miserably cold experience. Of the 17 tidewater glaciers in Prince William Sound, Meares Glacier is the only one that is advancing. You can see it so clearly, too — the glacier is literally bulldozing old growth forest as it moves down valley. We sat there in the soft drizzle listening to refrigerator-sized chunks of ice thunk into the ocean from 400 feet up. Hot tea in camp and a restful sleep set us up for another hefty day of paddling. Perhaps if there hadn’t been a rest day there would have been a mutiny instead.
Day 6: We caught what we could of the outgoing tide and cruised to Olsen Island and a nice high beach to make camp and a beautiful fire. More fish for dinner tonight!
Day 7: Today we paddled with Orcas and Humpbacks almost the whole way to our unreal camp on East Flank Island. The water was that particular type of silky glass i’ve only encountered in Prince William Sound. Our campsites were out of a dream and to make it even better, someone had left a solo stove and some nice chopped wood for a fire. We were surrounded by gillnetters so I paddled off in search of some fish. The captain of the boat I approached was super kind and dug through his stores for the best fish he had and wouldn’t take my money either. He tied them to a line and i paddled back to camp dragging two beautiful red salmon in tow. That night we ate like royalty… fresh baked salmon and potatoes with butter. The salmon was some of the best of our lives. Alaska is dreamy that way.
Day 8: We attempted to catch the surge up Esther Passage but never really felt much push sadly. Esther Passage is still a super cool spot in the sound — big mountain walls on either side of the ocean passage. We made a big long crossing across Port Wells and made good time screaming poetry at the top of our lungs. We camped in Hobo Bay, but it would have been nice to continue onto Pirate Cove for a slightly nicer camp.
Day 9: Today we paddled into a very different world full of boat traffic all the way to Deception Point State Park. I was super surprised that we were the first ones there and even more surprised we got the site to ourselves for the night. We had smores and a beautiful fire and even went swimming. It was a perfect last night.
Day 10: A reminder that things can change on a dime. Today we battled medium seas and a stiff headwind all the way into Whittier. Whittier is a bit of a bummer of a place and not the greatest finale… but it was super nice to eat pizza and ice cream. We had done it! 140 miles in 10 days across the sound without a scratch! Getting into the van was a treat. A final celebratory dinner in Anchorage at Hearth Pizza and we said our goodbyes. This trip was one for the books!