Oh, It Doesn’t Get Better Than This!

Our blog guest authors on top of Mt Healy, Denali National Park

Hello again from Kady and Nate! We are back for another WOFO...the biggest one yet: ALASKA!! It was the best WOFO we have ever had; it truly was an amazing experience and it was all thanks to Dad and Dawn, the best YOFOers out there. Let’s get started.

Our flights to Anchorage were pleasant and on time; we arrived just in time for dinner where we ate delightful burgers and sweet potato fries from Smash Burger. We’ll not soon forget the epic doggles (dog goggles) we saw on the cutest (and coolest) pup riding on the back of a motorcycle as we drove to get dinner. This little guy was riding in style and we couldn’t get enough!

The next day, we drove to Denali National Park, a true national treasure in the heart of Alaska. We began our visit at the sled dog demonstration. It was awesome! The dogs really got excited when they were harnessed up. They truly seem to love pulling a sled. We even got to pet a few of them; they were so nice and friendly. Dogs have been pulling sleds in the National Park for over 100 years and is the only park in the US where sled dogs are actively used to transport rangers, equipment and supplies in the winter months. After the demonstration, we made our way to the Mt. Healy trail where we hiked 1900 feet of incline to the top. Yes, it was steep and our dogs (feet in this case) were barking, but as all hikes go on WOFO’s, it was worth it. The views were spectacular and we took some epic pictures.

“We who are about to die, salute you!” (From Gladiator)

The next day we went white water rafting on the Nenana River in Denali. Dry suits and all, we were ready for an adventure! It had stormed pretty hard the night before so when we got on the water it was super high and wavy. Al, our raft guide, said he had never seen it that crazy. This was our first stroke of luck in a series of lucky days (more on that later) because what a ride! We had some gnarly splashes and crashes through the Class III and IV sections. Dad and Dawn “made” us ride in the front of the raft where we enjoyed every minute of it. We capped off a great day with a delicious dinner of grilled fresh salmon. The YOFOers eat well, we can attest to that.

Over six million acres and one 92.5 mile road.

After a great night’s sleep we hopped on an early bus the next morning to ride on the only road into Denali. The bus (the bench seat school bus version) is the only way to access the interior of the park. This 90 mile, 6 hour long ride was epic. As we scaled several mountain passes of this gorgeous preserve we saw some awesome wildlife. We spotted caribou, meese (more than one moose, of course), bears, eagles and ptarmigans. We brought our backpacks with us and got off the bus at the McKinley Bar Trailhead just before the end of the ride. We hiked to the edge of the braided rivers and then bushwhacked our way to a nice gravel bar on the McKinley River where we pitched our tents. Later that evening, we picked wild blueberries for our oatmeal the next morning. Unfortunately, the next day brought no Denali views; it rained in the morning as we packed up our things and bushwhacked our way back to the trail to catch the bus ride back to the YOFOhome. We got lucky and caught the bus to Kantishna, the furthest point of the road into Denali, before we turned around for the trip back to the park entrance.

Camping on a bar of the McKinley River in Denali National Park.

After concluding our pilgrimage to Denali, the next day we drove to see a small village called Talkeetna. We walked around and enjoyed seeing the small-town Alaskan culture. We noticed that just about everywhere you look, there’s always an air strip for small planes. We passed one in Talkeetna that looked like a long backyard. Sometime the landing strips are small lakes. We also had the as advertised “world’s best espresso milkshake” (and yes, on that day, in that little town, it lived up to its name).

It’s hard not to hear the Sound of Music playing in the background when hiking on trails like this.

Looking across Resurrection Bay from Seward’s Waterfront Campground

The next day, we continued south to Seward. We found an amazing campsite with big views of the picturesque snow capped mountains being mirrored by the cold glacial waters of Resurrection Bay. It was like something out of a Bob Ross painting. When we arrived, we were greeted with a beautiful rainbow. Our next big event was stunning hike near Seward at the Kenai Fjords National Park. This was the most epic hike we had ever done. It might also be the longest hike we had ever done (second only to the ball-busting Grand Canyon). This hike was right next to Exit Glacier; we walked up to the top of the glacier and then passed it and made our way to the Harding Icefield. At an elevation of 3,512 feet, we ate our PBnJs with the most spectacular view of the Icefield and the beautiful mountains surrounding it. It has to be one of the greatest views in Alaska. As we hiked over snow bridges and felt the Katabatic winds cool off our sweaty selves (3,000 feet is A LOT of climbing people!!) we took in all of the beauty that surrounded us. Every direction offered an amazing view; the clouds and rain escaped us that day and made for a great day. This was another stroke of luck because the days before that it was pretty rainy and cloudy. We couldn’t have asked for a better day to have good weather. It was seriously one of the coolest hikes ever.

PBnJs with one of the best views in America! The Harding Ice Field.

A Puffin launches from its cliff dwelling nest.

The next day, we took a day cruise aboard “Alaskan Explorer” to see marine wildlife and visit the Northwestern Glacier. This day was unbelievable and probably the best day of the whole trip. Our last and greatest stroke of luck came on that day. On a beautiful cloudless day, less than an hour into our boat ride we spotted a Humpback whale swimming along next to us. Our first whale sighting and it was awesome! That whale was humongous. After the humpback whale, we saw a group of harbor seals sunbathing on the rocks. We used Dad and Dawn’s binoculars and were able to see a close up of their spotted coats. Shortly after the seals, our brilliant captain, Chris, spotted a pod of Killer Whales. These whales travel in families, also known as pods, and we were so lucky they swam RIGHT NEXT TO OUR BOAT. We caught a video of how close they were and we even captured Captain Chris’s reaction to the astonishing display. If you watch the whole video, you’ll hear the origin of the title of this blog!

Our next sighting was the Northwestern Glacier. While filming a panorama of the glacier, Dawn spotted the glacier calving and we were able to capture the whole thing on video. It was epic! These glaciers are stunning and so full of science! Dawn taught us about the aforementioned Katabatic winds (cold winds that occur close to glaciers due to gravity and thermal effects) and we also learned about the blue ice that you can sometimes see on glaciers. The blue ice is visible in the most dense parts of the glaciers since it is the only light in the spectrum that has the energy to reflect back out of the ice. Dad also quizzed us on the different types of glaciers we saw: Tidewater (reaches down to the water), Valley (also called tongues), Hanging and Cirque (high up in bowls between the mountain peaks). Unfortunately, it was pretty sad learning about the receding glaciers and how much we have lost in such little time. As Dawn always says, make good choices people!

Some people can sleep anywhere! It’s a gift.

Our cruise continued on through the Chiswell islands and we saw a whole bunch of Stellar sea lions! We also saw a variety of birds such as the Horned and Tufted Puffins, Cormorant, Black Oystercatcher and the Common Murre. We were on our way back from the glacier when Captain Chris spotted yet another pod of orcas. This was an entirely different family of orcas and they were just as amazing as the first one. As if it couldn’t get any better, we started slowing down because Captain Chris got word on the radio that Fin Whales were spotted (apparently a fairly rare sighting). We moved a little closer, making sure not to chase the whales, and there they were. We saw actual Fin Whales. Can you believe it?! They were closer than any of the crew had ever seen and there were 3 or 4 of them. They came up for air and we got to see their backs and fins. Our trusty captain told us that we were only seeing about one-third of their bodies and that some of those whales were probably over 70 feet long. We couldn’t believe how lucky we got that day ON TOP of the already amazing trip. After such an epic journey, we decided to thank Dad and Dawn by taking them out to a nice dinner at the Seward Brewing Company. Complete with fish tacos and Halibut curry, we definitely seized that day.

Queer Can You Believe GIF from Queer GIFs

Kady and Nate in front of Lawrence Glacier

After the boat trip experience from Heaven, we drove to Whittier and got ready for our last adventure. In order to get to Whittier, you have to drive through a one way tunnel that was made to accommodate a single train. Now they allow cars to use the tunnel, and you actually drive over the tracks; it was pretty cool. Once we made it through the tunnel, we walked over and grabbed our gear from the Epic Charter water taxi company for our glacier kayaking! We hopped on the boat (handmade by our captain in his garage, by the way) and rode out to Blackstone Bay, another glacial fjord. We were dropped off with our kayaks and we were free to roam around wherever we wanted. Before we got in the kayaks, we took a hike suggested by our boat captain. As it turns out, that was the best suggestion he could’ve given us because we walked right up to the base of Lawrence glacier. It used to be a tidewater glacier, but receded and is now a valley glacier. Seriously, we touched a glacier! After exploring in and around Lawrence glacier, we walked back down to our kayaks and got in the water. We paddled deeper into the fjord and saw some mini icebergs, waterfalls, eagles and two tidewater glaciers, Beloit Glacier and Blackstone Glacier. It was a surreal feeling being on the water next to a glacier. It was an amazing experience.

Our trip was incredible and filled with experiences that we will never forget. This was the best WOFO yet and we had a great time with Dad and Dawn.

We carped the diem.