There is one word that best describes Alaska – BIG!
Big mountains, big glaciers, big rivers, big eagles, big bears….
I have been lucky enough to have been invited to Homer, Alaska by my friend Tom Pogson who runs
Alaska Kayak School and organizes the Immersion Skills Symposium over Memorial Day weekend. After a couple of easy, and at times spectacular flights to Anchorage and a very pleasant drive down to Homer I arrived to see a stunning view of Homer Spit and the mountains and glaciers of the Kenai Peninsula.
I am staying with the Todd’s whose gorgeous house sits on the bluff 1200ft above Kachemak Bay, overlooking the Kachemak Bay State Park and the Kenai Mountains. They have been amazing hosts and we are all going on a three-and-a-bit day kayak trip along the north side of the Kenai Peninsula starting Thursday.
Today I helped lead a trip across the Bay to Gull Island and into an exquisite inlet where the minus tide had exposed some plumose and christmas anenomes and hundreds of sun stars, sponges and even a large clam that Rob Avery almost turned into sushi.
After sunbathing, yes, sunbathing in Alaska I kid you not – we headed back and saw tufted puffins on our second pass of Gull Island as well as thousands of murre, black legged kittiwakes and, of course, lots of gulls.
The crew did really well on the crossing back and it topped off a really successful symposium for Tom, Ryan and the rest the the AKS team. Well done you guys!
If you are looking for a world-class destination for sea kayaking then look no further than Homer, Alaska. Tom Pogson is one of the best instructors I have ever had the pleasure to work with. He has a deep understanding of what his clients need combined with profound knowledge of both the technical aspects of expedition sea kayaking and all aspects of the Alaskan wilderness.
