Capturing the Moment

  Parts of the estuary maintained enough wetness to throw off some beautiful reflections on our hike back. At one of the least visited National Monuments in the USA, our group braved boot sucking mud and massive brown bears to hike deep into the valley at Aniakchak Bay, Alaska. This is a truly wild place. There are no building, no roads, no facilities.... just pure Alaskan wilderness. Brown bears roam, unimpeded by anything man made. And if people do arrive, we are just temporary visitors.

  The reflective surface of Aniakchak lagoon. I love bringing people here for the photographic opportunities. Sometimes, the best travel stories are from the times that don't go according to plan. I had one of those adventures today, at Aniakchak Bay. This spot is part of one of the most remote, and least visited, National Monuments and preserves in the country. The bay consist of a long stretch of beach, with big dunes, a river on one side, and a huge estuary on the other. I had been here once before, and had taken guests hiking deep into the estuary, which I wanted to do again. The entrance and dropoff were a breeze, and the hike in was as easy and picturesque as I remembered. It was the hike out that proved difficult. As we hiked in, we had marsh grass and dry bank to walk on. Or we could walk out on the wet mud of the estuary. This reflective mud is one of the most picturesque things about this bay. I took the whole group out in it for a picture at one point because it was so b...

  The estuary at Aniakchak Bay provided a reflective canvas for this photo of our hiking group, fast walking back after exploring deep into the valley. On our expedition cruise along the Alaskan Peninsula, we pulled into a rugged, remote bay called Aniakchak Bay. This coastline is part of Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve, which is one of the National Park Systems least visited units, with less than 200 visitors yearly. Most of these visitors are fishing, hunting, or rafting up in the caldera of a huge, inland volcano. However, we are getting to explore the coast. There are no footprints on these beaches, except for the wildlife that came before us. Aniakchack's wilderness is home to brown bears, moose, wolves, wolverines, fox, and caribou. Sea otters, seals, and all kinds of birds can be found out in the bay. There are no designated trails, campsites, or facilities here. We are truly in the wilderness. We sent out a beach walk over the black volcanic sand, a skiff tour, and...