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Archive 2017 · Alaska opportunity - your input please

  
 
EverLearning
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Alaska opportunity - your input please


My wife has planned a three-generation family cruise of Alaska along the inside passage, up to Glacier Bay and back in September, 2018. Discussions led to agreement on tacking five or six days on, before or after the cruise, for her and I to do a land trip mostly geared to photography. This is where my questions come in. I have searched and reviewed all Alaska topics in this forum as well as other web sites and magazines.

As an aside, it is my hope in 5 to 10 years to drive the Alaska highway in a travel van. Don't know if that would change what you might suggest below.

First question - where to go? I have seen the following suggested:

- Brooks Falls/Katmai NP (2018 need permit for bear viewing platform. Lottery?)
- Cook Inlet
- Denali
- Homer (Alaska Bear Adventures was mentioned by somebody on FM)
- Kenai Peninsula
- Seward

Given that I have five, hopefully six, days on land and I don't want to spend most of time traveling from location to location, what would you suggest? I am thinking I should restrict myself to one or two locations but am open to all suggestions.

Second question: which week of September to go? My choices are starting September 8 or 15. My primary passion is wildlife with landscapes being a strong secondary interest. From what I am reading, it seems like the one week difference won't make any difference for wildlife but the week earlier could be significant for fall colours. I am interested in the northern lights, but not so much that I would adversely impact the wildlife or landscape photography opportunity optimization.

Third question (largely influenced by your answers to the first question) - accommodations and transportation: should we be renting an RV or staying in a lodge(s)? If lodges, what would you suggest for the areas you recommended in question 1.

Thanks for your time and suggestions!





Jul 15, 2017 at 11:25 AM
EverLearning
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Alaska opportunity - your input please


I just realized I should have posted this in the trip location advice forum. Is there a way to move a thread to a different forum?


Jul 15, 2017 at 05:36 PM
runakid
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Alaska opportunity - your input please


If you go the week of the 15th, many motels and eateries may be closed for the year. Denali too. The Kenai would be the best for a short trip.
They have a wonderful train that can take you to Denali and back. You have to ride a park bus to see anything past te 12 mile mark. I would suggest a bus ride of 6 hours max. The full day is too much, in my opinion.
Contact me with a PM and we can talk by email.
I went (drove) 4 times last year.



Jul 15, 2017 at 08:56 PM
bflood
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Alaska opportunity - your input please


First, there are 2 types of (big ship) Alaska cruises, one that makes a one-way trip from Vancouver or Seattle to Whittier or Seward, or the reverse of these, OR a one week out-and-back cruise from Vancouver or Seattle as far north as Glacier Bay or Tracy Arm. Adding time on the ground in Alaska to an out-and-back cruise is essentially the same as taking a second trip (you'd have to get from Seattle/Vancouver to Anchorage to start). Adding time at the Alaska end of a one way cruise is much easier.

The cruise lines shut down the Alaska cruises in September as the weather gets colder and becomes less cruise-friendly. Chances are, if a cruise line is still sailing to Alaska, Denali will still be open, but don't take that as a promise. Check out the planned park closure date online. They have it scheduled in advance to allow staff to plan for other jobs. I recommend avoiding Labor Day weekend - the locals will be out in the parks along with the tourists, and there will be more locals than tourists (lots more locals, actually).

Denali - always a good choice. It will be in its fall colors in September. Get a map of the park at the NPS website. You can drive a non-government vehicle as far as the Savage River (about 15 miles, IIRC). Only government vehicles and hard-side camping vehicles with reservations are allowed further. There are tours you can buy ranging from a couple of hours to 4-6 hours, each with a specific theme to them. Again, check the Denali website for details and prices.

Denali also has shuttle buses in addition to the tours. These use ordinary school buses. The Kantishna shuttle goes from the visitor center at the park entrance all the way to the other end of the park and back in a long 12-13 hour day. Great trip with good shooting opportunities, but you have to be up for it.

There are single day over-and-back flights from Anchorage and Homer to Katmai, maybe from other locations, too. They aren't cheap, but it's a way to see the bears. In September, there'll be nothing at Brooks River (salmon run will be over), so the flights should be going to the Lake Clark area. Do your online homework to see if that's something you want to do and to see if the prices are acceptable to you. If you want to go, make reservations early - they book up (not many seats on the de Havilland aircraft they use).

Kenai - Homer by itself won't keep you busy for very long (best halibut on the planet, though). Seward has day cruises into the Kenai Fjords National Park, and they are excellent. The full day (8 hour) trips will take you to various glaciers and offer eagles, puffins, sea otters, maybe a whale (getting a bit late). Avoid the short 3-4 hour trips - they never leave the bay at Seward.

RV vs hotel is a pretty personal choice. Have you managed an RV before? You might find it'll require more of your attention than you want if it's your rookie outing. Denali doesn't have lodges in the park. About 1 mile north of the park entrance is a place locals call the Gulch. On the west side of the road are 3 hotels owned by cruise lines - they have the reputation of being relatively expensive but very nice. My wife and I stayed at a place called the Denali Park Hotel in Healy, about 10 miles north of the park. The room was large and adequately furnished, and only a bit over $100 a night, but that was in 2008.

Whether you RV it or stay in hotels, if you will be driving get a copy of Milepost. It's the size of a phone book (remember them?) and has an incredible amount of detail about what you'll find along every road in Alaska (the detail is amazing, but the small number of roads makes the book possible). It's updated annually, so be sure to get the 2018 edition. You'll find it online if it isn't in a local bookstore.



Jul 15, 2017 at 11:44 PM
runakid
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Alaska opportunity - your input please


LOts of good advice. I do think the milepost book is only for the Alaskan highway.
The problem with the longer Denali bus trips is the driver will stop whenever anyone sees an animal. It could be a wonderful picture but is often just a white dot (sheep or goat) that they get excited about..
We had not problems with crowds last year and started driving home on the 15th.
Anchorage to Tok is a day's drive. Tok to Whitehorse is a longer day's drive. You have to,gas up in Watson Lake to,have enough gas to make it to Fort McHenry, a really long drive. Not much in the way of stuff in between. After that you will be ok.



Jul 16, 2017 at 05:45 PM
EverLearning
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Alaska opportunity - your input please


bflood, I couldn't agree with you more about one way vs round trip cruise. Unfortunately, one of my in-laws has a health matter that makes flying very difficult, so it has to be the round trip cruise.

Thanks to yours and others' advise re Labour Day and Denali, we are looking at doing the cruise September 1 and land September 8.

What do you consider the key things in going to Lake Clark area in early September? Knowing what you know now, if you were doing one trip (your first), would you go to Lake Clark or to Seward/Kenai Fjords NP?

Is there anything special about Chugach National Forest, other than the aforementioned Seward/Kenai Fjords NP?

I am getting the sense that trying to do Katmai NP or Lake Clark NP at the same time as Denali or Chugach or Kenai Fjords NP is not good use of the six days?

Would taking the train from Anchorage to Denali, spending four days in Denali, then train down to Seward and the next day doing the Kenai Fjords NP make sense? Anybody have thoughts on the train, use of the shooting platforms, etc? Or is it 'better' (wildlife and scenery opportunities) to rent a car in Anchorage, drive to Denali (and drive the car back and forth for a day or two) then to Seward and back to Anchorage?

Thanks again. I really appreciate the great insight!



Jul 16, 2017 at 10:18 PM
dasams
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Alaska opportunity - your input please


My wife and I just finished a four week RV trip through Alaska. We drove the full Alaska Highway on the way up and did the Tok > Anchorage > Kenai > Anchorage > Denali > Fairbanks > Tok Loop. We are now working our way down the Inside Passage using the Alaska Marine Highway (ferry) system. The trip has been fantastic although it has been an unusually cold & wet spring / summer. Lotss of pics and details on our travel blog at dcairstream.net.

Since your family can't do the one way trip, would you be able to separate from them at the northern end such as Skagway? Then it's an easy flight to Anchorage where you can pick up a rental RV for your trip. It seems like half the rigs up there are rentals. If so, here's what I'd do.

Fly to Anchorage, pick-up an RV and drive down the Kenai penensula. The flights to Katmai are from Homer so that's your turnaround spot. Because I was there in late June and the salmon hadn't arrived at Brooks Falls, we shot the bears at Hollo Bay. Maybe I'll post of few of them. (Edit: I posted pics under the title Brown Bears of Hallo Bay, Katmai Natl Park.)

Then back to Anchorage and continue north to Denali. We did the 66 mile (one way) bus ride that took 8 hrs roundtrip. You can also continue to Wonder Lake but it's 11 hr round trip.

From Denali it's an easy drive to Fairbanks where you can drop the RV and fly home.

This is just a framework suggestion and you can work out the details of what you'd like to see.

GL, Dave

Edited on Jul 17, 2017 at 08:17 PM · View previous versions



Jul 17, 2017 at 05:28 PM
thedutt
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Alaska opportunity - your input please


When to go? I would suggest earlier the better, going before the cruse to maximize daylight and the golden multiple hours. I have never been to Alaska in the fall so others may be able to offer better perspective.

Regarding milepost, we have taken it 3 times and never used it. Cell phone connectivity with ATT (and roaming on others) is good enough to use Airbnb & Yelp in most places. Downloaded offline google maps offer great info and road signs are plentiful. I actually just left mine back there this time around as we didnt even use it once during a 3 week long road trip that was mostly unplanned. (Drive to a place to stay, pitch a tent or get a airbnb).

Unless you are a RV expert, I would skip that option and just rent a car and find places to stay. Availability is unlikely to be an issue, Airbnbs have added a lot of capacity.

If you can share your thoughts around what you would like to photograph, I can tweak the recommendations but in general:

Taste of Kenai Trip: Drive to Seward / Homer with a few side trips :
Day1: Leave ANC early and head to Potter Marsh and spend 1-2 hours with coffee, enjoying some birding opportunities. Take your time to enjoy Chugach State Park at all turn outs ( State Park HQ for a old railroad snow scrapper, Buluga Point for a great views, pretty much any spot). Often you will see goats around here also. Take a detour to Gridwood, Super short hike to Virgin falls, or a longer hike behind the hotel with a cable hike too book. Or rent bikes for a bike ride around town. Treat yourself for the hard work with some sourdough bread buns and butter and yummy soup @ the alpine bakery and then let the wife get some great art from the local art shop next door. Neat little Alaskan town.

Day 2:
Driven down 30 miles to Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center spend a leisurely 1-2 hours enjoying the animals there. If desired, take a short detour to Whittier to eat fresh catch and icecream and tour of glaciers. You go through a couple of mile long tunnel to boot and may spot eagles.

Stop at Tern Lake to see if any Artic Terns are around and more birding opportunity.
Here you have a decision to make: You can take a 1/2 day trip to Coppers landing or carry on to Homer. If you decide to not go to homer, it may still be worth driving Kenai National Wildlife Refuge's Skilak Lake Road. Wildlife opportunities and some good views.

Day 2.5, 3,4:
Drive to Homer or Seward. From homer you can do day trips for bear viewing - something to consider if you are not doing Katmai National Park. Buluga air are great folks, check them out. Two sisters bakery is awesome ( sticky buns to die for) and great scenery all around. Anchor point, about 30 miles before Homer, is a great spot for eagles at least in the summer. In Seward, kenai fjord national park day trip on cruise offers great viewings, simply gorgeous landscape. You will likely get eagle opportunities along the way. You really cannot go wrong with either option.

Day 5: Drive back leisurely

Or you can skip all of that and Go to Katmai National Park. If camping is an option, stay there 5 nights in the camp ground. The views are beautiful, and bear sightings should be decent. (they are feeding up using post spawn dead salmon). You can fly using Katmai Air from Anchorage to Brooks. Lodge may be available during august / sept, check out http://www.katmailand.com/packages/land-of-katmai-tour-brooks-lodge. You can also fly into King Salmon and do Day trips into brooks, but you will spend only about 6-8 hours a day in brooks and spend $200 every day to go to brooks camp on Katmai Air from King Salmon. Throw in a day trip to valley of 10000 smokes if you want do something different than bears, though I would suggest skipping if it on limited time. If budget is not a concern, lots of outfitters & photographers offer multi day trips to Halo bay, but I dont have any personal experience.


Good luck! Alaska is beautiful, for your next trip plan for a 3-4 weeks and we can talk about Denali, Wrangel & Valdez . ( I would suggest Against Denali - it is not a park to be enjoyed in a rush.)



Jul 17, 2017 at 07:47 PM
EverLearning
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Alaska opportunity - your input please


Thanks for the thoughts dasams.

Likewise thedutt. Re what I like to photograph, I would say I am about 2/3 to 3/4 wildlife, 1% faux macro (extension tubes) and the rest landscapes (scenics). I consider myself an opportunist rather than a pre-visioning photographer. That is, I try to pick opportunity rich environments and take what nature gives me rather than going with specific shots in mind. I have a 7D MarkII, the Canon 100-400 v2 and 1.4x TC, the Canon 17-55 and Canon 24-105, so I have quite a range covered on that camera.



Jul 18, 2017 at 10:14 PM
B Benson
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Alaska opportunity - your input please


If you want safe brown bear photography, Brooks Falls is a good option. The lodge is probably full now so camping would be the only option. Campground is surrounded by electric fence so is safe and viewing is done from platforms. There are many bears there in
September, you are assured of getting many opportunities to photograph. It does require you to get to King Salmon and a short float plane trip approximately $190. I went last year in Sept. 8-15. If you have any questions you cam PM me. Bruce Benson.. Another option if you want to photograph brown (grizzlies) you can take a one day trip to Halo Bay from Homer for around $600. I will be about 25 miles away September15th for a 10 day brown bear photography trip.



Jul 20, 2017 at 04:44 PM
B Benson
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Alaska opportunity - your input please


Here are two photos I took at Brooks camp in September two years ago. Bruce












Jul 21, 2017 at 03:10 PM
EverLearning
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Alaska opportunity - your input please


Taking all the great input here, I have done more research and came up with the following tentative plan. I have one general and two specific questions.

The plan (S 8 is September 8, 2018):

S 8: into Anchorage (2:45 PM; Saturday); get rental car and drive to Soldotna (~2.5 hrs)
S 9: Lake Clark (bear viewing – Silver Salmon Creek Lodge; 9AM flight)
S 10: Lake Clark - Soldotna - Seward (9:30AM flight, 2 hr drive); Alaska Sealife Center (open until 5PM)
S 11: Seward: Fjord cruise; explore Seward
S 12: Seward to Denali; stopping at Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
S 13: Denali (George Park Highway and North?)
S 14: Denali (park bus?)
S 15: morning in Denali (George Parks); drive to Anchorage in afternoon (4 hr drive); return car
S 16: home (home early AM on 17th)

General question: does anything in this plan strike you as a bad idea; either because of time of year or some other consideration?

We are considering Silver Salmon Creek Lodge for Lake Clark. We did look at Alaska Homestead Lodge, but its last day is September 6th. I also noticed Hallo Bay bear camp. An overnight stay with them doesn't seem to offer as much viewing time. Any notable benefit to them re quality of bear and other wildlife viewing, or the guides?

Glaciers and wildlife: my priority would be wildlife but interested in the glaciers as well. I get the impression that Seward is the better choice for wildlife and Whittier better for Glaciers. Would this be correct? So if Seward is the way to go for wildlife, just load up on motion sickness meds, slap on the sea bands and hope for calm to moderate seas?

How much time might I realistically expect to spend in the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center?

As always, much appreciation for those of you who 'donate' your valuable time to respond!



Jul 28, 2017 at 08:26 PM
EverLearning
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Alaska opportunity - your input please


Actually, I do have one more question.

If you were a first timer to Alaska (but still knew everything you now know!), would you cut one day out of Denali NP and add it to Lake Clark (making it two nights)? Please note that there is no flexibility on the front end of our trip because September 8th is the day we get off that cruise and there is no flexibility on the back end because my wife must be back at work on the 18th. So it is an either/or situation (2.5 days in Denali and one night Lake Clark or 1.5 days in Denali and two nights in Lake Clark).

Thanks



Jul 28, 2017 at 08:55 PM
EverLearning
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Alaska opportunity - your input please


Here's another thought. Would it make more sense to keep Denali as is (2.5 days), make Lake Clark longer and remove Seward completely from the trip?

Thanks



Jul 29, 2017 at 01:04 PM
jfwoodman
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Alaska opportunity - your input please


EverLearning wrote:
Here's another thought. Would it make more sense to keep Denali as is (2.5 days), make Lake Clark longer and remove Seward completely from the trip?

Thanks


I think that is a good call. Seward / glacier cruise are enjoyable, but you are trying to cover a lot of territory in your timeframe. More time in Lake Clark and/or Denali (which I've never been to - full disclosure) would be my choice.

Have fun!!

Jim



Jul 29, 2017 at 03:49 PM
dasams
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Alaska opportunity - your input please


What stops are on your cruise itinerary?

Haines is known for their eagles and I did a river raft two weeks ago. I'm not sure about the salmon run on your cruise dates but you should investigate. I wrote about it and included a link to the guide service I used. See https://dcairstream.net/2017/07/11/rafting-the-tsirku/

Wrangle is an hour by boat from the Anan Wildlife Observatory. There's a pink salmon run in the Anan that attracts a lot of black bears and is well worth the trip if the salmon are still there. I wrote five posts about it including a link to the guide service. See https://dcairstream.net/2017/07/19/anan-wildlife-observatory/ [Edit: to see the bear, eagle and salmon pictures, go to https://dcairstream.net and scroll to July 18]

As for Denali, you need two nights since the bus trip is pretty much all day.



Jul 29, 2017 at 04:12 PM
thedutt
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Alaska opportunity - your input please


I would suggest skipping Denali. After lake clakr, your wildlife viewing would have peaked and Denali by spirit is a park to come, relax for a few days , take wilderness hikes etc. Bus ride is fun, but does not come close to experience of Katmai/lake Clark. Wolf sightings are pretty rare - I have taken the bus 7x and never seen one. Drivers mention they barely see them. Enjoy the kenai penneusla as you are already there. And unless you are camping inside the park beyond mile 16, you will be spending a long time on the bus.


Jul 29, 2017 at 09:24 PM
jfwoodman
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Alaska opportunity - your input please


thedutt wrote:
I would suggest skipping Denali. After lake clakr, your wildlife viewing would have peaked and Denali by spirit is a park to come, relax for a few days , take wilderness hikes etc. Bus ride is fun, but does not come close to experience of Katmai/lake Clark. Wolf sightings are pretty rare - I have taken the bus 7x and never seen one. Drivers mention they barely see them. Enjoy the kenai penneusla as you are already there. And unless you are camping inside the park beyond mile 16, you will be spending a long time on the bus.


Good call. Bears at Lake Clark NP will be the big highlight. We loved Homer too (which is short flight away). Kenai is awesome. Trying to do Lake Clark, Kenai and Denali just too much. Cutting Denali will simplify things.



Jul 29, 2017 at 10:05 PM





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