Day
1: Introduction to the Great Land.
Green Edventures will meet participants at the Anchorage
Airport. The first leg of your journey begins on the
Seward Scenic Byway, a historic 120 mile stretch of
road that passes through Portage Valley down to the
Kenai Peninsula. The trip length with stops is approximately
4 hours.
Day 2: Resurrection Bay Sea Kayak and Caines Head
State Park Hike
Read a student's blog about Sea Kayaking here.
Before we embark, participants will be briefed on the
day's adventure including what personal gear to bring.
Students will learn the basics of sea kayaking, maneuvering,
and water entry and exit. After the basics, we will
spend our entire day in and out of our tandem kayaks
as we explore the emerald waters and shoreline of beautiful
Resurrection Bay. Along the way, participants will learn
the wildlife and natural history of the area. In addition
to beautiful mountain scenery, sea otters, harbor seals,
sea lions, bald eagles, sea birds and harbor porpoises
are all possible to encounter. And yes, occasionally
we're lucky enough to see a whale that ventures into
the bay on one of these trips
The group will be transported by van down to Lowell
Point, where we'll launch and paddle along the west
coastline of Resurrection Bay to Caines Head State Park
for lunch on the shore of the temperate rainforest.
Next if time allows, we will take easy three mile hike
to Fort McGilvery. Participants will see Sitka Spruce,
hemlock, devils club and many other native plants of
the temperate rainforest. We'll paddle back to Lowell
Point for a 4pm pick up. Read a student's journal about
his activity here:
Day 3: Mt. Marathon and Community Action
Mount Marathon:
Read a student's blog about Mount Marathon here.
We don't have to go far from Seward to get a spectacular
hike. Just a few blocks from the hostel is the trail
head to a 3.5 hour hike that is sure to be one of the
highlights of the week.
We travel up 2300ft to the alpine bowl passing through
lush misty emerald green temperate rainforest, then
things level out at "the bench" where wildflowers
bloom, and then alpine slowly meander up to alpine tundra.
As we climb the switch backs Seward becomes a little
dot in the valley. At one point half way up, nearly
all of Resurrection Bay can be seen.
Conservation and Community Action
Read a student's blog about this experience here.
The Kenai Fjords are home to many different species
of animals and plants both migratory and indigenous,
provide food and other natural resources for the both
local residents and consumers world wide, and is one
of Alaska's major tourist destinations. Because of this,
scientists are studying the human interactions and impacts
on the natural systems. State and federal agencies are
developing best use management strategies to balance
natural resource usage and conservation. This day, students
will act as citizen scientists and help a local agency
record information for current research on the Kenai.
In 2009 participants help National Park Exotic Species
crew remove invasive plants.
Day 4: Kenaitze Tribe Educational Fishery and K'Beq'
Archeological Site
Read a student's blog about the Kenaitze Experience
here.
We will depart Seward at 9am and head two hours to
the west coast of the Kenai Peninsula to the town of
Kenai. Students will participate Kenaitze Tribe members
in a traditional salmon fishing experience. This "Educational
Fishery" will get students' feet wet helping pull
in or set the nets as they work side-by-side with tribe
members. Later we will travel 1 hour east to Cooper
Landing to visit K’Beq’, an archeological site nestled
in the forest along side the blue waters of the Kenai
river. Here students spend time with native Alaskans
and take part in cultural activities. We will participate
in a native beading project, attend a plant lore presentation,
and guided walk to the tribes archeological site.
Tribe members will discuss the reason the interpretive
project began and what it means to be Alaska Native
today. The highlight of the experience is the Night
Walk, a dramatic theatrical presentation of the tribe's
history. Students will enjoy a guided tour with a narrator,
while observing significant events from the tribe's
past. Poetry, music and performances by tribal artists,
and the song of the nearby Kahtnu (Kenai River) combine
to create a mystical evocative experience. We conclude
the presentation with a Friendship Circle, and delicious
salmon feast.
Day 5: Boat trip to Kenai Fjords Tidewater Glaciers
and Whale Watching
Read a student's blog about the Kenai Fjords experience
here.
This thrilling full-day cruise travels throughout the
Kenai Fjords National Park. Wildlife is abundant throughout
the National Park, and the tidewater glaciers are massive
and participants often witness calving - a process by
which glaciers shed giant blocks and slabs of ancient
ice - from a close distance. This voyage also offers
the best opportunity for whale watching in Alaska.
Day 6: Explore Exit Glacier
After a hearty breakfast, the group will be briefed
on the day’s adventures including what to expect and
safety. We will be transported to the Exit Glacier Guides
headquarters to be outfitted with crampons, helmets,
and hydration packs.
Taking the scenic (and only) route through Resurrection
River Valley the drive takes about 20 minutes in our
‘Glacier Bus’ to reach the Exit Glacier Visitors Center.
After an information and safety meeting we get started.
We can start our hike description best by saying we
believe that the more effort you put into a hike, the
more you get out of it. Consequently, our hike takes
people up a 1-1.5 hour long incline, through an alpine
valley, down a 45º rock scree, and onto the surface
of Exit Glacier itself. While you don't have to be a
track star or a sherpa to complete the trip, it does
take a little effort and a willingness to get tired
and a smidge dirty in order to reach the glacier. The
trail gains 1400 feet of elevation over 1.4 miles to
the highest point and this usually takes about an hour
and half with rest stops at overlooks and interesting
features. We wind our way through a changing glacial
environment of deciduous to alpine while identifying
the vegetation and glacial features along the way, always
keeping an eye out for local friends of marmots, moose
and black bear. At our highest point we navigate a scree
slope down to the glacier’s edge where we get out and
get on our crampons. After some instructional usage
and crampon safety we head out onto the glacier surface
for about an hour. Never going the same way twice we
navigate all over the glacier from medial moraines,
compaction zones, moulons and crevasse fields. After
the ice, it's back up and back down the trail to the
Visitor Center parking lot. The total distance covered
is approximately 4 miles in approximately 6hrs.
When we reach the ice, we don crampons, ice axes, and
helmets. This gear lets us
navigate the icy undulating terrain of Exit Glacier.
It also lets us confidently approach the crevasses,
waterfalls, Moulin, and ice-caves.
Day 7: Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center and Departure
During our educational tour of the facility, participants
will have up close encounters with the wild residents
such as moose, musk ox, bear, elk and elk and gain a
better understanding of their behaviors and survival
skills.
All activities are subject to change
without notice. Green Edventures reserves the right
to modify this schedule and its activities at any time.
More Information:
Click here for answers to common
questions.
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