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Victoria to Alaska

sbourgoin

sbourgoin

Where the paddle takes me
Joined
Mar 2, 2019
Messages
95
Location
Port Alberni, BC
Afternoon,

I am in the process of planning a Victoria to Alaska kayak trip for May to August 2024...yes still 2-years away. I am sure there are lots of resources on this page and I look forward to reading and learning. I am sure over the next year or 2 I will post a few questions...but I will try and search for answers first before posting. But a few to get started, which I haven't found answers to:
  1. Is there a US Campsite website, similar to that of BC Marine Trails (and BC Parks)? Are any other websites great for outlining details for traveling through these areas or camping locations?
  2. I would like to go all the way to Anchorage in the 4-month period. Has anyone gone that far in one summer season (Victoria to Anchorage) I see lots go to Juneau or Skagway.
Thanks,
Shawn
 
Looks like 480km of fully exposed surf beach north from glacier bay including a 30km open crossing at Yakutat, and more exposed paddling after Katalla. Probably why most stop at Juneau or Skagway. Also almost twice as far.
Serious bragging rights if you did it though... :)
 
It looks like Freya Hoffmeister left Victoria on March 27 and then left the south end of the Kenai Peninsula at East Chugach Island (where she would’ve otherwise turned north up Cook Inlet to go to Anchorage, probably about a five-day paddle away) on July 25 and turned south towards Kodiak instead. So right at 4 months.

NA Trip Table - Google Drive

docs.google.com docs.google.com

freyahoffmeister.com

Press Release NA

Press Release NA
freyahoffmeister.com freyahoffmeister.com
 
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Doesn't Freya travel with a support team? Campsite/food all set up for her at most stops? Don't want to hijack the tread on that topic - just a caution not to base your daily goals, paddling unassisted, against someone who travels with a team.

I've read a couple of books about the Anacortes/Victoria paddle to Alaska - titles are long forgotten - and my "take-away" was you have to be ready to camp where you can and where you must. So it's more, "You do you." Plan your distance goal for the day. look at your chart information for a reasonable landing spot, Then do a Plan B and Plan C.

If you do read about those who did it, note the publication date of the book. Things change.
 
In areas without road access (which is pretty much the entire Alaska coast) I’m pretty sure they were self-supported, picked up supplies along the way, and camped wild (though I did see that they would stop in villages, canneries, or at lodges they passed).

But that section from Icy Strait up to Cordova looks positively daunting. I have traveled by foot and packraft up the coast from Lituya Bay to Yakutat, and there was almost none of it that I thought would be pleasant in a sea kayak. Days of pounding surf and more than a few long boulder beaches. I made a video of the trip if you want to see the area.

 
Alaska is poorly served by sea kayaking guidebooks. There are only three:

You can read reviews of these three books (and lots more) here. Jim Howard is probably your best bet, as he has the widest coverage. Robert Miller only covers a single, narrow route up the Inside Passage, so he's only good if you're planning to follow his exact route, which is probably too limiting for someone of your interests. Paul Twardock only covers Prince William Sound, which you likely won't have time to visit if you're trying to get from Victoria to Anchorage in just four months. So Howard it is!

Besides these three guidebooks, Denis Dwyer publishes book-length trip reports for various parts of southeast Alaska. I don't consider them to be guidebooks per se, but they do contain campsite coordinates, so they have some practical value. Also, though not intended for kayakers per se, there is David Miller's guidebook to the Kenai Fjords area, which will likely be helpful for that segment.

Besides that, there's not much to guide you. Alaska doesn't have anything like the campsite GISes for BC and Washington State. The US Forest Service (which manages something like 90 percent of the land in southeast Alaska) publishes guides for certain sectors. Here, for example, is the Petersburg Ranger District, with kayaking maps for a few of the major islands nearby. The coverage is spotty at best.

The Gulf of Alaska portion of your itinerary (Glacier Bay to Cordova) is pretty heavy-duty stuff. Only a handful of kayakers have done it. Here is Paul Caffyn's description of that segment (as well as others further up the coast). Freya Hoffmeister used to publish daily posts from her paddle around North America, including the Gulf of Alaska segment, but her website has always been horrible to use, and it now appears her daily posts have been lost. But you can infer some taste of her difficulties from the log Philip posted. Note on day 85 (June 17, 2017) and day 95 (June 27, 2017) she spent 24 hours in the kayak, paddling overnight on both occasions. The Gulf of Alaska is not for the faint of heart!

[Edit, 24 Apri 2023]: Ah, I see now what happened with Freya's daily trip logs for North America. She took them off her website because she's now compiled them into books for you to buy! Book one contains her Gulf of Alaska daily logs. It's slightly embarrassing to charge $9.99 and more for material that used to be free online, but Freya is a professional paddler so I guess she has to make a living with this stuff—not like us humble WCP denizens who post our trip reports for free.

Alex
 
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There's a pair of paddlers that just departed from Victoria with Cordova in mind as a final destination. They're on various social media as "A Little Paddle". So in a few months there might be some information posted.

I would echo others' opinions on the stretch past Glacier Bay looking daunting. Big open coast and nothing in the way of shelter. I would personally add room for lots of days being stuck on the shore if wind/surf were too intense for paddling. If you're on the water and things pick up there's not a lot of options.
 
Great information…I will add these notes to my plans. I really appreciate the details and quick responses. Cheers Shawn
 
Philip.AK - What a great video! You could enter it as a short in those "adventure" movie venues - like the Banff Mountain Film Festival. I noted that the team seemed stronger rather than worn down as the days went on. You saw lots of critters but I didn't see El Cougar. As a park ranger once said, "If you spend enough time in the wilderness, you might not see them, but they've seen you."

Excellent post-production. Looked like you were just using a selfie stick. Here's a link describing DJI's new drone with Hasselblad camera: https://tinyurl.com/az4k5j2c

sbourgoin - did you note those wet pack covers they were using? It will be a wet trip. Also, considering some of those campsites, you might want to bring a hammock option for situations that call for it. You can use your tent sleeping pad and sleeping bag in the hammock. Unless the hammock has a net built-in, you will need a tarp and bug net. For a comfortable sleep, you'll want a hammock about 11 ft long - not one of those $19.95 (or less) Amazon/Chinese specials that are only 8 ft long or less. I'll stop here on the hammock stuff - it's posted elsewhere. Just emphasizing it's, "In addition to" not "instead of" a tent.

I Googled Kayaking Alaska to Seattle, rather than the other direction, because I read at least one book where a woman made that trek. She admitted that most people she met considered her route to be in the wrong direction, but she wanted to paddle "toward home" or something like that. That search brought up titles that are exploits others reporting their experience and don't fall into the category of "guide book".

Here's a video you can download/stream - but it costs a little money ($2.99) - https://tinyurl.com/mjybrmhh
It's titled: Paddle to Seattle: Journey Through the Inside Passage
Googling around, I found different prices to play/buy that video - like $6.99 vs $12.99. Maybe that has to do with standard definition vs High Def (4K stuff).
 
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You might be familiar with the ShoreZone project, but if you are not, you can 'fly' the entire coastline of Alaska via geolocated video footage on the Alaska Ocean Observing System website. Head over to AOOS and search for the 'shorezone' data set. Zoom in (more than I have in this screenshot example) and click on the red flight path. A video player will open and show you the video shot from the aircraft of the coastline while a little icon will creep along the flight track line to show you the location. The blue dots on the flight path are locations where higher resolution still images were taken. They will load above the video player window. You can play the video full screen too. It's kind of low res, but still will give you an idea of what the coastline looks like. They always flew around low tide.

52848635196_2403736e6a_h.jpg
 
cougarmeat said:
Philip.AK - What a great video! You could enter it as a short in those "adventure" movie venues - like the Banff Mountain Film Festival. I noted that the team seemed stronger rather than worn down as the days went on. You saw lots of critters but I didn't see El Cougar. As a park ranger once said, "If you spend enough time in the wilderness, you might not see them, but they've seen you."

Excellent post-production. Looked like you were just using a selfie stick. Here's a link describing DJI's new drone with Hasselblad camera: https://tinyurl.com/az4k5j2c

sbourgoin - did you note those wet pack covers they were using? It will be a wet trip. Also, considering some of those campsites, you might want to bring a hammock option for situations that call for it. You can use your tent sleeping pad and sleeping bag in the hammock. Unless the hammock has a net built-in, you will need a tarp and bug net. For a comfortable sleep, you'll want a hammock about 11 ft long - not one of those $19.95 (or less) Amazon/Chinese specials that are only 8 ft long or less. I'll stop here on the hammock stuff - it's posted elsewhere. Just emphasizing it's, "In addition to" not "instead of" a tent.

I Googled Kayaking Alaska to Seattle, rather than the other direction, because I read at least one book where a woman made that trek. She admitted that most people she met considered her route to be in the wrong direction, but she wanted to paddle "toward home" or something like that. That search brought up titles that are exploits others reporting their experience and don't fall into the category of "guide book".

Here's a video you can download/stream - but it costs a little money ($2.99) - https://tinyurl.com/mjybrmhh
It's titled: Paddle to Seattle: Journey Through the Inside Passage
Googling around, I found different prices to play/buy that video - like $6.99 vs $12.99. Maybe that has to do with standard definition vs High Def (4K stuff).
Click to expand...
Hey Cougarmeat...I'm contemplating taking my Hennessy (i.e. Bear Burrito) and my Elixir 2 on this trip. Although extra gear, I've liked having the options in past trips where I can string my hammock up at the beach for an epic sunset or sunrise or put up the tent for weathering out bad weather. I've heard or read that going North to South is a little more difficult as you may be challenged with leaving based on weather, but I did consider the idea. I suspect weather in Alaska starts to turn come mid-September. I would be interested in taking the ferry back to Bellingham if I can't coordinate a train ride back down to the coast.
Cheers,
Shawn
 
That's a good combination but consider a tarp for the hammock too. Even with the rainfly deployed, it can be put over the tent when not used with the hammock. I was introduced to that technique by tent dwellers during a Kayak Seminar on Orcas Island nearly 20 years ago. Scheeesh - has it been that long!

I saw the tent attendees putting the fly over their setup and asked why they did that if they already had a rainfly. They explained that with the tarp, they could set up/take down everything under the cover of the tarp. So the tarp was the only thing that was wet and stored away from the dry things. Made a lot of sense. I remembered the times I tent camped in heavy rain and usually the tent has to go up first before you put the fly on it. Also, as soon as I was out of the tent, I was in the rain. With the trap over the tent (and fly for extra warmth and wind protection) I had a dry area outside the tent. I could take off wet things under that cover and not have to immediately bring "wet" into the tent.

Note: The standard tarp that comes with the Hennessy will keep the hammock dry but that's about it. I upgraded the standard tarp for the Hennessy Hex (just had to pay the retail difference) and used that for years. Considering the potential Alaska wetness, t'were it me, I'd be looking at a tarp with "doors" - that's extra material on the tarp that closes the ends up. Look up WarBonnet SuperFly as an example.
 
The Gulf of Alaska portion of your itinerary (Glacier Bay to Cordova) is pretty heavy-duty stuff. Only a handful of kayakers have done it. Here is Paul Caffyn's description of that segment (as well as others further up the coast).
Click to expand...
I finally got around to reading this account, and knowing a fair bit of the coastline he described I found it to be accurate and honest. Given the miles he covered and the limited word count in the article, the level of detail is a bit thin and it reads a bit like a series of anecdotes, but he touched on enough high- (and low-) lights to get the idea across.
 
Weather : I paddled from Juneau to Victoria from Victoria over 20 years ago mainly along outside; outside Chichagof Is, Central Coast, Van / inside due to weather West Prince of wales. Unless starring early season with South East wind, while paddling from North to South ,people can utilize North West wind as a tail wind in a fine weather day. My friend who paddled entire West coast of Vancouver island from Victoria to Port Heard ( South to North) had challenges paddling against strong NW wind in blue sky days.

While paddling though a whole summer, people would have a prolonged summer storm. My case was being pickled for a week on a tiny island of Central coast. So a tarp for an eating area, an additional small tarp for a tent entrance , and many books to read in stormy days are nice to have.

Regarding guide book: I did not bring any paddling guide book then. It was easy to find a protected beach without surf and good camp site from water. I did not use my helmet at all that summer: Yes the section of North from Icy straight would require a helmet!
 
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