A “hippie” trip in Alaska

Summary: We stumbled upon Infinite Adventures by accident and it turned out to be a happy accident. The 20 day adventure started and ended in Anchorage AK and we went from place to place on a converted school bus with 2 guides and 18 guests – hence “the hippie trip”.

July 14, 2023 Friday – Stay: Clarion Hotel, Anchorage AK

We flew from Green Bay to Minneapolis MN with a 5 hour layover that ended up being 6.5 hours. During the 6 hour flight to Anchorage AK, Carl watched 2 movies (The Menu (not recommended) and 2001 A Space Odyssey (OK but slow moving)). We got to the motel after midnight (03:00am Green Bay time) after an uneventful Uber ride. Even at midnight it is still light out, 50 degrees and comfortable with long sleeves.

July 15, 2023 Saturday – Stay: Clarion Hotel, Anchorage AK

We both woke at 5:30 am feeling pretty refreshed. It is misty outside.We walked to the Anchorage Trolley Tour, a one hour tour of Anchorage. It was interesting and out of the rain, which had started. Anchorage is named after the ships “at anchor” in the harbor in the early 1900’s. After completing the tour at 12:30 pm we walked to Glacier brew house where we had a sampler beer flight – just so so. Carl then had an Oatmeal Stout and we played cribbage. We talked to a couple from OR, both husband and wife were private pilots, and he was in his eighties. It was raining even harder when we left at 3:00 pm to walk to the motel. Met Tory, one of our guides, at the bus as we got to the hotel. At 6:00 pm we met Tory and Dave (the other guide and owner) as well as the other travelers. Went to a restaurant serving Cajun food which was very good.

July 16, 2023 Sunday – Stay: Camping in Seward AK

Loaded the bus and headed out at 8:15 am for Seward, AK. Lunch at a shelter in a park (it was raining) in Seward. Afterward we stopped at a Safeway store for supplies which mainly consisted of buying wine and alcohol (we bought Black Box Merlot). Come to find out a number of the folks on the tour liked wine so we all shared the wine. Before arriving at Seward we stopped at Black Lake Weir which is a salmon ladder. They harvest roe from the salmon to raise and release later. The town of Seward is not much – full of tourist types of shops. We are camping tonight at Millers Landing. It rained all day to include when we were being shown how to set up the tents and when setting them up. Surprisingly we got ours set up with minimum of moisture on the inside. Dave made burritos for supper. Lori and I both slept well – it rained off and on all night. Temperature was 55 during the day with an overnight low of 51.

July 17, 2023 Monday – Stay: Camping in Seward AK

We got up at 6:00am and walked to the Millers Landing Cafe for Coffee and OJ. We all loaded in the bus at 9:00 am for the drive into Seward where we went to the Kenai Fjord National Park office to get the National Park stamp and to watch a video. We then loaded on the ship Skana with 150 other folks for a six hour wildlife watching cruise, all in the rain. We saw humpback whales (11 of them) bubble feeding, Orca whales, sea lions, puffins, and other sea life. We got back to Miller’s Landing at 6:00 pm, had supper, and sat by the fire since it had finally stopped raining. Went to bed at 10:00pm and slept well. It did not rain overnight.

July 18, 2023 Tuesday – Stay: Camping in Seward AK

Up at 6:00 am again today and walked to the Miller’s Landing Cafe for coffee and OJ. The group took a day trip to the Exit Glacier where we hiked about 2.5 miles round trip to Marmot Meadows w/about 1200 feet in elevation gain. Not raining most of the day! We did a ranger led hike. Another good night around the campfire and, as a group, we all put $4 into a pot to buy lottery numbers (the group won $12 which we put into the next lottery and we didn’t win!).

July 19, 2023 Wednesday – Stay: Camping in Homer Spit Campground Homer, AK

It rained most of the night and while we were packing up the bus to move to a new location at Homer Spit Campground in Homer, AK. We had breakfast in the Seward shelter (again) for breakfast due to rain. We arrived at Homer at 5:00 pm to light rain and set up our wet tents. The inside of the tents weren’t nearly as wet as I had envisioned. We did a load of laundry before going to supper at Fresh Catch Cafe.

July 20, 2023 Thursday – Stay: Cottage with Mike in Halibut Cove

After packing up and having breakfast we learned our bear watching flight was “on hold” due to fog. Fortunately the fog lifted and Karen (not a Karen), Lori and I were taken to Smokey Bear Air at the airport by Dave on the bus around 10:30 am. After getting sized for waders and getting a safety briefing the 3 of us and one other person loaded onto a 6 seater plane with our pilot, Daniel. We flew to Lake Clark National Park where we spent 5 hours watching and getting close to bears. We got back around 5:00 pm after a 45 minute water taxi ride to Ismailof Island where we are spending the night in cabins along Halibut Cove. Supper was baked cod. We played Ragenwormen with Kathy and Sarah.

July 21, 2023 Friday – Stay: Cottage with Mike in Halibut Cove

Carl woke up with blurry vision and pain in his left eye. Dave rearranged plans, got a water taxi and took Carl to the Homer Eye Clinic. Carl had a corneal infection, was given a prescription for antibiotic eye drops and an admonition to keep my eyes and face clean. Dave and Carl took the water taxi back at 2:00 pm just as Lori completed a kayak trip with the group. We walked to the end of the island and back before relaxing for the evening. It was bright and sunny all day long, finally!

July 22, 2023 Saturday – Stay: Tent in Hope AK

Another day to change locations. We took the water taxi from the island back to Homer Spit at 9:30 am and loaded back onto our bus. The destination for the night is Hope, AK. We arrived around 5:00 pm and set up tents in a large grassy field. Hope is an old mining town with not much going on except tourists. A very small community. Supper was brats cooked over hot coals. It was again sunny and comfortable all day.

July 23, 2023 Sunday – Stay: Clarion Hotel in Anchorage, AK

We loaded the bus at 9:00 am for the drive to Anchorage, AK. We had one stop along the way before arriving at our hotel, a Clarion, around noon. We got cleaned up and did laundry. There was a meeting with new folks joining us and then supper at Forty Ninth State Brewery. The food was good but Carl’s first Stout beer was so-so, kind a watery. The second stout with “candy flavors” was much better.

July 24, 2023 Monday – Stay: Tent in Denali National Park

We loaded on the bus at 8:15 am for an all day drive to Denali National Park. Lori and I rode in the back seat and Carl did a bunch of sleeping. We arrived at Savage River Campground in Denali around 7:00 pm in a light rain. We had supper in a pavilion and, thankfully, the rain stopped so we were able to set up our tents without additional moisture.

July 25, 2023 Tuesday – Stay: Tent in Denali National Park

We walked about a half mile to the bus stop and caught a “wildlife” seeing bus that took us on a 2 hour drive to the East Fork Toklat River. Unfortunately, we didn’t see much wildlife, some saw a moose and we saw a Dall sheep – way, way, far away. We took a short hike along the East Fork before getting back on the bus which dropped us off at the Savage Alpine trail. Eight of us did the trail which was 1500 feet up in 1.8 miles. Lots of steps and rest breaks. Then 2.4 miles all fairly gently downhill. Supper was baby back ribs cooked over the fire pit grill. Very good!

July 26, 2023 Wednesday – Stay: Tent in Denali National Park

We took the bus to the dog sled demo. Afterwards Lori and walked along the Roadside Hiking trail to the Visitors Center (about 2 miles). At the Visitors Center we got the National Park stamp and Lori bought a one year senior pass. We then hung out at a smack bar, played a game of cribbage, and relaxed. At 1:40 pm we were picked up by New Wave Rafting Company and taken to their office to get dry suits before white water rafting the Nenana River. There were 9 of us from Infinite Adventures riding the waves of the Class 3 and 4 rapids. Carl and Mike sat up front and took the brunt of the water. Lori got the “princess” seat and didn’t have to paddle. The guide provided us the opportunity to get in the 37 degree glacier melt water. Mike, Carl, and Brad got in. Carl learned that his dry suit was a semi-dry suit. Getting back in the boat was fun!

July 27, 2023 Thursday – Stay: Bush Camp along the McClaren River

Packed up the tents and drove to McClaren Lodge. In the early afternoon we were shuttled on a jet boat 14 miles up the McClaren River to a “bush camp”. Large tents, already set up, with 3 persons per tent with cots to sleep on. Lori, myself, Wolf, Heika, Brad and Cathy were first to arrive so we hiked to the top of the close by “Black Mountain”. We were able to get great views of the river, the McClaren glacier, and our bush camp.

July 28, 2023 Friday – Stay: Cabin at McClaren Lodge

Today we took a canoe down the McClaren River back to McClaren Lodge. It was very windy with lots of gravel bars on which we got stuck twice. We spent the night in individual cabins with nice showers. Lori and I shared a great steak for dinner and played Spades with Rob and Mike.

July 30, 2023 Saturday – Stay: Tent in Wrangell / St. Elias National Park

We did a half day glacier hike on the Root Glacier. Saw where the Kennicott Glacier and Root Glacier came together and got to look down into a moulan (deep hole). After the glacier tour we did the Mill tour. The process of copper mining is very interesting. We got back to camp around 6:00 pm, very tired but some of the first back so we were able to get a shower in. The water was luke warm but it felt good.

July 31, 2023 Sunday – Stay: Tent in Wrangell / St. Elias National Park

No tours or hikes planned for the day. Did some laundry by hand in the AM. We went into the town of McCarthy for lunch at the Potato Restaurant and played Five Crowns with Mike, Wolf, and Heika. Lori won. After supper dark clouds were threatening. We battened down the hatches and most of our group decided to go on a hike. However, Lori, Harrie, Michael, and I stayed back, sat under the awning and had wine. It started raining and everyone got wet, except for us.

August 01, 2023 Monday – Stay: Tent in RV Park in Valdez, AK

Drove to Valdez AK to the Valdez RV park. Along the way we stopped and took pictures of Bridelviel Falls and Horsetail Falls. The RV park is very nice with great showers and bathrooms. Chili for supper tonight. On the way we also stopped at the Salmon Gulch Hatchery. Lots of salmon, sea lions, and sea gulls – very fascinating to watch the sea lions catching salmon, flicking their heads to get rid of the salmon bodies. They only eat the heads.