UKC

Just wondering if anyone has been to Prince William Sound?

A Friend and I are considering going over next summer for a few weeks for a sea kayak and climbing type trip. Something similar to what we did this year in British Columbia ( a week of wilderness paddling and camping) but add a few alpine days to the trip aswell..oh and hopefully a few more whale sightings

Just wondering if anyone has been either on a sea kayak trip or just to climb and can/willing to offer some useful advice/hints/tips for planning a trip to this area.

Anyone know of any good books/guides or any websites that offer good practical advice and not some guiding company wanting £900 so that we can join one of there tours.

Thanks

In reply to Alan M: Check out www.klemtutourism.com They're a First Nation owned travel company based in the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest in BC. Apart from wildlife/cultural tours they also hire sea kayaks and are a terrific source of local knowledge contacts etc

I was out there five years ago and it really is a stunning place.

Simon

In reply to simon manc:

Thanks for the reply I will check it out.

What did you do over there (if you dont mind me asking) climb or sea kayak or both? Where you on guided trip or did you organize it yourself?

I've heared great things about the area aswell as the whole South Eastern Part of Alaska. Whilst in British Columbia a few Weeks back a lot of people told us to head north for our next trip..so thats what we intend to do.

Anyway cheers for the link

In reply to Alan M:

I didn't go out on the sound but did visit the little town of Whittier. It's the funniest little place you have to go through a mountain tunnel (and pay) to get to. There's not really a lot to do there but it's worth a trip just for the giggle, and of course you can access the sound from there. It is beautiful. in fact, the whole of Alaska is amazing, one of the most beautiful places i went to on my RTW trip.

In reply to Alan M: I did a sea kayaking trip across PWS back in 1994 from Whittier to Cordova over 2 weeks - as part of an Operation Raleigh expedition.

Amazing place, lots of wildlife - from mossies to bears.. slightly scary crossing the inlet up the valdez with monster oil tankers coming up/down

mail me if you want some more information, although as i said it was semi-guided so I didn't have to deal with any of the logistics of getting kayaks there etc

not sure how easy it would be to get up high and onto alpine terrain from your kayaks, seem to remember a lot of steep forested slopes at sea level

you could maybe stay a night in the log cabin we built for the forestry service on Green Island!

In reply to Alan M:

I did a 10 day kayaking trip out of Whittier about 7 years ago, one of the best bits of any trip i've done. We hired a double from an operator there - found details in anchorage, I can't remember the name but they were very helpful and provided most of the kit you need. I do remember that there were several different compamies offering boats or tours so do some shopping around on the internet/phone. The Chugach mountains around the sound are serious, subject to high snowfall and bad weather (as is the sound) so any trips in should be well planned and expect to be disappointed if the conditions aren't right.

Dan Donovan