super fun, sorta wet trek to Harriman....

 these are a bunch of the iphone pics.  funny that i realized the iphone costs more than the SLR camera...so most of the paddle pics on the kayak are with the SLR.  when did silly phones get so much more expensive than the camera's.  they do take pretty good photos though. above is my friend SJ kayak on top of my car while we waited for the tunnel to Whittier to open

 i worked the three nights before and thankfully i got out of work every night a bit early...that last night i was home by close to 4 am.  otherwise i don't know how i would have gotten packed and prepped.  i know i wouldn't have gotten any sleep the day we left.  i had to pick up SJ by 10:30 am.  the iphone pics always load all random so these are in no order at all.  above was the pretty sunset at Mile 30 camp site on our last night.  our old camp site was done in by a major rock slide/glacier lake fail.  not safe over there at all from the reports we got.

 our lunch break in front of Byron/Cascade and Cox glaciers.  they are barely tidewater anymore.  they have receded a great deal since we last visited for a major paddle back in 2004...at least for me.  i built the little cairn on my kayak and collected ice and driftwood to take to our next camp area.  the cairn survived the ride except that top rock...

 always the group photo's...this was on a beach covered with large ice from the Surprise glacier..we were stopped there for lunch on day 2.

 our camp site for 2 nights.  we were initially planning to move on day 2 but it was pretty wet at times so it seemed best to stay put.  the last time i did this trek we did 4 nights and this time it was 3 nights.  we ended up having to skip the paddle to the face of Harriman Glacier.  we had views of it on our paddle and the first night we paddled just a ways towards it, in the rain, of course.

 more photo ops.

am debating a run to Homer still today. haven't even checked the hotel situation out yet. still need to walk the pups as well.  baby moose are being born all over town.  heard there is a new mama out in Baxter Bog with a few babies.  if it's the same one that chased me she is one protective mama.  i heard she has already chased someone this weekend.

 unloading in front of Surprise glacier for lunch and photo ops

 views from my tent

 setting up at our second spot...mile 30.  the boat captain dropped us at what he thought was Toboggan camp spot but clearly wasn't we made due but a higher tide or some big waves could have proved deadly...we were on a wee bit of an island of sorts....the water flowed in around behind us as we slept both nights.  the real toboggan camp site was a bit further in...under toboggan hanging glacier.

 thankfully we had 2 shelter tents to try and stay dry and to cook in

 below is us waiting for our pick up yesterday.  they were right on time.  they had a boat load of tourists though.  we were twice the object of tourists photo's. 

 another tour boat came into  the bay as we were paddling through lots of ice in front of Cascade/Byron and Cox Glaciers. i swear the cameras were snapping at all of us in kayaks and must have been bored with glaciers at that point. 

 that one was the 26 glacier cruise tour company.  as i remember from 2004, they are not always good at slowing down in a timely fashion to avoid giving kayakers a large wake...which can prove dangerous in thick ice like that.  ice can flip over and the ice tends to be much larger under the water than above...not cool.  we all did fine and they did slow down at some point...probably so the tourists could take our photo's in the ice.

 dusk...this time of year this is 11 or 12 at night.

 we all brought our own meals but since we all had extras we did end up doing a few group meals.  this was my addition. we called it oops stir fry since there was no lip on the fryer so little veggie bits were flying off the range all the time.  i also had some stir fry beef that i had marinated in teriyaki and frozen to share. the O's had bonus ingredients, left from the night before so some interesting burritos were created and enjoyed by all.

 more views from the tent. we didn't see any bears.  it was wet and cold though so nights were a bit chilly.  i had brought my fleece liner for my bag and then wore extra layers to sleep in, thick socks and a ski hat.  still was cold, especially the first 2 nights.  the last night was raining all night but for some reason i was just a bit warmer.  i even slept with my head out of the bag for a bit. 

 spent last night trying to wash/dry everything out. 

 i brought s'more ingredients...you have to have at least one out there!!

 we really did have a lot of fun despite some time waiting out rain.  we seemed to get lucky with set up/tear down times that were fairly dry.  not on the last night. i waited for a break in the rain to tear down the tent but it didn't last very long so my tent was soaked.  lay it out last night in the back yard.  need to set it up again but the forecast was for more rain last night and possibly wind so i pulled it back in.  laundry and dishes are done though.  been putting stuff away today. 

 felt so great to take a hot shower and to sleep in my bed. 

 loved the ice on this beach.  we got lucky with good weather for our lunches as well.

 when it's rainy out the best plan is to pack up camp and head out in the kayaks. you are wearing rain gear and you keep warm by paddling.

 did burn my inner lips and the tip of my tongue on my hot tea out there.  seems to be healing.

 the dogs survived and went nuts when i arrived back home. 

 the world is super green now and we did see some flowers starting to show up.  so pretty.

 along with all the cool ice, there were great waterfalls as well.

 tons of otters, many with babies.  they are skittish and we didn't want to spook them.  even from quite a distance we did.  they were all over the ice in front of the glaciers.  didn't get any good photo's really though.

 was tired so i lay down on the asphalt to rest while we waited for the tunnel.

 the tunnel to Whittier opens one way on the 1/2 hour, the other way on the hour and then occasionally it closes to car traffic to get a train through. it's a tunnel that can only fit one train or vehicle width.  the first time i drove in i was a bit freaked to enter this long tunnel with only train tracks coming out...seems to defy logic. 

 it's over 2 miles long and has 7-8 safe houses inside in case there is a rock slide. 

 we did enjoy a camp fire each night.

 clouds and rain....pretty typical.  the first morning we did get a rainbow across the sky

 Surprise Glacier

 no whale sightings but we did see lots of seals and otters as i said.  of course, loads of birds as well.  the first night we had a porcupine munching on grass while we ate.  the little guy stuck around for quite a bit

 the campfire is a tradition loved by all of us

 lots of fun and laughter all weekend.

 TE did do a tip over on the kayak as he tried to get into it on day 3.  he was fine but he'd gotten wet and he headed to this camp a bit early to warm up and get dried out. 

 he used the kayak paddles as drying racks.

 a lot to do if i plan to head to Homer this afternoon.  mostly i need to see if there is a place available to stay and get these dogs walked...repack for the next trek.  would love to get down there though.  :-)

 no rest for the adventurous...

 below we are waiting for the water taxi to pick us up to head out

 SJ has had his little red boat for over 30 years i think...many great adventures on it.  it is a heavy boat.

 i have always just used rentals or borrowed from friends. 

 these ones had some issues with the rudder, TE didn't work at all.  he took mine out the last day for a short paddle.  everyone but me did a short paddle on that last rainy day as we waited for our pick up

 guess i better get moving if i want to get some stuff done.

 just wanted to pop some photo's in...let you know we survived. 

 i worked ER for my 3 nights...the shit we see!!  i totally can't write about it...but the stuff that a brain can do to a person...it ain't right.  that totally had to hurt!! good thing i saw what really was on the floor...hopefully those body parts were re-attached safely.

 enjoying the fire..

thankful for: A.  another fun trek  B. living in such a beautiful place C.  the health to be able to get out on these trips still...though it's not as easy as it used to be.