Alaska 2018

Last July, I went to Alaska with Keya and my family. We had a family reunion on an Alaskan Cruise. While the cruise was certainly nice, I much preferred being off ship. The majority of photos are taken when Keya and I did some exploring, camping, and hiking during the stops.

Keya and I flew in a few days before the cruise to camp and hike in Denali. We took a bus from the airport to the park entrance. Then, the next morning, we took the bus in all the way to Wonder Lake.

Camping at Wonder Lake was pretty amazing. The following picture was taken from inside our tent. We had a pretty good spot. We also saw Denali every single day. Crazy!

There were any trails to speak and we were encouraged to hike where we want. That turned out to be tougher than it looked, but rewarding. The ground was much like walking on a really tough sponge. The shrubs and ground cover was really tough in places and tended to be a bit grabby at our feet.

The cruise did come with some nice views. Especially in Glacier Bay.

Haines was my favorite stop. Keya and I got off the boat, walked to the info center, and was directed on a harder hike. We expected to hike for three or four miles round trip that day, but this hike was so much fun we kept going up to the top of the ridge. Well… pretty close to the top, but we had to turn around to make it back to the boat in time. We hiked around fourteen miles. Good thing I carried all that extra water.

The start of the hike was much like hiking through a jungle and much of it was on raised planks. Then, when we got toward the tree line, the trail was almost straight up the fall line. It was a blast!

We did a short glacial expedition in Juneau that we accessed via a helicopter. It was the first time I have been on a helicopter or on a glacier. I loved it!

Here are a few more rando shots I enjoyed. I can’t wait to go back to Alaska, but next time I’m driving.