Last updated: August 17, 2019
Itinerary
What follows is a general flow of events. Expect the unexpected and prepare to be flexible.
August 10
Meet your guides for a pre-trip meeting at your hotel in Haines at 5 pm. Lodging included at the Halsingland Hotel.
August 11
We load our gear into the water taxi for a 1/2 hour boat ride across the inlet and south of Haines to our favorite campsite. We’ll pitch our tents above the tideline in the grass near a small river, protected from the south wind and with an amazing view of the mountains and ocean. Welcome to paradise! We’ll have the afternoon to collect driftwood, hike the beach or kayak along the shore in search of wildlife.
August 12
Tide and wind are our masters. We can paddle into quiet coves, or kayak across the broad grey sea. We can climb to the top of an island for views up and down the fjord, fish for halibut, or walk in the green woods. No matter where we go we’ll scan the beach for bears and the water for whales. Or if you’d prefer to hike inland, we can trek up the river dwarfed by 1,000 ft cliffs to the glacier. It is a challenging hike to a spectacular destination.
August 13
Another day to enjoy sea and forest. We can fish, hike, track enormous bears, ride fat-tire bikes down the beach, waterski, or loaf in the sun (if lucky) on the beach and watch the clouds roll by. The wilderness is vast and we have most of the day to enjoy it. Late in the afternoon your water-taxi returns and takes you back to town. Haines is a fun and truly Alaskan village full of characters and surrounded by beauty. Art galleries, quirky restaurants and a brewery will make for an enjoyable evening on your own.
August 14
Weather permitting you’ll meet a chartered plane at the Haines airport for the long and beautiful flight to Talkeetna. You will transfer to a helicopter and arrive to glacial luxury at the Sheldon Chalet.
August 14-17
Activities at Sheldon Chalet include snowshoe and ski adventures, trekking, sledding, rappelling and crevasse explorations. All activities are guided and included.
August 17
You’ll leave the magical environs of the Ruth Glacier by helicopter and arrive in Talkeetna in time to meet the 5:00 p.m. train to Anchorage and flights home.
