Training trip!

19 May, 2018, 3 min, 492 words

Yesterday night we got back to Seward from our five-day training trip. It's hard to describe how amazing this trip was. I learned a ton, practiced important skills, and generally forged intellectual and emotional connections to these amazing fjords we call home. I'm planning several posts about it – there's no way it would all fit in one! For now, I just want to set the scene and give a glimpse of how awesome it was.

Here's the trip overview:

We spent four days in Aialik Bay and one in and around Kayaker's Cove. That meant that on days one and four, we spent a few hours on a water taxi heading around Cape Aialik.
Each day, two or three guides were "guides of the day" (G.O.D. for short). They were responsible for planning and preparing all meals for the day, picking an itinerary, and guiding. They were also responsible for any rescues that might happen during the day.
And that brings me to the next cool thing about the training trip! Each day at least four returning guides paddled in drysuits. During the day, they would end up in the water, requiring rescue by the guide(s) of the day.

And our overall plan:

Day one: Catch the water taxi out to Inside Slate Beach. This is where we land for our Aialik day trips, and where we camped for the training trip. Soak up as much information about the water taxi and what you can see from it as possible. Paddle out to Aialik, the great tidewater glacier of Aialik Bay.
Day two: Paddle out to Aialik Glacier again. Then, at high tide, head to Pedersen. Pedersen is another tidewater glacier. Unlike Aialik, it's retreated substantially in the last few years, leaving some lagoons behind. These lagoons can only be navigated at high tide, and they require some finesse with currents and weather conditions. Because of this, Pedersen isn't a standard day trip component.
Day three: Aialik and then paddle across the bay to Abra Cove. This is a stunning granitic cove with beautiful meltwater waterfalls trickling down the walls. Like Pedersen, we don't go here on day trips, and I'm very sad that I won't get to see it again this summer.
- We had an exciting unplanned lightning drill this day as well.
Day four: Aialik and then water taxi around the cape to Kayaker's Cove. This was my guide day, and a total blast. More on that later.
Day five: Fox Island. We don't run many trips to Fox Island. But we do have some, and this was our chance to pick up as much about the area as we could.

Well, that's all for now – check back soon for more stories from the training trip! I'll post links here as those posts go up over the next week or so.