TRAK/SEAK Channel Islands Tour - Alaska: August 2 - 8, 2021

Tour Itinerary

Expedition Training Plan: The schedule below is a rough idea of events plan but we will be very flexible and our route may change with the wind and the tides.  

• DAY 1: Meet your guide in Juneau for a pre trip meeting and dinner.
• DAY 2: We will pack our things early and meet with our driver for a 45 minute ride to Echo Cove. Once  at the launch we will get our kayaks squared away and go over some kayak paddling techniques  as well as some safety items and then push off into the waters of Berners Bay. We will spend our first day on the water exploring the bay and refining our paddling techniques. Once everyone is  feeling comfortable we will head north to our first campsite and a well deserved hearty dinner.
• DAY 3: Waking up below the towering mountains of the Coast and Chilkat mountain ranges, we will have a hearty breakfast, pack our gear, take a look at the wind and the tides and make our way through Berners Bay. Leaving Berners Bay will take us out in to the main part of the fjord between Juneau and Haines. Keep your eyes peeled for humpback or killer whales, which frequent these waters feeding on schools of herring and hooligan, a large smelt-like fish prized for its oil. Making our way up the east side of the fjord we are heading for Point Sherman, a traditional camping spot for the Tlingit on their trade routes to the south. We will camp on the gentle shores near Point Sherman as well.
• DAY 4: Rest Day! We have earned a rest day. Sleep in, read a book, build a fire on the beach, hike up the river bed into the mountains or perhaps to a glacier, or just relax in camp taking in what the Tongass National Forest has to offer you.
• DAY 5: Now into the heart of the fjord we will have our rhythm, making good time in the mornings on the water but always taking a moment to watch porpoises swim by or bald eagles fish along the shore. In the afternoon when the breeze picks up we can choose to let the wind push us north rafting our kayaks together to give those paddling muscles a break, breaking out the binoculars and scouting for our next camp site on Sullivan Island.
  
• DAY 6: This day will see us head to the western shore of the fjord, and for the first time we may see a cabin or the remnants of a fox farm from the early days as we close in on our destination of Haines. Our campsite on this day is at the mouth of the Harley River drainage. Once camp is set up we can head for a hike up the Harley River and maybe just maybe to the glacier at the end of the valley.
• DAY 7: After one last camp breakfast we have Haines in our sights. We may paddle into Letnikof Harbor  to meet our ride into town or we may catch a ride in a water taxi or bush plane if our pace or  weather has us a little behind schedule. Either way we will be welcomed to Haines by the crew at  SEAK Expeditions with showers in our very near future.