We hope to paddle Alaska in 2018. Started looking at Inner Passage using Alaska Ferry system starting from Prince Rupert, BC going north, driving. Also looking at REI Glacier Bay small cruise ship (60 passengers) with a few days of kayaking included in itinerary (flying in to Juneau). If we use Alaska Ferry we will use outfitters and their sea kayaks. In other areas (49 states and 10 provinces) we have tent camped in National or state parks and usually paddled our 14 & 15 feet kayaks. Many Alaska parks seem to be only accessible by water or not developed for camping? Would much prefer doing it ourselves and using outfitters than going on a cruise, however small the boat. Anyone familiar with the area have suggestions? Interior lakes paddling OK; we are not sea kayakers, but have kayaked coastal areas. No whitewater, at least not above class II.
Looking at end of May, early June – better chance of drier and longer days. Is this time ok for winds, also?
A friend warned us that Juneau (REI cruise starts and ends there) is a tourist area in the summer – we prefer out of the way locations.
Not posting this under wilderness paddling because there may be more likelihood of suggestions from reader of this section. One of us has been in Alaska, but only a fly in and fly out for a conference.
@MMF said:
We hope to paddle Alaska in 2018. Started looking at Inner Passage using Alaska Ferry system starting from Prince Rupert, BC going north, driving. Also looking at REI Glacier Bay small cruise ship (60 passengers) with a few days of kayaking included in itinerary (flying in to Juneau). If we use Alaska Ferry we will use outfitters and their sea kayaks. In other areas (49 states and 10 provinces) we have tent camped in National or state parks and usually paddled our 14 & 15 feet kayaks. Many Alaska parks seem to be only accessible by water or not developed for camping? Would much prefer doing it ourselves and using outfitters than going on a cruise, however small the boat. Anyone familiar with the area have suggestions? Interior lakes paddling OK; we are not sea kayakers, but have kayaked coastal areas. No whitewater, at least not above class II.
Looking at end of May, early June – better chance of drier and longer days. Is this time ok for winds, also?
A friend warned us that Juneau (REI cruise starts and ends there) is a tourist area in the summer – we prefer out of the way locations.
Not posting this under wilderness paddling because there may be more likelihood of suggestions from reader of this section. One of us has been in Alaska, but only a fly in and fly out for a conference.
We did a 5 day camping trip in the western part of Prince William Sound. There is an outfitter in Whittier Alaska where we got decent kayaks. They can provide further advice: http://www.pwskayakcenter.com/index.html
Three other people and I paddled the Inside Passage from Ketchikan to Skagway in June 2004. We drove from CO to Prince Rupert, took the AK ferry to Ketchikan, stored the vehicles for a reasonable fee, and paddled from there.
First of all, forget about depending on state parks for camping. I think we had one night in a park during our trip of 28 nights. Expect to wilderness-camp, meaning no developed facilities. You MUST understand tidal conditions, or else risk being inundated by the huge tidal ranges there, like up to 20’ diff between low and high, especially near solstices and other astronomical “characters.”
June was good for weather and winds. Know that if it is gray and drizzly the wind is likely calm (in June), but if it is gorgeous blue sky and dry the winds pick up.
Of course AK towns are tourist hot spots in summer. BFD!! You aren’t going to spending much time in the VERY few towns. Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, Juneau, Skagway (with Haines optional). Unless you want to stay in hotels, don’t worry about tourists.
Fourteen feet is going to be awfully small for cargo capacity. I had the shortest sea kayak at 16.5’, and there was stuff on my fore and aft decks. The hatch compartments were crammed, even though we advance mailed food to ourselves for pickup in Petersburg and Juneau.
OR are you only talking about paddling short bits of the IP? Weekend length trips? Outfitters would be the easy way to do that, because how would you get from one area to another without paddling it OR being shuttled by an outfitter?
We are not sea kayakers and therefore are not knowledgeable enough about navigation and conditions to try open seas (even partially protected) by ourselves. We are looking at full day paddles or multi-day, using outfitters (for guides and/or kayak rentals.)
We were initially thinking about taking our kayaks and car on the ferry and stopping off where we could find good paddling venues in relatively protected bays and sounds or nearby lakes, camping where we could. One of us is height challenged, the other had rotator cuff surgery which never quite restored his shoulder capacity, so we use a Yakima trailer to carry our kayaks. We had a 66’ trailer which recently required a replacement right away; only the 78’ was available. This put us into another category for $$$ ferry passage, so it would be less costly without trailer and kayaks. Using outfitters seems the best option right now.
Having paddled in thick fog in Maine last month, we know that outfitters are essential in fog likely coasts (e.g. Vancouver Island where we were strongly urged to use a guide and not try it ourselves.) The more we paddle in differing conditions, many unexpected, we thanked our luck, but as a result, are more conscious of what we don’t know and what we may not be able to handle safely. So the upshot is to use the ferry, take a car so we can drive back from Skagway to Alberta where we plan to spend the rest of the summer, select ports with reputable outfitters and hopefully camping sites (established or allowable – e.g. national forests?)
Your naming of the key towns along the Inner Passage saves me having to do research on each stop.
Really impressed with those who try the whole inner passage and other areas of equally challenging venues. Were we much younger, we might have planned to do that eventually.
Your paddle may have skirted those towns you mentioned, but if there are particularly memorable areas near those towns would appreciate knowing about them.
Thanks for taking time to respond and for saving me having to research all the stops along the Alaskan Ferry inner passage.
@rsevenic said:
We did a 5 day camping trip in the western part of Prince William Sound. There is an outfitter in Whittier Alaska where we got decent kayaks. They can provide further advice: http://www.pwskayakcenter.com/index.html
May have to plan an area outside of the Inner Passage. Will keep this outfitter in mind if we do. Thanks.
We have been kayaking for some 30 years. In 2000 we went on a small cruise ship in Glacier Bay NP where we kayaked each day. Initially miffed at being given tandem kayaks we actually liked paddling with whales and appreciated that at least one of us could get pictures while still paddling… We learned a lot about the area each day . We were out a week.
We were seasoned sea kayakers accustomed to 13-24 foot tides before that trip
Tongass National Forest has some cabins for those going by kayak but you need to have a good understanding of tidal currents… Its not the tide itself its the eddies and whirlpools that can do you in
We learned in Maine. If you feel outfitters are good in Maine, that goes double in Alaska. We haven’t ever used an outfitter in Maine.
Frankly there are not many outfitters that rent for independent excursions. We were in Alaska for 70 days this year. Its a short season. For liablility reasons outfitters stick with guided tours. Since Prince William Sound is uncommonly calm Alaska Sea Kayak Rentals is an exception in Whittier.
@pikabike said:
What I was warning about regarding big tide ranges was getting flooded when camping.
Well yeah of course. There is yet another loose kayak here that was found by the Coast Guard floating in Casco Bay. WIthout any id they can’t assume the owner is on shore somewhere. Put your phone number in the kayak. And Casco only has 13 foot tides. But some really good tidal races; enough that there at one time were mills built.
@rsevenic said:
We did a 5 day camping trip in the western part of Prince William Sound. There is an outfitter in Whittier Alaska where we got decent kayaks. They can provide further advice: http://www.pwskayakcenter.com/index.html
Thanks for the suggestions. Am waiting for Alaska Ferry to post their summer schedules. It seems that the north to south route allows for more efficient connections than the south to north where one has to wait it out in Wrangell & Petersburg for the next ferry connection. I’m surprised that they haven’t hired a programmer that will allow one to input destinations and find a more efficient (time and dollars) itinerary. Or perhaps I have missed something on that site – anyone know a good way to make the best connections on that system? We hope to paddle Yukon & NW Territories after Skagway hence our south to north preference starting from Prince Rupert, BC.
Tides. Its all up to the tides. Of course they have programmers… At certain ports ( Petersburg is one) the harbor clearance is not much and a high tide is needed. Thats why we got shore leave on the ferry at two am… It kept the credit card safe… You are biting off a lot… Yukon and NW Territories are big and not very amenable to short trips. Whitehorse is the only place in the Yukon you will find an outfitter.
Don’t rush things… We spent two months just in Alaska and the Yukon this year and only had time to paddle once. for ten days.