Tag: Homer

The Route: Anchorage-Homer-Soldotna-CooperLanding-Whittier-Anchorage via Sterling Highway and Seward Highway

Days: 5

For my first real Alaskan adventure, a fellow co-worker and I decided on a road trip South of Anchorage to Homer with various hikes and stops in mind as we made our way back North to Anchorage. Until this point, I had a handful of day-hikes and one overnight adventure to Seward under my belt.

Homer is a beautiful fishing and beach town filled with bald eagles and smiling faces. Easily the best part of our time in Homer was the ferry ride to Glacier Lake Trail. After hopping aboard one of the vessels of Mako’s Water Taxi ($80/person) after finding their office along the Spit and booking the day before, our driver casually turned to us and asked if we’d like to “make a quick stop along the way to see some puffins.” My eyes grew wide. Ummm, yeah! And that stop was to a place called Gull Island. There we saw not only puffins, but otters, sea lions, and a mama and her baby orcas as well. The tiny island is inhabited only by seagulls– about a thousand of them. It was such a sight to see so many swarming the towering rocks. And below, the other wildlife just sauntered around. It was like I had died and gone to heaven!

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I couldn’t imagine it getting any better than that. Until we finished the relatively short Glacier Lake Trail hike, that is. After traveling across Katchemak Bay just north of Halibut Cove and roughly a 2hr trek through woods that open out to flat glacial moraines (roughly 20min miles with minimal elevation gain), we could see the icy blue water at the bottom of the hill below and the magnificent Grewingk Glacier straight ahead. Once at the lake, we were greeted by little and big icebergs and even got to witness a few small calvings (when bits of the glacier break off seemingly out of nowhere, creating icebergs). Now I really had died and gone to heaven! And for the icing on the cake, after a short time relaxing and taking in the glamour of the lake, we trekked down Saddle Trail towards the pick up point where we were met by spectacular views of the bay and Halibut Cove the entire way down.

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The rest of our time in Homer and on the Spit was relaxing and pleasant. Shopping at Salmon Sisters and Salty Girls. Dining at Little Mermaid and Fresh Catch. Drinks at Salty Dawg. Coffee and breakfast at Two Sisters Bakery and Portside Coffee & Co. And a beautiful drive along Sterling Highway to boot with several opportunities to pull-off and admire the view. A nice moment worth mentioning was discovering the memorial toward the end of Homer Spit dedicated to those lost at sea. I’m a crier and my eyes couldn’t help but well up at the expressions of loss and love.

And so we made our way back North bit by bit. First we grabbed drinks in Soldotna at St. Elias Brewery near the Fred Meyers. At flights for a dollar and oven-roasted pizza, you couldn’t ask for much more. We then continued North towards Cooper’s Landing– a small town along the highway. On the way, we stopped for a hike accessible via the Skilak Lake Road called the Skilak Lookout Trail. This has to be one of the most magical hikes I’ve ever done. Though quite steep, there are views of the lake very early on and the water is a shade of turquoise I have never before seen. Not to mention that, as luck would have it, it sprinkled for a few minutes as we started to descend and that bit of rain produced not one, not two, but three rainbows! The two moose we saw as we were driving back to the main road were pretty cool, too.

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As for camping, we chose a spot along the Kenai River at Cooper Creek North campground ($18/ single tent). The rush of the river passing by that night by the fire and in the morning while brushing our teeth was spectacular. So beautiful and peaceful. We were centered and ready for what we knew would be a strenuous hike: Slaughter Gulch. I mean, what kind of name is that anyways?? The roughly 1.5hrs straight up past several false summits was challenging for the mind but so rewarding for the soul. The final destination overlooks Kenai Lake and Skilak Lake can be seen way off in the distance to the right. Another Alaskan beauty.

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After that intense morning, we were ready to reach our final travel destination: Whittier. After a short drive and a long tunnel ($13 charged going in; free when driving toward Anchorage; timed on the half hour depending on which direction you’re traveling), we’d made it to the small, no-nonsense town. Though by no means extensive, Whittier offers pleasant camping, cute shops, and good coffee. The main, attraction, though, is the access to glaciers and wildlife both via ferry and on foot. The most popular hike is Portage Pass Trail which goes right up to the lake with the glacier across it. The road to the trailhead is immediately to the right after emerging from the tunnel on the Whittier side. The end location is a perfect spot for a picnic as it isn’t too strenuous of a hike and the area feels like a remote fairytale even when a thousand children and their parents appear. Roughly 2.5hrs roundtrip not including relaxing at the lake.

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To get a taste of glaciers up close and personal, we chose to go with the 3.5hr Glacier Quest Cruise with Phillips Cruises ($109+taxes per person). The coolest part was getting lucky and seeing some larger calvings, not to mention the several breathtaking waterfalls and lot of sea lions.

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The drive back to Anchorage held the air of contentment. Only a few hours and we were back. 5 days. 4 towns. 4 hikes. 3 orcas. 2 glaciers. 2 ferries. 1 kick-ass companion. Not too shabby!