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Day 14Seward BoundHighlightsDay 14 is similar to Day 13 which involved traveling and several stops for hiking in search of wildlife. Wildlife spotting was more misses than hits. The pre-trip impression and hypes about abundance of wildlife did not turn out to be true for us as we travel from place to place, since wild animals would avoid human as much as human don't want to get too close to them. Several day hikes yielded only a few encounters with eagles. Our search of salmon runs was also fruitless. By late evening, we happened to spot a mother grizzly bear walking with her cubs along a river. We also visited Exit Glacier, one of a few glaciers reachable by car. Day JournalKenai PeninsulaOur destination of the day was Seward. With a distance of roughly 150 miles around Kenai Peninsula, we had ample time for stops and hikes along the way. We would retrace our path back on Alaska Highway 1 (also called the Sterling Highway) over rather monotonous sceneries back toward Kenai and the Seward Highway junction. From there, we again go south to Seward located on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula. There were a few points of interests we had in mind for the day - drive the Skilak Lake Loop to visit Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in search of wildlife, especially grizzly bears, and spawning salmon. In Seward, we wanted to see the Exit Glacier and book a tour to a tidal glacier. With that sketch in mind, we started out early in the overcast morning, which turned worse as the day progressed.
Leaving the visitor center empty-handed, we followed the Skilak Lake Loop, a dirt road spun off of highway 1. This road skirts along Skilak Lake which must be abundant with salmon since we saw many people fishing along the bank of the Kenai River as well as in boats in the lake. The view was quite beautiful with panoramic views of the lake and distant glaciers. We drove by several campgrounds and found nice campsites with great views of the lake and mountains. The view of Skilak Lake, surrounding mountains and glaciers on Bear Mountain was breathtaking. This picture was not taken by me as the norm, but rather by my wife who was inspired by the majestic scenery in front of her. Our most significant adventure was hiking the 1.5 mile Hidden Creek Trail. Being the only souls on the trail with plenty of warnings from the Visitor Center about what to do if one encounters grizzly bears, we were definitely on the lookout for these beasts. The hike, while exciting with this mindset, did not yield any bear encounters much to my disappointment and my wife's relief. The telephoto lens setup was only used to capture views of glaciers. The weather also looked threatening but fortunately did not soak us. After several such fruitless stops, including one with a fresh posted warning about recent bear sighting the day before, we got back on highway 1. Along the way, we made one more stop at a state park in search of spawning salmon. Several people spotted a black bear catching salmon on the river, but by the time I arrived, it was long gone. I found neither spawning salmon nor bears. Somewhat dejected, we resumed our trip to Seward.
By the time we reach town, the downpour was quite heavy and it turned cold, giving us concerns about the next day boat tour. So we drove downtown in hope of finding some rain gears and warmer clothing. Fortunately, a few stores were still open at this late hour and we snapped up gloves, jackets and beanies, then returned to the apartment and prepared for the following day. Roads and WeatherThe road was good in the Kenai Peninsula. Even the dirt road of Skilak Lake Loop was well maintained. We had no difficulties with our drive. The weather was cloudy through the morning and then turned wet for the afternoon with only brief moments of relief. The rain became heavy the whole evening through the following day. The temperature in Kenai Peninsula was colder than in Anchorage and substantially colder than inland. Extra warm clothing would be necessary for boat tours and hikes up glaciers. LinksClam Gulch State Recreation Area Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Kenai Fjords National Park official site, tours and cruises, more tours and cruises, and many more on the web; Exit Glacier
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Having scrambled to find a place to eat, consumed our dinner, then drove to the glacier, climbed up to a close-up viewpoint and back, we could now relax on the way driving back to town under the faint light of Alaska evening, feeling mostly satisfied that we have been rewarded with beautiful sceneries at Skilak Lake and exciting time at the Exit Glacier, with only the disappointment of not finding the elusive grizzly bears or spawning salmon. Packing up our gear for the night, we drove back to Seward. As we approached the town, there was some unusual hawking activities around the bridge so we glance over to the riverbank when my wife exclaimed "bears, bears!". A quick stop at the nearest place I could park, pulling out my camera gears in record speed, and hopping over the center road barrier with cameras in hand, I soon found myself joining the small crowd peering over the bridge and saw a mother grizzly bears with her two cubs walking along the riverbank probably in search of salmon. I was able to snap a few shots before the mother decided that there was too much commotion above, and decided to take her cub back into the woods. As much as I wished that they lingered a bit longer, I myself could not linger on since a police car with flashing light approached and warned us to get away from the bridge for everyone's safety. This last few- minute surprise encounter made our day now complete!