Into the Fog: An Alaskan Kayak Trip

Kayakers starting their trip

  I recently returned to Alaska after some quality family time back East to lead the last few UnCruise expeditions of the season onboard the Safari Quest. I was excited to be in Alaska at this time of year because wildlife in August can really put on a show. The whales are here in mass, their food being at peak bloom, and the salmon are returning to their streams, which means the bears are gorging on an all you can eat buffet. What I quickly realized was that all of the wildlife is really just icing on the cake.

  Just being in Alaska, and getting out into the wilderness is enough to satisfy any adventurer's soul. And today's kayak around the Keku Islands was about as good as it gets...and this was our guests first excursion of the week.

Incredible kayak conditions

  We woke to an all encompassing fog. Standing on the bow in the middle of a cloud it has a way of deadening all noise around you. You are forced to be in the present, in your small bubble of visibility. Usually the sun comes out and burns the fog away by the time we set out for adventure, but not this morning. The fog only got thicker as we lowered kayaks and loaded up our guests. The surface of the water was like a mirror, reflections of the kayakers only distorted by the strokes of their own paddles. 

  There was something quite ethereal about kayaking on the mirror-like surface. Forest covered islands appeared and disappeared out of the fog. Luckily I had been kayaking around these islands before, otherwise a gps might be needed to make our way back to the boat. Although the captain did leave the fog horn on so we could listen for our way home. We felt like we were in our own little Alaskan world.

   The fog started to lift as we neared the end of our kayak trip. I was almost sad to see it go. But with the blue sky also came the thousand different shades of green on the islands. It also gave everyone a better appreciation for just how many islands dotted the landscape here. This incredible adventure was a sign of things to come this week on the Safari Quest.