Posted by Cory Freeman on April 28, 2011 at 9:25 AM
Hi everybody! (in Dr. Nic's voice of the Simpsons)
First off thanks for all your help! Confused? Never remember me posting any questions here? Well, I haven't this is my first post on your forums, but I've been reading through your posts in preparation of our two week alaska trip. And all your suggestions and advice have been very helpful.
Living in an area that's frequented by many clueless out of area tourists, or Tourons as many locals call them, it's now my turn to be a Touron. :) So with that out of the way I've got a couple questions that I was hoping you all could inlighten me with.
My wife and I are leaving May 20 for a two week alaska trip. I wish the timing could've been a little different but it is what it is. At least there shouldn't be as many people and less bugs right? ;) First week will be on a cruise ship, and the second week will be via rental car and going to Denali NP and finishing up in Seward.
Any hoo, first week will be doing the cruise liner ship thing leaving from vancouver and traveling to whittier by way of Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, and Glacier Bay National Park. The cruise thing is with my wife's family and isn't really my preference but it is what is and will make the best of it and it will still be fun. Just not sure about photo ops from the ship while in GB.
The couple shore excursions we'll be doing the first week will be the train ride out of Skagway and the Misty Fjords float plane. I think Ron had suggested these to someone awhile back on these boards.
I've got lots of questions for you guys but I think I'll hit you up a little at a time. My immediate questions are about our Seward portion of the trip. We are actually changing things around and going to try and add another day so we'll have 2.5 days in seward. We're looking at staying at the Exit Glacier Lodge, have discount coupons, and based on comments by you guys are planning to take the Kenai Fjords Tours: Captains Tour.
So if you're still with me on to the questions:
1. We'd also like to do a 4-6 hr kayak tour from seward, most likely in Resurrection Bay. Any suggestions on with who? Never kayaked before and we're looking for wildlife of any & all kinds. Though I've been shooting landscape photography for awhile now my wife and I are new to shooting wildlife & obviously no experience shooting from a kayak. Not sure how that will work. I guess assuming my wife and I share a kayak and we'll have to take turns paddling/photographing?
2. I know the weather is variable but on average any idea on what we can possibly expect for the first week of June? I figure we'll be taking all our outdoor gear, including rain gear.
3. Any advice about shooting from the boat on the captains tour? my wife has a monopod w/tilting head using a 60d & 100-400. I will have a 5d w/ same lens plus 24-105. I don't think I'll bother bringing my tripod for the boat ride and just hand hold. How do you keep your gear from getting soaked? light rain for a little bit hasn't been a problem for my 5d, but I wouldn't want to do that everyday.
Any and all suggestions are welcomed, remember touron here. ;)
Sorry for the long winded post and thanks. I'll likely be back with a few more questions. ;)
If you find yourself traveling to the eastern sierra let me know and I'd be happy to give any suggestions!
I took the national park cruise with kenai fjord tours last august, which is not too different from the captains tour. We saw tons of nesting puffins, guillemots and kittiwakes. Mammal sightings included mountain goats, harbour seals, dall's porpoises and plenty of stellar sea lions hauled out on rocks. The highlight was a pod of fin whales. Apparently orcas and humpbacks are fairly common, but we did not see any. The boat comes to a halt when there is a sighting and is stable enough to handhold the 100-400. The exception is when porpoises gather to ride the bow while the boat is at full throttle. Make sure you have the 24-105 ready.
The boat was a little crowded, but i hope the captains tour is different and you may not need to jostle for position when there is a glacier calving or a whale breaching.
If you are in seward for 2.5 days, you should not miss the harding ice field trail. I can hardly imagine a more rewarding hike with such an easy access. The jaw dropping views start barely a mile into the trail. Its also great for hoary marmots, mountain goats and black bears. There is however the risk that you might get rained/fogged out
If you need further persuasion, look here
Hope you get lucky with the weather,
Anand
Thanks Anand! We're really looking forward to our trip and have been making a few last minute changes and getting things reserved. Thanks for the heads-up about Harding ice field. I read yesterday the upper portions of the trail may be covered in snow 'til July. Don't know if we'll have time for that one or not, but will keep that on the tentative to do list. I hope we have good weather too! Checking the current wx in seward yesterday looks like they are still getting snow showers! Thanks again for the advice.
Kayaking: If you are a beginner, it's probably a very bad idea to take your photo gear with you unless you have a watertight bag, and you keep the gar there until you land somewhere. Inattention and inexperience - a natural consequence of trying to take a photo - have swamped a lot of rookies. Kenai Fjords offers a decent introductory kayaking trip.
Photography: Hand-held is best; the boat hull vibrates from the engine, and you are a better shock absorber than a monopod. Be sure your rain gear includes a rain cover for your camera. Keep in mind the wind can be blowing, too.
Weather: Highly variable. Bring sunscreen and full body rain gear. The temperature doesn't vary hugely out on Resurrection Bay; on all but the very hottest day - unlikely in early June - it will be cool, and cold when it is windy or the boat is under way. You can look at the almanac (scroll down a ways) for past weather on your dates, but any coastal Alaska area is a craps shoot.
thanks Jim, really appreciate it! Those are some great points. We may not do the kayak thing as we may not have time for it. We've decided to split up the drive from Denali to Seward into 2 days so we have more time to explore.
You are right about Ketchikan and Skagway. For Juneau, I would do a whale watching tour - great place to see and photograph whales. If you have extra time, check out Mendenhal Glacier.
Kenai Fjords Tours may not be offering the Captain's choice tour that early in Summer. Don't worry about that - the larger faster boats shouldn't be full yet that time of year, so you would be fine with any of them. The Captain's Choice is nice during the heart of summer when boats are full.
That tends to be our driest time of year, but be prepared for rain and cold.
The 100-400 is a great lens for shooting from boats - you should be set. The 5D will be fine during short periods of rain - I don't worry too much about mine.
Exit Glacier is worth checking out, but you are right, the Harding Icefield will be under a lot of snow that time of year. Should be baby moose out that road then - check it in the morning or evening.
All the kayaking companies have good reputations. I don't think you will go wrong with any of them.
Think that hits most of your questions. Let me know if you have more.
Discussion
6 repliesFirst off thanks for all your help! Confused? Never remember me posting any questions here? Well, I haven't this is my first post on your forums, but I've been reading through your posts in preparation of our two week alaska trip. And all your suggestions and advice have been very helpful.
Living in an area that's frequented by many clueless out of area tourists, or Tourons as many locals call them, it's now my turn to be a Touron. :) So with that out of the way I've got a couple questions that I was hoping you all could inlighten me with.
My wife and I are leaving May 20 for a two week alaska trip. I wish the timing could've been a little different but it is what it is. At least there shouldn't be as many people and less bugs right? ;) First week will be on a cruise ship, and the second week will be via rental car and going to Denali NP and finishing up in Seward.
Any hoo, first week will be doing the cruise liner ship thing leaving from vancouver and traveling to whittier by way of Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, and Glacier Bay National Park. The cruise thing is with my wife's family and isn't really my preference but it is what is and will make the best of it and it will still be fun. Just not sure about photo ops from the ship while in GB.
The couple shore excursions we'll be doing the first week will be the train ride out of Skagway and the Misty Fjords float plane. I think Ron had suggested these to someone awhile back on these boards.
I've got lots of questions for you guys but I think I'll hit you up a little at a time. My immediate questions are about our Seward portion of the trip. We are actually changing things around and going to try and add another day so we'll have 2.5 days in seward. We're looking at staying at the Exit Glacier Lodge, have discount coupons, and based on comments by you guys are planning to take the Kenai Fjords Tours: Captains Tour.
So if you're still with me on to the questions:
1. We'd also like to do a 4-6 hr kayak tour from seward, most likely in Resurrection Bay. Any suggestions on with who? Never kayaked before and we're looking for wildlife of any & all kinds. Though I've been shooting landscape photography for awhile now my wife and I are new to shooting wildlife & obviously no experience shooting from a kayak. Not sure how that will work. I guess assuming my wife and I share a kayak and we'll have to take turns paddling/photographing?
2. I know the weather is variable but on average any idea on what we can possibly expect for the first week of June? I figure we'll be taking all our outdoor gear, including rain gear.
3. Any advice about shooting from the boat on the captains tour? my wife has a monopod w/tilting head using a 60d & 100-400. I will have a 5d w/ same lens plus 24-105. I don't think I'll bother bringing my tripod for the boat ride and just hand hold. How do you keep your gear from getting soaked? light rain for a little bit hasn't been a problem for my 5d, but I wouldn't want to do that everyday.
Any and all suggestions are welcomed, remember touron here. ;)
Sorry for the long winded post and thanks. I'll likely be back with a few more questions. ;)
If you find yourself traveling to the eastern sierra let me know and I'd be happy to give any suggestions!
The boat was a little crowded, but i hope the captains tour is different and you may not need to jostle for position when there is a glacier calving or a whale breaching.
If you are in seward for 2.5 days, you should not miss the harding ice field trail. I can hardly imagine a more rewarding hike with such an easy access. The jaw dropping views start barely a mile into the trail. Its also great for hoary marmots, mountain goats and black bears. There is however the risk that you might get rained/fogged out
If you need further persuasion, look here
Hope you get lucky with the weather,
Anand
Photography: Hand-held is best; the boat hull vibrates from the engine, and you are a better shock absorber than a monopod. Be sure your rain gear includes a rain cover for your camera. Keep in mind the wind can be blowing, too.
Weather: Highly variable. Bring sunscreen and full body rain gear. The temperature doesn't vary hugely out on Resurrection Bay; on all but the very hottest day - unlikely in early June - it will be cool, and cold when it is windy or the boat is under way. You can look at the almanac (scroll down a ways) for past weather on your dates, but any coastal Alaska area is a craps shoot.
HTH.
Jm
Sounds like a fun trip!
You are right about Ketchikan and Skagway. For Juneau, I would do a whale watching tour - great place to see and photograph whales. If you have extra time, check out Mendenhal Glacier.
Kenai Fjords Tours may not be offering the Captain's choice tour that early in Summer. Don't worry about that - the larger faster boats shouldn't be full yet that time of year, so you would be fine with any of them. The Captain's Choice is nice during the heart of summer when boats are full.
That tends to be our driest time of year, but be prepared for rain and cold.
The 100-400 is a great lens for shooting from boats - you should be set. The 5D will be fine during short periods of rain - I don't worry too much about mine.
Exit Glacier is worth checking out, but you are right, the Harding Icefield will be under a lot of snow that time of year. Should be baby moose out that road then - check it in the morning or evening.
All the kayaking companies have good reputations. I don't think you will go wrong with any of them.
Think that hits most of your questions. Let me know if you have more.