hiking on the glacier
to travel to Alaska you have to follow the call of the wild, with or without Jack London. In the south, the kenai peninsula It is the land of the Tanaina Indians, who used birch canoes to cross rivers plagued by salmon; is the land of greedy gold diggers, Revenant-style trappers, and explorers like Gerasim Izmailov , the first navigator who in 1789 entered the fjords and glaciers of the coast.
But above all this is the land of grizzly bear and black bear, elk and caribou , which take over the endless virgin coniferous forests while they take over the coast humpback whales, killer whales or Steller sea lions.
Steller sea lions
On the Kenai Peninsula, everything is at the service of your wild nature. There are no tourists, but travelers; It's not a vacation, it's an adventure. Not everyone is willing to travel to Alaska, but we are.
The best road trips in the final frontier start in Anchorage, the most populous city and epicenter of any boreal expedition , and ours could not be less.
Heading south we take the Seward Highway to skirt Turnagain Gulf to Portage, first town on the Kenai Peninsula.
It's hard to look away from the snowy peaks and the rugged coastline on both sides of the fjord . Country music is playing on the radio, there are danger signs for the moose crossing and the Polar cold feels more and more. This is Alaska.
THE KENAI PENINSULA
The peninsula enters 240 km in the Pacific , isolated by Cook Inlet to the west and Prince William Bay to the east. The Chugach National Forest It's a rain forest covers much of the region with its tapestry of fir and spruce.
Lost among the valleys and mountains of Kenai, in the immensity of the foliage, along the rivers or at the foot of the glacier, we find the peoples that bear the authentic essence of Akaska, of Russian, mining or military origin, such as Hope, Whittier or Homer.
East coast of the Kenai Peninsula
We cross Bear Lake, where black bears roam freely, and Moose Pass, unsuccessfully hoping to see a moose pass by, to continue along the road that crosses the peninsula from north to south until we reach seward, the gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park.
This coastal town of 2,600 inhabitants was named in honor of the US Secretary of State William H Seward , who purchased the territory of Alaska from Tsar Alexander II in 1867 by 7.2 million. What a negotiator he was made.
Seward is situated sheltered from the resurrection bay and totally surrounded by mountains like the Marathon , where one of the most famous mountain races takes place. Its port attentively awaits the arrival of cruise ships loaded with passengers on his Nordic crossing and fishing boats loaded with salmon and halibut.
Many of the travelers who do not arrive by sea they do it by road in a motorhome from anywhere in the United States. One after another they pile up in the bayfront recreation area, where barbecues and the occasional impromptu party are held.
seward harbor
Although for parties, those of the ** Yukon bar,** a club, next to the aquarium, with pool tables, karaoke, and dollar bills plastered all over the ceiling. Here it is mandatory to drink (at least) a pint of Alaskan beer, sing if you are told and leave the complexes out.
Seward also offers quieter, if less authentic, alternatives like the Resurrect Art Coffee House , the oyster restaurant The Cookery or the Gold Rush kitchen with an American touch. But let's not get distracted, we have come to what we have come.
KENAI FJORDS NATIONAL PARK
The eastern face of the peninsula is dominated by the Kenai Fjords National Park, one of the most spectacular places in all of Alaska.
In 1980 this protected area of 2,435 km2 of virgin forests, jungle islands and dynamic coastlines cleft by the advance of the glaciers from the endless Harding Icefield .
ice and snow cover more than half of this environment, of rocky promontories, fjords and placid bays that are home to a marine and terrestrial wild fauna less and less shy.
The National Park is divided into three zones: the Exit Glacier, the Harding Icefield, and the tidewater glaciers that line the coastline . And, of course, we were not going to leave without exploring them all.
Exit Glacier and Harding Icefield
The route leading to Exit Glacier and the Harding Icefield It takes us 20 minutes by road from Seward.
We parked the car in the visitor center at the foot of the Exit and contemplated that gigantic tongue of ice that makes its way into the valley destroying everything it finds.
The rangers who guard the park explain to us that it takes about six hours to make the round trip, what to do be warm because at the top of the glacier it is very cold and that let's not be scared if we see a bear , since they are usually seen enough around here. The main thing to remember in an unexpected encounter: don't run and make noise. The bear spray, which is like an anti-rapist but for plantigrades, it is also usually very helpful.
At the top of the glacier, the impressive Harding Icefield awaits us, an ice mass of 1,500 km2, vestige of the last glaciation, whose end escapes our sight.
We feel very small up here, in the face of so much natural grandeur. In Alaska it usually happens.
THE COAST OF THE GLACIERS
We return to the port of Seward ready to discover the glaciers of the coast. We ship with the company Kenai Fjords Tours _(between €100 and €150) _ which organizes cruises through the fjords of the Aialik Bay, Northwestern Lagoon, McCarthy Estuary, North Arm or Fox Island.
A pair of bald eagles watch us from a pole on the boardwalk as we leave the port. Hard not to feel American right now.
Prepare to be stunned
We sail through a maze of forested islands and icebergs where humpback whales and killer whales raise their backs over the cold waters, leaving all the ship's crew in awe. Graceful puffins nest on rocky cliffs while Steller sea lions vie for the best spot to bask in the sun.
Every once in a while, the ship stops to contemplate the overwhelming collapse of bluish ice glacier fragments at a roaring sound. The guide explains that this situation increases every year, due to climate change.
LOWELL POINT
At the end of Seward, the road turns into a trail through coastal forest to the Lowell Point State Park.
on this little cape prevails the law of Miller's Landing, a pioneer active tourism company in the area which organizes kayak routes through the Resurrection Bay, fishing expeditions and excursions of all kinds since 1950.
It has a great camping area on the beach as well as a small jetty, where the sailors cut up the fish before the eyes of the seagulls and the gluttonous otters.
Navigate alone and in silence through these icy waters, through its calm bays and deserted beaches waiting for the snort of the whales or the visit of the seals is one of the best prizes that you can take if you travel to the Kenai Peninsula.
Kayak route in Resurrection Bay