Prince William Sound, Alaska We have spent out first night in a secluded bay in Prince William Sound and this morning I am waking up to the movement of the boat and the sound of water. Looking out the porthole in our cabin all I can see is fog, but when I get up on deck a spectacular view meet me. The fjord is calm with blue sky over the low laying fog. In the far distance I can glimpse what looks like a tidewater glacier. While we move towards the glacier we have a delicious breakfast and a cup of coffee enjoying the view, looking forward to what waits head of us. A day amongst the icebergs under Harvard Glacier in kayak.
The morning fog is about to lift
An amazing landscape reveals as we get closer to the glacier
Calving from the glacier (wish you could hear it roaming!)
The Captain has dropped the anchor in front of Harvard Glacier
When we get closer to Harvard Glacier the the Captain drops the anchor and we enjoy the view and watch the glacier calf for a while. This glacier is more active then the one we visited yesterday evening and there is constantly smaller and some larger pieces coming off. Very exciting to listen to glacier calf as the sound when it happens is quite dramatic, much louder than I would ever have anticipated. Discovery is completely surrounded by small pieces of ice that has come off the glacier.
Relevant: Our Alaska Adventure: Denali to Kenai
After studying the glacier for a while we are eager to get into the kayaks that Discovery carries with it. The crew set the skiff on water and we use the skiff to get in and out of the kayaks. Our first time in Alaskan waters, what an exciting moment!
The kayaks are sitting on the roof of the wheelhouse
We are all offloaded and ready to go
Our tandem kayak is completely surrounded by icebergs
Kayaking in front of Harvard Glacier
Check out this 30 second video clip from kayaking in College Fjord:
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/120990928 w=600&h=400]
After spending some time along Harvard Glacier we set course towards Smith Glacier and Bryn Mawr Glacier which is a bit further out College Fjord. Discovery had sailed ahead of us and was now waiting for us just below Bryn Mawr Glacier. Once onboard Discovery the captain set course out of College Fjord and we enjoy a savoury lunch with an amazing scenery while we are heading towards our next Prince William Sound adventure.
Kayaking past Smith Glacier
These adorable sea otters are laying on their back also enjoying a meal as we are heading out of College Fjord
The map below shows the locations of our adventures in Prince William Sound, we are currently on post 5 ‘Kayaking under a roaming glacier’. If you missed out on any of the previous post check out ‘Our Alaska Adventure: Denali to Kenai’ for an overview.
Thanks for reading, please leave a comment as well. We’d love to hear what you think.
That is amazing, Inger! If and when we get back to Alaska, we would love to do that. Thanks for posting this adventure!
Jim
Thanks Jim! It was a great day in College Fjord. Amazing to kayak in front of the glacier, makes you realise the size of it and you get to feel the waves after a calving!
That is gorgeous! I can smell the fresh air, that has no smell at all.
Absolutely! The fresh air, the feeling of being on the water one with nature, just amazing. Thanks for commenting!
Looks awesome 🙂
Thanks! It definitely was! 🙂
One word: Spectacular.
It truly was spectacular. An experience we will not forget! Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment.
Beautiful scenery. One day I hope to get there too.
Thanks Donna! If you ever get the chance you should absolutely go, you won’t regret! It was a once in a lifetime experience for us!
Wow! This looks amazing! I don’t know how I missed this in my wordpress reader. Thanks for commenting on my blog as it meant that I checked yours again and found this new post! What an amazing trip. I would love to do something similar with my long suffering daughter! Beautiful pictures.
Thanks for your generous comment Jane! It absolutely was an amazing trip for us and we will be forever grateful we got to do this! Being on the water in front if the glacier means you really get to touch and feel the effects of the glacier, the movement in the sea when a large iceberg calves of the glacier, and the cool air surrounding the glacier. It was superb!
Amazing !!! It looks like an incredible and unforgetable experience.
I think we have the skills necessary to kayak there… I think…
It was not advanced kayaking at all, everyone can do it! Water was very calm:) Just stay clear of the largest icebergs in case they turn around. Most of the ice is under water and they can be bigger then they first appear.
Darwinontherocks and I have done some kayaking on Lake Huron and on a spider infested river in Borneo, survived both! 😛
Would very much love to kayak near some icebergs!!!
I count on you ! 😉 Because we are going to do this !!
You are making me miss Alaska. No place quite like it.
I agree, there is no place quite like it:) Thanks for reading!
We are planning a trip to Alaska next year. Thanks so much for this post! We would love to kayak when we are there.
Oh you are going to love it! I wish I was going back as well! It is always great doing some kayaking, and doing it in front of a glacier is even better! Where are you planning in going once in Alaska?
We are just starting the planning stage so nothing is mapped out yet. I do want to see some of the National Parks. We will be there for 3 months. Any suggestions you may have would be most welcome! 🙂
What a fantastic adventure Inger! I have been near Seward on a boat trip when a glacier calved and it is so awesome to witness. It’s pretty fast, so that you captured a photo is impressive. Thanks for sharing this adventure, and your photos are dazzling. 🙂
Thanks for your comment Jet, much appreciated! Part of the fun was trying to guess where the next piece would calf off. This glacier was quite active so I had lots of opportunities to get a photo of it, but your right – it happens fast so in most of them I was just able to catch the aftermath:)
What a wonderful adventure! Oh I love the picture of sea otters! they are so adorable!
Thanks Indah! I agree – those sea otters are adorable! And they really seem to have a personality and curiosity making them very interesting to watch:) Thanks for taking the time to comment! xo xo Inger
Oh wow, what an amazing experience!!
Thanks Janaline! We enjoyed every second of it, wish we could have stayed:) xo xo Inger
Those are stunning photos and I agree a photo says a thousand words. It looks so pristine and loved the otters.
Thanks for the generous comment in the photos. It was an amazing experience, loved the feeling of exploring something so remote – the fresh air and pristine surroundings – loved it! And yes, the sea otters were adorable:) Thanks for taking the time to comment.
xo xo Inger
WOW that looks like a fantastic adventure. Love those photos. Every single one of them.
Thank you! It was quite an experience, something out of the ordinary. We loved every second of it! Thanks for the generous comment on the photos, and thanks for taking the time to comment!
Those photos of you kayaking are absolute stunning. Must have been a bit chilly though?
Those kayaking photos are absolutely stunning, but it must have been so cold?!
Thanks Alanna! It was actually quite a warm day (by Alaskan standards that is) so I was not cold at all. It was amazing just relaxing in the sun in the kayak while being surrounded by icebergs. Thanks for stopping by our blog and leaving a comment.
I enjoyed the read. It must have been awesome to be able to kayak there too as I’ve always wanted to do that. Epic trip!
Thanks! It was definitely an experience you don’t have every day being able to kayak in such a remote and pristine area. I would love to go back and do it again. An epic trip for sure! Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.
Those sea otters are so cute and I love the map. Sounds like an incredible trip. Looking forward to more pictures from the trip! Great shots! 😊
Thanks for the generous comments Jamie! Much appreciated. The sea otters were my favourite of all the creatures we met in Alaska. They were curious and so fun to watch!
xo xo Inger
What an adventure! I had to idea Alaska is so gorgeous! This went straight to my to do list. Thank you! 🙂
It sure was an adventure Lucy! Alaska was just stunning! We were equally impressed every day with all we experienced. You will not regret putting it on the to-do list:)
Amazing photos, especially the first one and the sea otters! I love kayaking! But I’ve always wondered about the gearing up, what kind of equipment do you have on under those lifevests when kayaking among icebergs? Is there a sort of “wetsuit” for kayaking? Because if your kayak tipped over for some reason, wouldn’t the water be so cold you might get hypothermia quite quickly..? (Where I live, hypothermia is a risk for sea kayakers even in the summer!) Anyway, just wondering aloud 🙂 It really looks spectacular! You have so many lovely photos here on your blog!
Thanks for your generous comments on the photos! Much appreciated:) The sea otters were so adorable! The cutest things.
We just used wollen underclothing and waterproof jacket and pants. The waters were very calm so there was no real risk of tipping the kayak. The kayaks were very stable and we were in a fjord protected from winds and waves. It has been a different story for sure had this been out in the open sea or of you are going long distances without any safety back-up. We had the main boat fairly close (could probably be there within 15 minutes should something happen).
Thanks for reading! And it was definitely spectacular and worth a trip to Alaska! 🙂
I love reading your posts! 🙂
Stunning Shots! I’m just imagining the experience of it all. It must have been amazing. Lovely! We hope we can make a trip to Alaska someday! 🙂
It was quite an experience, and to be so lucky with the water made it even better! An adventure we will never forget. I really hope you get to experience Alaska. She is a beauty with her pristine wilderness! Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment!
Watching the video made me feel like I was in an arctic paradise. the sea otter photo is so adorable.
This was arctic paradise! We loved it. The sea was so calm and the sun was warming. The glacier was even more majestic seeing it from ‘below’. There was something about the sounds and the smells and being on the water – magic for us! And the sea otters, so cute! Thanks for reading Sue.
Fantastic post! Photos, text, and all the emotion of that morning! Thank you! 🙂
Thank you for your generous comment Fabio! Much appreciated. It was a spectacular morning – I am sure it will be a memory for a lifetime for us. Kayaking in the wilderness in Alaska amongst icebergs and glaciers was such an adventure:)
What an amazing trip! I would love to go kayaking among the glaciers. Spectacular photos, and great blog. Happy travels and adventures!
It looks absolutely beautiful. The closest I have every gotten was northern Alberta, and the Canadian Rockies. Hopefully someday!
Looks so amazing – great pictures.
How cold was it out on the kayaks? It doesn’t look too warm.
I can only image how could it was 🙂 But the view is fantastic and the sea otters image make me smile! Your experience make want to visit Alaska, and I don’t even like being cold weather 😀 Great images!
We have been to Alaska twice, I love the scenery, and your pictures do it justice. We flew in a small plane out to a glacier and did some canoeing around it. Great fun, that was several years ago. Your pictures brought back great memories.
Fantastic photos, Inger. Those sea otters are the cutest creatures. I can’t imagine myself in a kayak surrounded by icebergs, but I really enjoyed seeing your photos. 🙂
Such a great adventure ~ wow. The cold but beautiful scenery and the sea otters are just brilliant. I’d love to be doing this…
Amazing photos. I can only imagine how cold and memorable it would be. I want to travel north this time. AHh. 🙂
what an amazing post and your photographs are just heavenly! 🙂
What a grand adventure! Such unspoilt beauty.
Awesome adventure! So close to the glacier. 🙂
The photographs and the video are breathtaking! I am overwhelmed with beauty just looking at them. I wish I see all of this with my own eyes one day.
This is amazing! And I loved the video, too. Your posts make me want to visit Alaska so badly. What a magical place.
What impressive set of photos and unique experience! Thanks for taking me there. Bye. Kamila
Hi Inger.. Your blog posts are WOW WOW WOW.. I totally fell in love with the vibrancy of the posts. I am glad to have found you, and you have recieved a new reader 🙂 Looking forward to your posts.
Greetings from Corners of World.
Love
Aanchal
Now, that’s living! Simply awesome.
It’s true pictures tell us more than a thousand words.What a great adventure for you to
Thanks I may enjoy your voyage to. Great white world makes me so little and the icebergs so big.Thanks for sharing your artic adventure.Sorry for my bad English.