The reflective surface of Aniakchak lagoon. I love bringing people here for the photographic opportunities.
Sometimes, the best travel stories are from the times that don't go according to plan. I had one of those adventures today, at Aniakchak Bay. This spot is part of one of the most remote, and least visited, National Monuments and preserves in the country. The bay consist of a long stretch of beach, with big dunes, a river on one side, and a huge estuary on the other. I had been here once before, and had taken guests hiking deep into the estuary, which I wanted to do again. The entrance and dropoff were a breeze, and the hike in was as easy and picturesque as I remembered. It was the hike out that proved difficult.
As we hiked in, we had marsh grass and dry bank to walk on. Or we could walk out on the wet mud of the estuary. This reflective mud is one of the most picturesque things about this bay. I took the whole group out in it for a picture at one point because it was so beautiful. We walked for about a mile and a half in, with the only difficult parts being a couple of small rivers coming out of the marsh, making the walking a little trickier and deeper. Just like last time, we made it to a overlook in the back, where we could safely watch a bear moving across the bay. It was pretty far away this time, so binoculars were necessary. After a while, I turned the group back. This is when I noticed just how far the water had come up.
Thanks to the full moon, we had a big tidal swing. All of the wet mud was gone, as was the dry bank to walk on. We covered some distance for awhile walking on the marsh grass. We made it past one river by jumping across. But then we got to the biggest river crossing and quickly realized that it was too deep to cross and to big to jump. I tried to take the group around the river and pond, but was turned back by hidden rivulets that were covered by the tall marsh grass. People, myself included, would fall into the rivulets, sometimes going up to their thigh in water. So we went back to where the river empties into the estuary and waited. I thought maybe the small boat could get back to us with the high water, but I turned them around as they hit very shallow water all throughout the estuary. I did not want one of our skiffs to get stuck, knowing that it would be impossible for them to get unstuck until the next high tide.
We ended up having to wait for about an hour, for the tide to start going down. I could tell some of the guests were getting nervous, and we were going to be late for dinner, so I did my best to check in with everyone and let them know the plan. I kept checking the water level, and finally, I thought it was just doable with our tall boots. I told those with short boots to take them off and go barefoot. We managed to just get across the river outflow, which I knew was the deepest water on our path out. After a few more smaller river crossings we were good to go. We made it back to our small boat for a well deserved ride back to the boat. Dinner was waiting when we got there!
The hiking team, enjoying the reflections as we head deeper into the estuary at Aniakchak Bay, Alaska. I really like how the clouds reflect off the wet mud here.
Richard, showing us what 'tough' really is. Here he is joining the Isopod Club...the only entrance to the club is by eating a live isopod.
This is what the live isopod looked like.
Heading out for some afternoon hiking fun at Aniakchak.
We got word that there was a gray whale up ahead, so all hands to the bow for some whale watching!
I was surprised to see this pacific golden plover hanging out in the Aniakchak estuary. I see these birds all winter in Hawaii. Somehow, they migrate all the way here to Alaska to spend the summers.
We found the gray whale!
When you are used to seeing humpback whales or fin whales or killer whales, you immediately know that this is something different. The gray whale has a mottled look to their skin, as well as a noticeable lack of a prominent dorsal fin.
We also ran across thie group of orca, or killer whales. They were very close together. One of the young ones was quite energetic and gave us some fun tail slaps and spy hops.
Killer whales on the move.
Orcas are the biggest dolphin species, so they have a lot of fun behaviors at the surface. Here is one spy hopping, hoping to get a look at us.
Three orcas in a row. This is mom, calf, and big brother all together.
The guests always seem to like heart shaped rocks.
After watching a bear for a while in the back of the bay, we turned around to head out...but found that the tide had come in....way in. It was a 8.1ft high tide, thanks to the full moon. This would make things difficult for us.
The incredible background of Hook Bay, where we stopped for a morning adventure before Aniakchak.
We skiffed over to this waterfall before heading ashore.
Starting out our hike we had lots of beach to walk on.
After waiting for about an hour, the water finally subsided enough for us to attempt a river crossing. If we made it past this, we should be able to make it all the way back to our pickup spot.
When we first got turned away by the high water, I tried to take the group inland to make it around the little rivers. This proved impossible as the tall marshgrass hid many small rivers that we would fall down into. Then we still couldn't make it past the bigger rivers.
You have to stop and appreciate your surroundings here in Alaska.
This is what our hike looked like on the way out. Wet mud for as far as we could see, and dry bank next to marsh grass on the side. Easy walking.
Those with medium tall boots had to take them off to make it across the river. Otherwise we would have been waiting there for a lot longer.
Fiona, not worried about hiking barefoot!
This is part of our group, watching a far-off bear across the estuary.
When you are stuck, waiting for the tide to drop, you just have to relax and soak up your surroundings. The bugs weren't bad and the grass was soft. Not a bad place for a lie-down.
As always, keep traveling and keep posting!
- Dai Mar