Anyone done Misty Fjords, AK, without guides? How many days? When? Trail or information resources?
Thanks.
looking over BC/AK weather following reading of ‘INSIDE PASSAGE’ is an occasional internet pursuit here …I hail from the NE and Florida. Reports of ‘weather turning better with 35 mph gusts, 32 degrees, and occasional flying ice shrapnel’ offer an insight into marine weather n local hardiness. Not that rain does not fall in Portland.
Webcams are available for the Alaska Highway ferry ramps eg Prince Rupert.
The system is down for the winter
try: http://www.the-webcam-network.com/Alaska-USA/Kenai/2934064.html
Kenai, after my internet survey is warm er but wet n misty. 2+ dry or semi dry goretex or polyhole breathable suits would be comfortable with light thermal underwear. 2 caws after a day you will normally stink.
An interesting trip.
Planned to do this trip next summer, guided, but the one week long trip is no longer offered. Instead we are taking the Alaska Ferry to Sitka and Juneau to do shorter multi-day paddles from these two destinations. We had planned to stop first at Ketchikan to do the Misty Fjords. However, the outfitter offered his advisory help, suggesting that the trip can be done by experienced paddlers on our own. We were hoping to get personal experiences or tips from anyone who has done this area. Are thinking of doing this in 2019.
The outfitter did suggest that our 14’ and 15’ Delta plastic kayaks may not wear well on the pebbly or rocky landings – he is familiar with Delta kayaks which is a Vancouver, BC company. Our hatches can hold multi-days camping gear and food, if we can filter water. The area is as protected as coastal areas can be, except for one section which is subject to currents and stronger winds. Its attraction to us is the beauty (according to what we have read and the outfitter’s comments), and wildness of the area,and the lack of traffic which we will probably not be able to avoid next summer in Sitka and Juneau. It’s only a short ferry ride from Prince Rupert, BC to Ketchikan.
We were hoping to return to Newfoundland in 2019 in mid-August through mid-September, but the May and early June paddles in lower Alaska would be much more compatible with our other plans for 2019. This will allow for a longer trip to Haida Gwaii, which we’ve always wanted to do since we saw the island from Prince Rupert several years ago. (The trip reports earlier under this topic affirmed our hope – comprehensive, beautifully written and appreciative of the history and people of Haida Gwaii. It’s a great read.) The May-June time is apparently the driest period for the Misty Fjords area.
We are also Floridians, but escape its heat and awful humidity to the higher cooler and drier areas of the Canadian Rockies. However, North Florida is one of the best places to tent camp and paddle from mid-October through mid-April. We still have wilderness here. We’ve tent-camped in state or federal forests here when the water spigots (where we had them) had to be left open at night with icicles proof of sub-freezing temps, tolerable because the day was always going to be much warmer with great paddling temps.
Thanks for helping.
I worked on the mainland in what is now Misty Fjords in 1980 -81 on a proposed mine site. It was just Chugach National Forest back then. There is around 150 inches of rain. It is wet nearly all the time. Wonderful wildlife. We saw bears every day, mountain goats, wolves, wolverines, black tailed deer. Black bears and bald eagles are the two most common animals you will meet.
The water is cold, rough and full of tidal rips. There is no help around. You need a tide table to figure out when to paddle. The current is strong often more than you can paddle against. The tidal range is over 20 feet a day. All of that water flows through narrows at high rates of speed. It would be a great trip if you are up to it.
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Actually the Tongass National Forest, not the Chugach.