Guide Dream Trip: Alaska Coastline Bike Adventure
Dream Trip by Lead Guide Jake Wilkens
The Alaskan Coastline Bike Adventure presents an amazing opportunity to view wildlife. Combined with the physical challenge created by the cold, fast river crossings (accomplished in conjunction with pack rafts), the possibility for extreme weather conditions, and the history behind this area of the state, this trip will be one to remember. We will use bikes that have oversize tires, making them perfect for traveling on soft terrain. This section on the coast is navigable in low tides. Mostly sand, when the tide is out, there is a solid and flat sand “highway” that can be traveled relatively easily.
There are several major river crossings along the route, often glacial, and many over 100 yards in width. The rivers are cold and fast. Being comfortable paddling on rivers is a must. The weather on the coast can evolve from a warm sunny day to a full storm surge in a matter of hours. We will be traveling west up the coastline in an attempt to keep most of the wind at our backs. This will allow us to not only travel comfortably in breezy conditions, but will also allow for the possibility of covering ground in the case of a large storm system moving in.
The Alaska Coastline Bike Adventure will be riddled with wildlife viewing opportunities. Land and sea mammals, as well as sea birds, thrive in this low populated, infrequently traveled portion of the state. Moose, brown bear, black bear, wolves and coyote are plentiful along the beach and meadows. Seals, Sea Lions and other sea mammals will be present along the beaches and tide lines. Eagles, Hawks, Gulls, Geese and countless other bird species are constantly combing the shoreline for their next meal. The currents from all over the northern Pacific Ocean pile onto the beaches here, thus trapping amazing amounts of treasures for the beachcomber enthusiast. The Alaskan Coastline Bike Adventure is sure to be a trip that will prove to be unforgettable.
ALASKA COASTLINE BIKE ADVENTURE: DETAILED ITINERARY
The following is a sample itinerary for this trip.
DAY 1 - Take off from McCarthy (or Chitina) late morning and arrive at Cape Yakataga around lunch. After a short gear haul to the beach, we will have a quick lunch. The breakers rolling slowly onto the beach are a perfect setting to start our adventure. Once we finish lunch, we will pack up and bike a short distance to the Duktah River and set up camp protected by large spruce trees. Bike time will be short on the first day as we get used to traveling on sand with a loaded pack on our backs. Once camp is set up we will bike out to the peninsula created by the gulf and the river. From high on a sand dune we will watch bears fishing on the Duktah, and moose in the strip meadows that run for miles parallel to the beach. Halfway out the peninsula we will check out a shipwreck that is slowly sinking into the sand. After our arrival at the peninsula we will set up camp, share dinner, and prepare for our first major river crossing the next morning.
DAY 2 – Waking up to gulls and the crashing of waves on the beach, we will have breakfast, then pack up and immediately bike down to the Duktah River for our first river crossing challenge. Once we successfully cross the Duktah we will continue up the coast. A few hours up the coastline we will run into the Kaliak River. We will break out the pack-rafts for our second major river crossing of the trip. Once the Kaliak is successfully crossed, we will set up camp on the west bank in the trees. From camp we will enjoy dinner while watching giant brown bears work the tide lines searching for their supper.
DAY 3 – Waking up early, we will have a quick breakfast in camp before packing up for a long day on the bikes. Not far up the coast we will reach the Tsiu River. The Tsiu can usually be waded at low tide. Often packed with salmon, this short, shallow river is a favorite fishing ground for commercial fisherman, as well as an extremely high population of brown bears. While we enjoy lunch from a sand dune, we will watch the various fishing operations in action. Continuing up the coast toward the Suckling Hills, the first landmass seen by Vitus Bering’s crew, we will try to make it to a forest service cabin located on the other side of our third major river crossing. Kayak Island should be visible in the distance. The bluffs above Cape St. Elias, where the first Russian explorers set foot on the Alaskan coast, should be visible over the next couple of days. Dinner at the cabin, equipped with a bunk to sleep on, will be a relaxing break that will prepare us for the next 5 days of coastline that we have ahead.
DAY 4 – The next morning we will have a relaxing morning before we head up the coast toward the Seal River. Crossing the Seal River will denote the fourth major river crossing along our route. The Seal River presents an added challenge in that it drains the lake at the terminus of the Bering Glacier itself, and icebergs are often flowing down the river on their way to the Gulf. After successfully navigating the Seal River, we will camp on the west bank in a clump of trees on a sand dune. From our camp we can watch moose in the big meadow to the north, or the seals, sea lions and ice bergs jockeying for position in the current of the Seal River. When the tide goes out we can go walk among the battered icebergs (the size of a van) as they wash up on the beach. Dinner at this camp is often taken as the sun sets over the Suckling Hills.
DAY 5 – We will leave our dune island and continue up the coast towards Suckling Point. The point requires us to occasionally get off the bikes and climb over rocks to hidden beaches and caves along the point. Once we get around the last rock outcropping, we will have a full view of the Suckling Peninsula: a finger of land that extends out toward Kayak and Kanak Island. Feeling like we are biking out into the middle of the Gulf of Alaska, we will find a camp in a protected area out toward the end of the peninsula. Crossing a small strip of large spruce trees, we can watch bears work a network of small creeks as they fish for salmon at dusk.
DAY 6 – Today will be spent crossing a number of small creeks and rivers as we work our way up toward the Ragged Mountains and the mighty Bering River. The mouth of this giant river was one of the first things Vitus Bering saw upon arrival to the Alaskan coastline. The currents from the Bering River could be felt on the ship as it approached Kayak Island, miles off the coast! The crossing of the Bering River will be the most difficult challenge of our adventure. Once clear of this major hurdle, we will be only a mile from Katella Bay. Katella was the original site of the deep water port and railway built to bring ore from Kennicott to be loaded onto ships en route to the smelting plants in the lower 48. Due to the weather and difficult mountain passes, the railway was eventually rerouted to Cordova. We will set up camp in the sheltered bay and explore old railway station ruins and trestle bridges that extend out into the Gulf.
DAY 7 – Continuing up the coast, we will have cliff bands to our right and the Gulf of Alaska to our left. This section of coast will need to be traveled at low tide. Once clear of the Ragged Mountain cliffs, we will be on our final stretch toward the banks of the Copper River. This will be a big day to get to our final camp along the famous Copper River. After a long day on the bikes, we will be on the banks watching the specialized fishing vessels working the dangerous shoals at the mouth of the 10 mile long Copper River Delta.
DAY 8 – Extra day for possible weather delays.
DAY 9 – Waking up early, our bush plane will pick us up and fly to Cordova. This small fishing town will mark the end of the backcountry, but not the end of the adventure. After finding a shower and a warm meal served to us, we will walk onto the first ferry to Valdez. The ferry ride is often an adventure itself as whales, sea lions, seals and porpoises are a common sight in Prince William Sound and the Valdez Arm. Once in Valdez, we will drive back to your vehicle in Chitina or McCarthy.
What’s Included?
As with all of our Alaska adventures, the Alaska Coastline Bike Adventure includes a professional guide (who came up with the trip himself!) with extensive local knowledge and medical training. We provide all food for the backcountry portions of your trip, including hot and delicious meals morning and evening and plenty of snacks and lunch food for mid-day nourishment. St. Elias Alpine Guides also provides shared group gear, including stoves, pots, and tents, as well as any technical gear, in this case bikes, packrafts, paddles, etc. All you need to bring is your personal gear, (clothing, rain gear, boots, sleeping bag and pad). We will provide a detailed packing list for the trip.
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