Alaska 2012

I had the most fun today so far this trip. I spent the day kayaking and hiking through the Alaskan wilderness. We spent a total of 10 hours on these adventures. The day began by meeting in the bay in Homer and catching a boat to a little island about an hour away from the bay we started at. Once we arrived to the island there were kayaks waiting for us and we all got into them and went for about a 3 hour kayak trip around the surrounding water of the island. The kayaks were made for two people in each one. We all had to wear rain suits to keep us warm and dry as we kayaked. On our kayak adventure we passed sea otters and seals. It was so neat to be up close to those animals in the wild. I have only ever seen them before in aquariums. After our kayak adventure, we had a picnic lunch, and got back into the boat and traveled to a different location off the coast. After about another hour of being in the boat we arrived to a giant mountain where we would begin our hike. The hike was about a 2 mile hike and it was a true mountain hiking experience because of how steep our climb was. We had to maneuver through patches of snow, under fallen tree limbs, and over large rocks. The trail that we were hiking led to a lake and a glacier off in the distance. That was the first time we have been able to see a glacier. The scenery on our hike was amazing! Once we reached the end of the trail and saw the glacier we had to turn around and head back to the boat. The hike back down to the boat went much faster than the hike up because it was mostly downhill. By the time we reached the boat we were all very tired and ready to head back into the harbor in Homer and then head back to our cabins for the night. When I got back to the cabin and looked in the mirror I realized my face was really red. I had gotten a sunburn! It never crossed my mind to wear sunscreen while in Alaska because of how cold it is here. Despite being cold it has been sunny everyday so far.