80% of the town lives in that one building…

It was 50˚ F, rainy, and only 1 mile of visibility: but it was a great day to be out on the water. It has been a long time since I have been out on a sea kayak, and Whittier, Alaska provided an incredible opportunity to do just that regardless of weather. Huge, green forested cliffs ending abruptly in the ocean. Innumerable thin, twisting waterfalls draining the glaciers where the water was racing and rushing to reach the ocean. Our kayak tour led us into many inlets and bays, exploring all the crevices of the coastline.

My partner in Alaskan adventures, Colin, and I, as well as Brian headed out for a custom kayak tour. Our trip (which was just the 3 of us) was geared more towards pushing the tempo up a little bit to see more terrain rather than the tourist idea of lily-dipping and gawking at every bird that flies by. We had a great guide who was pretty psyched to be able to go further out Passage Canal than the average trip.

We were geared up in multiple layers of polypro, fleece, paddle jacket, vinyl raingear, and a spray squirt to top off the ensemble. Once on the water I soon found the joy of kayaking once again. It is a unique feeling of sitting in the water, feeling the heaving of the ocean, finding your rhythm of paddling, and being able to get up-close and personal with the coastline unlike most other boats. We were able to see several bald eagles, a few seals, and a million and two Kittywake gulls, with a couple Kittywakes picking up fish 10’ off the bow of my kayak.

As a part of the whole deal we were supplied an extravagant lunch spread out on a table cloth on the beach. Smoked salmon, pasta salad, crackers and cheese, trail mix, hot apple cider, and lots of other great things to fill your stomach. The 4 of us worked hard at putting down all of the lunch, but 4 young active people couldn’t even polish off all of the food supplied.

“80% of the town lives in that building right there, and another 18% lives in that smaller building next to it,” our guide said. The rest of the town’s population squats in RV’s, pickup trucks (like him), the back of their store, or some similar location. When the cruise ships dock and release there 2,000 plus guests onto the docks of Whittier, the population literally doubles until the cruise ship guests are whisked away by the waiting train to other parts of Alaska.

The only way into Whittier by land travel is through a one lane, 2 mi. long tunnel, shared by cars and trains. When I say 1 lane, it was truly 1 lane with rock on either side and cars driving on top of the train tracks when going through the tunnel. We waited for the oncoming train, then oncoming traffic, then waited for the train to go the other direction, then finally we were allowed through. Evidently the military picked Whittier as the best deep sea port that would be least likely to be bombed during WWII due to the weather conditions there. This led to the saying: “it’s sh*tier in Whittier.”

When not on the water the weekend was rounded out with a couple of amazing hikes. We hiked Winner Creek trail (I’m a winner!!) which headed out of Alyeska Ski Resort in Girdwood, Alaska. This was a great hike with amazing views and the opportunity to take a hand tram across a large river crossing. Saturday night we threw down tents at the Passage Canal trailhead above Whittier and found a couple of people who were scheduled for the same kayak company the next day as well. They were on break from doing research way out in the remote areas of Alaska on Eider ducks, so to them Whittier was a “big city.” We did a quick hike up to the vantage point of the nearby glaciers and found ourselves working hard not to let the wind push us over. Great views, and a great place to enjoy a beer!