Glass Peninsula
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Paddle Trip (A Level 4 Trip) |
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| Trip Summary:
Admiralty Island is the third largest island in southeast Alaska with more than
1600 square miles and 570 miles of shore line. There are supposed to be as many
bears as square miles. That's a lot of bears. We decided to take a couple of
weeks to paddle the Glass Peninsula on the east side of the Island thinking
that most of the bears would be working the areas around the major bays and
rivers. Paddling Time & Distance: about 150 nautical miles. Route: Our intended route would take us south from Juneau down Stephen's Passage around Point Hugh and north through Seymour Canal. A tram connects the Canal with Oliver's Inlet on the north side of the Island. We could bring both kayaks on one trip covering the mile in about a half hour. From there we would paddle west to Admiralty Cove and then around the north side of Douglas Island. The total trip would be about 150 miles, two weeks seemed about right. Instead we did this backwards due to a strong south wind coming up Stephen's passage. Also, it took us 8 days not two weeks. Paddling Tips: You must time your arrival at the 1 mile tram in Oliver's Inlet to allow for enough water on the other side in Seymour Canal. If not you will spend the day waiting for the next high tide. Stretch your legs:Good pocket beaches are found all along the coast of Seymour Canal and Stephen's Passage. One of the best beaches in the world for kayaks is two miles south of Sore Thumb Bay. Watch out for: Brown bears. A lot of water spills out of Seymour Canal on the ebbing tide, Pt. Hugh has to be rounded at high slack. Crossing Stephen's Passage and Taku Inlet can be very tricky, we were nailed with three foot waves around Pt. Arden on our final day. Avoid grassy beaches and do not camp near the streams or rivers, eat smelly meals below the high tide mark and not in the camp where you are sleeping. paddling One Paddler's Story: The last two weeks of June can be wonderful days to paddle in Southeast Alaska. This 2002 trip had great weather, not the case for the Petersburg to Juneau trip done this year. We started out this trip with twenty-five mile days, and then realized we needed to slow down or we would be done in five or six days. Managed to go slow for a few days, but the weather and seas were so good it just made better sense to paddle all day. Rounding Pt. Hugh was done after slack. We knew it was a risk but decided to give it a go. We paddled through three foot washing machine waves. It was worth the risk. I paddled a Romany Explorer, my wife has a Boreal Design Ellsemere. Trip submitted by Joseph Reeves |
Glass Peninsula Circumnavigation,
from Juneau, Alaska 
 Map provided by
MapTech. |
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