Video of my kayak adventures: Bear Glacier, Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska. Enjoy! – FP

Tags: Alaska, Bear Glacier, Folbot Cooper, glaciers, icebergs, Kenai Fjords National Park

Beautiful sunny Middle Harbour

Nothing can contrast paddling Alaska more than a paddle on Sydney Harbour in balmy conditions under an almost Spring sun. To go from icebergs to harbour rocks and aqua waters in a week is crazy!

In today’s paddle I also came across Jonathan & Coco who, through the apparent negligence of a kayak-hirer in Balmoral who left a hull plug off their hire SOT, sank off Chinaman’s Beach and had to recover perched on rocks. If you read this guys, hope you didn’t freeze too much and that the incident didn’t put you off paddling in the future! Drop me a line if you want a decent paddle and I’ll make sure you get looked after.

And lastly, it was good to see my old friend the seal eating fish amongst the moored yachts at Balmoral Beach. Happy fishing friend!

Tags: Balmoral, Balmoral Beach, Chinamans Beach, sealions, seals

Bear Glacier, Kenai Fjords National park, Alaska

My Alaskan adventure was always about one thing – paddling amongst icebergs. It had taken a six hour flight from Chicago, a 4 hour train ride from Anchorage, and a one hour water-taxi in at high tide, and finally I was at the right destination – Bear Glacier.

Now this particular glacier is one of the biggest coming down from the Harding Icefield. It is an enormous body of ice meandering down through the mountains shrouded in low-lying cloud. It is difficult to access, with only one water-taxi operator having the right boat and skills to get into the lake at high tide.

Besides the magnificent glacier, it is a dangerous place. It is both ridiculously cold, with the lake water a fraction of a degree above freezing point, and in the middle of no-where, meaning populated by all manner of carniverous wildlife. I found both bear and wolverine tracks close to my campsite, to give you an indication.

It is also hidden away from general tour operators and has very few, if any, visitors to it. The only people I saw there were photographers for National Geographic. This is a place of harshness, but incredible beauty. And as a low-lying tidal glacier, its face calves off mountainous icebergs into its lake. Giant blue-tinged icebergs bigger than houses. This is what I’d come for.

Huge icebergs

So after settling into our camp, I went through the ordeal of putting on a dry-suit, something I have never seen in my Australian travels. Imagine a rubber S&M gimp suit and you’re not far off. This thing completely encloses your body in a rubberised cocoon that keeps all external water out – and all your sweat in. It was so uncomfortable I wondered if it was really necessary. Until I touched the water of course!

Once into the kayak I realised its benefit. The lake water was cold. Really cold! So cold that my legs were freezing from just being in the kayak that close to the lake water. With a dry-suit you can wear clothes underneath to keep you warm. Not that I had anywhere near enough on at the time!

Big, blue, and cold

Once on the lake we made for the glacier itself. It is hard to describe the staggering size of it, the incredibly rugged beauty of it, or the terrifying artillery sounds it makes as ice fissures crack open within it. But in the face of it we paddled to the terminal morraine (ie the mountain of debris deposited at its base), ready to climb it for a full view of this enormous glacier.

Kayaks tied up at the base of Bear Glacier

Fat Paddler above the Bear Glacier morraine

It’s hard to describe how I felt standing on this incredible natural structure. Perhaps small, helpless, but in awe of the beauty. It’s a humbling experience. But a good start to my Alaskan backcountry adventure. To be continued…

Tags: Alaska, Bear Glacier

Fat Paddler entry in the Panasonic Lumix photography competition

I received a random note via Twitter that perhaps I should submit some of my paddling photos to the Panasonic Lumix Life photography competition (I use a Panasonic Lumix FT1 waterproof camera). And since I’ve just returned from my paddling expedition to Alaska, I thought it would be great to put in a selection of these photos for public viewing, and hopefully full public display if I get in the top 50 entries.

Please have a look at my gallery and click the “Full Screen” button to see them in their full un-edited full-rez glory (the only time you’ll ever see the Alaskan shots at this resolution). And then if you like them, please click on the Vote button (looks like a Tick) and give me your vote.

Remember, one vote can make all the difference. Thanks kindly!

Tags: Alaska, Lumix Life, Panasonic, Photography, Photography Competition

Kayaking Resurrection Bay, Alaska in Folbot Cooper

It is very hard to describe Alaska in words. It is a place of extremes, both harsh and beautiful.  Green forests that simply stop part way up mountains, to be replaced by jagged rocky faces. Beautiful blue water that is freezing cold to touch. Locals that can be scary or nice.

I flew into Anchorage from Chicago with a bunch of US soldiers heading up to the military base at Fairbanks (nothern Alaska). From there I had a quick stop over before catching the Alaska Rail train through the most amazing scenery (including seeing moose) to Seward, a small town on the Kenai Peninsula that is the gateway for cruises and tours to the glacier fields.

Once there in Seward I spent the afternoon walking around the entire town, staring stupidly at the enormous snow-capped mountains that surround the town, before getting settling down in the Hotel Seward.

Now today’s paddling plan centered around trialling the Folbot Cooper (now named “Tabasco”). Of course 30 knot winds and breaking waves are not ideal for a test run of a new kayak, but it was my last chance before heading off to the glacier fields and I had to get a paddle in it done to make sure I could handle it before putting it in much more dangerous waters.

So I got a lift down to a rocky beach south of Seward and proceeded to put the kayak together, under the watchful eyes of gathering people.

Folbot Cooper on the "beach", Seward Alaska

And with a gathered crowd intent on watching me take off, I pushed the kayak out into the oncoming waves, jumped in quickly and took off.

Now the first thing that struck me was how much flex there was in the body. As I was riding over the oncoming waves the kayak would feel like it was bending under its own weight. But other than the feeling, the kayak proved to be extremely stable. In fact, much more stable than my Boreal Design Nanook (which surprised me, as I love my Nanook!). I could actually pack the paddle away under the deck rigging and know that I wasn’t going to need it to brace against the side-waves that were buffeting me.

So once I settled in and felt comfortable on the Folbot Cooper, I started to look more around me. And not ten metres away, a curious sea-otter was stretching its neck to get a good look at the fat guy in his red kayak! Well, I scrambled for the camera but in the face of the waves I found it hard. In the end, once I got the camera out the otter disappeared.

In general the snow-capped mountains surrounding the bay are just awe-inspiring. It really is hard not to feel something spiritual about their presence. I’m not sure my photos do them justice but they really do bring a huge smile to my face!

Anyway, after an hour paddling I brought the boat back in and disassembled it on the beach,  again in front of a small and curious crowd.  All up a very successful first paddle of the folbot, especially as I didn’t fall in!

Fat Paddler looking very content on the water at Seward Alaska

Tags: Alaska, Folbot, Folbot Cooper, Resurrection Bay, sea-otter, Seward