Many of the natives we met described the Kenai Peninsula as a microcosm of the entire state of Alaska--you can find most of the landscapes and climates from all over the state in this manageable-in-a-week area. After rounding the tip of the Turnagain Arm, we headed across the top of the peninsula, then turned south to Homer, our next stop.
In the first day, we could tell we hadn't been mislead. After winding through forests (and stoping to do a quick hike up a salmon run in hopes of seeing bears), we emerged onto a marshy steppe that reminded me of Kotzabue, hundreds of mile to the north near the arctic circle. After getting supplies in the surprisingly large town of Soldotna we continued down Highway 1 along the west coast of the peninsula. We drove by coastal cliffs, and were treated with views across the Cook Inlet toward Lake Clark NP. We finally stopped when we saw streams of bald eagles backdropped by the huge active volcanos across the water.
I think this is Mt. Iliamna
Down a steep hill with beautiful views across the water was Homer. This is a town that clearly enjoys having tourist income, but also has the genuine quality of a working Alaska town. It's not a quick drive to get there, and the summer season is short, but there are plenty of grade A seafood places. We'd found a B and B called the Alaska Beach House, and true to it's name, was right on the beach. We took off our shoes and had a very late evening stroll on the beach, taking in our hiking zone the next day beyond the Homer Spit.
The mountains of Kachemak Bay State Park in the distance
Most of the hiking in Alaska is off-trail, but since this was a honeymoon, we weren't in the mood for too much bushwhacking. Kachemak Bay State Park seemed like a good compromise. There were several trails leading up to the glaciers, and it was close enough to civilization we could venture off trail without too much risk of getting dangerously lost.
We started with a water taxi across the bay. I was desperately hoping we'd catch glimpses of Sarah's favorite animal, the sea otter. We were exited to see some just outside the harbor (though we needn't have worried, we'd see hundreds of the later, and up close!), but got a great surprise to see whale surfacing. It was a first for me, and not to be missed.
We had about 8 hours to meander around the park. We started on trail, which required us to cross a river in a hand-pull cable car, then push through thick brush up and over a steep ridge to a lake fed by a huge glacier.
Iceburgs! Well, sort of.
After reaching the lake, we decided to be a little adventurous and head off trail, trying to find an alternate route over the river the cable car allowed us to cross. We dealt with some seriously dense brush, but managed to stay on track along the river, until we broke into a huge field of dandelions that seemed to shift color as we moved through it. It was beautiful, and we meandered through as far as we could, until we learned why the trail had taken us and over such a difficult pass--the field ended at a V where a cliff met the river. We hadn't seen a spot that wasn't swiftly flowing and at least 50m wide, and it didn't seem worth the risk to try and ford it, despite some hiking tracks that suggested crossing it to connect to a different trail. We headed away at a right angle to the river to meet up with the trail that would take us back over the ridge. After an hour of serious bushwhacking, we were starting to panic that we'd gone right past it, but finally broke out to it. We had some tears to our clothes from the bush, but assured ourselves we'd made the right decision in not attempting to cross the river. Plus we had a little off-trail cred!
Up on the ridge
Back on the original trail, and back over the ridge, we headed along a different trail to another water taxi pick up point. This trail dropped us down along forest hillsides dotted with flowers to a blue-green inlet. We soaked up the sun and salt spray as our boat driver flew across the bay back toward Home.
We celebrated our off-trail adventures back in Homer with king crab legs at Captain Patties Fish House. I'm not usually a fan of sea-bugs, but these were amazing, and judging by the size of the legs, the crabs must be about the width of a small car.
Next up, the other side of the Kenai, Seward, AK.