Discover the wonders of southeast Alaska by personal water vessel in a sea kayak! This trip is ideal for adults over the age of 16, and families are welcome. (Children over 11 years of age should accompanied by legal guardian or adult.) Level of difficulty is beginner to intermediate.
Your expedition begins in beautiful Haines, Alaska. Your first night will be spent in a bed and breakfast in Haines. Unwind from traveling by relaxing on the porch, meandering through town, roaming the docks, or strolling down the beach.
For the next two days, you'll experience the profound wilderness along the Lynn Canal, the deepest fjord in North America. The Lynn Canal is surrounded by a chain of mountains known as the Chilkoot Mountains Range. You'll be bowled over by the sight of its peaks rising up to 7,500 feet above sea level. Here you will have a kayak course with our expert kayak instructor, Colin Aikman. You will learn kayak terminology, safety, wet-exits, paddle technique, and rescue. Afterward, your journey unfolds! You will:
- Camp overnight on beach embankments and temperate rainforests.
- Enjoy the breathtaking scenery of hanging, cirque, and valley glaciers, mountains, and islands.
- Have the opportunity to witness some spectacular wildlife—seals, steller sea lions, doll porpoise, humpback whales, orcas, grizzly bears, black bears, bald eagles, arctic turns, mew gulls and moose.
Finally you will return to Haines for a celebratory supper, a hot shower, and a well-deserved night of peaceful sleep at the bed and breakfast.
Skills Gained:
- Sea kayaking
- Sea kayak safety and rescue
- Paddle techniques
- Ocean navigation
- Understanding tides and tide charts
- Weather and climate forecasting
- Backcountry cooking
- Flora and fauna identification
- Bear safety
- Wilderness skills and ethics
- Leave No Trace ethics