Alaska-Summer 2013-CH

Heidi was really excited to go!

Alaska was our very first domestic trip together.  We weren't quite sure how things would work out and all- I mean without a language barrier, we would have no excuses for getting lost and doing things haphazardly like we were used to.  We flew into Anchorage and stayed the night in the airport.  We both got in just after midnight and we were too frugal to spend money on a hotel for only half the night.  We woke early and headed to the train station and began the journey to Seward.  It was dark and rainy when we got in, but we still managed to squeeze a short hike in. We stayed at Moby Dick's Hostel, which was basic and affordable. The next day we kayaked down the bay and hiked up to an old WW2 bunker across the bay. From the top we were enjoying the views of a humpback whale in the waters below when a helicopter came hovering above.  Our kayak guide assured us it would not land, as there was not enough room...  boy was he wrong!  Turned out they were filming the documentary "The Last Frontier" nearby and stopped to maintain some of the service stations.  Ruined our lunch spot, but kinda cool to see. We went to a local bar afterwards.  Definitely more boys in Alaska than girls.

Ice Climbing Exit Glacier outside of Seward

The following day we got to ice climb for the first time, which was AMAZING!  We highly recommend it if you get the chance.  We not only got to climb, but we also got to repel into crevices. We also saw a mamma griz and her cub while climbing up to the glacier.  The following day, we decided we wanted to head to Homer and realized how expensive and time consuming travel is in Alaska (waiting for a bus, transferring, etc.) so we decided to try our hand (thumb) at hitching...

 Hitchhiking was our primary mode of transportation.  We even got ride before we put our thumbs out.  We only went back to 2 different people's homes and were
 picked up by all sorts of people (families, couples, old people, young people, single people, and one person with a machete) Most people were super friendly and went out of their way to drop us off at a better intersection or took us straight to where we were going). 

We arrived safely in Homer a half a day later. People were so willing to give us rides. People even went out of their way to show us the sights and wildlife. We found a cheap hotel and headed out early the next day for the spit to find Mako's Boat Taxi (recommended by one of our hitches).  The ranger gave us hiking options and we set out!  The hike was amazing (as expected!) and we made it back in time for our boat.  Our Captain was dreamy and we (Carrie) may have even enjoyed a few drinks with him later that night...

Took a boat taxi across Kachemak Bay (Homer) and climbed up to a beautiful glacier.  Long exhausting day which resulted in Carrie falling in love with the boat captain. We also borrowed his car.

 After a few more days in Homer, we headed back to Anchorage and did a quick bike ride and hike up Flat Top before heading to the airport...

Anchorage bike ride

MOOSE!!!!