We returned to Homer, Alaska a few days later for an Alaskan glacier kayaking expedition. It is impossible to show or explain on a webpage or even in pictures the power and beauty of a mountain glacier. The fishing lodge set us up with Jordan Hess of the 3 Moose lodge in Homer to take us on our fly-in glacier kayaking trip. He is the only company that can bring you to the glacier so this means that the entire area is extremely secluded.

We took a DeHavilland Beaver float plane from Homer and flew over the Kachemak Bay. Below us we could see dozens of otters swimming in the cold waters and hundreds of fishing boats docked along the Homer Spit. On the other side of the bay we crossed over the small fishing community of Halibut Cove before flying over the mountains to see the view in the picture above out of the plane window. The skilled bush pilot banked the plane in sharply and dove toward the glacier and made one final turn before making a short landing on the water all while dodging icebergs.

We wrapped up in several layers of clothing with an outer waterproof layer before setting off in our inflatable kayaks. The water was so cold that if you fell overboard your arms and legs would stop working and your body would sink to the bottom of the several hundred foot deep lake. We were warned to watch for shifting icebergs. The largest part of an iceberg is underneath the surface and they will often flip upside down. When this happens it creates waves that can be well over a hundred feet high. We paddled for two miles to the edge of the glacier. As hard as we tried there is no possible way to capture the magnitude and beauty of a glacier up close. It was a spiritual event that can't really be explained and must be experienced first hand.

After kayaking around the frigid glacier we returned to land and packed up our gear for a hike through the forest to an inlet. It was a great hike where the scenery changed every mile. Jordan was an excellent guide and often stopped to tell us about plants or the geology of the area. At the end of the hike a small boat picked us up and took us out of the inlet and back through the bay to Homer.

Denali Mountain & Park >>