Capturing the Moment

  Peaking through an iceberg at my kayak group near Meares Glacier in Prince William Sound. Kayaking around glaciers is one of my favorite things. This morning I led a small kayaking group from the mothership, anchored about a mile and a half away from the face of Meares glacier. This is a rare glacier in that it is slowly advancing, bulldozing its way through the Alaskan rainforest. Almost all other glaciers here are retreating. It can be a very active glacier, dropping huge chunks of ice off the face into the fjord waters below. This is what I wanted to explore today. I set off with a group of four other adventurous kayakers to see what beauty we would find. None of us expected it to be quite as beautiful as it was. Pristine conditions for kayaking this morning at Meares Glacier in Unakwik Fjord. The waters were flat calm. It was almost like paddling on a mirror. I led our group into thick brash ice as we crossed the fjord to check out some waterfalls on the far side. The kayaks cut

  Beautiful blues of the Columbia Glacier. What a day! I have been to the largest tidewater glacier in Prince William Sound, Alaska twice before, but never have I been able to make it up to the massive east face of the glacier. After receding nearly 14 miles over the past forty years, Columbia glacier has split into several calving faces. The smaller west branch is usually easier to access, because of less ice. If we could get within five miles of the east face it was considered a success. However, this day we got to about three and a half miles, and decided today was the day. We loaded up our small skiffs, and took off, weaving our way around massive icebergs. Sea otters and harbor seals looked on curiously as we drove by, getting ever closer to the calving face of the glacier. It seemed like the glacier created a pocket of blue sky, while the rest of Prince William Sound was steeped in low grey clouds. It was a surreal experience. We sat and listened to the ice. It almost seemed to t

  Climbing up the hillside led to amazing views of the snowcapped, 3000ft peaks on Knight Island. This week on our expedition cruise out of Whittier, AK, we explored many secluded locations in Prince William Sound. This pristine ecosystem, where the ocean meets towering mountains, ringed by temperate rainforest, and dotted with frozen glaciers marching towards to ocean, seems to be a hidden jewel in Alaska's wilderness crown. I have been shocked to see so few other boats, and none that are doing what we are doing. Today's stop was a new one for me, a place called Bay of Isles on the east side of Knight Island. The other guide onboard, Jeremy, and I woke up early, before all the guests in order to scout out different landings and entrances into the Chugach National Forest. We had scouted this location for months using topographical maps, google earth, and the Chugach National Forest service, but its always worth getting eyes on since you never really know what it'll be like

  Beautiful lake view on Esther Island The hiking here in Prince William Sound has been incredible. I have been running expedition trips onboard the Safari Explorer, pioneering a new destination experience for our UnCruise guests. Many of these guests have been out with us before down in the Inside Passage of Alaska, and they have been clamoring for a new Alaska experience for years. Finally this year we are breaking free of SE Alaska, running seven day trips out of Whittier, all around Prince William Sound. The trip is filled with glaciers, wildlife, kayaking, rainforest, mountains, and of course, amazing hikes. The hikes really range from shorewalks and forest pokes, to bushwhacking and mountain climbs. Either way you go, the views are going to be amazing, and you will get immersed into a temperate rainforest. I've been really impressed with all of the hikes that we have discovered here in the Sound. It is the real Alaskan experience. Take a look at some of the fun views from my