kayaking in ketchekan

[kwideman]

I have booked a 4-hour kayaking tour with Southeast Sea Kayaking group in Orca Cove. I'm now having second thoughts about this.....I'm not sure I like the thought of getting rained on for four hours.

 

We will be sailing on the Princess Dawn Aug 29, and I hear that it rains alot in this area!

 

Can anyone tell me about their kayaking experience? Did you see any wild life, was the scenery beautiful? Would you do it again? Was it worth it?

 

I want to take pictures, what do you think my chances will be? Even if it doesn't rain, will I be able to take pictures? I have an expensive Nikon D70 camera, should I take it with me or purchase a couple of cheap water cameras??

 

Please share your experience with me, Thanks!!!!

[miraclemet]

I went with SE Sea and had a great time.

 

I was worried about the same thing, rain. I was lucky enough to have a nice clear day and we ended up kayaking just in our shirt sleaves it was so warm out (we were there at the end of last august, so the timing is virtually identical)

 

What I liked about using SE Sea was that our "group" consisted of Me and my wife in one kayak, another older couple (late 50s-early 60s) in a 2nd kayak, and the guide along with a nature photographer in a 3rd kayak. The small group made it much easier to forget where you were and just soak it all in.

We saw another group who was on one of the cruise line coordinated kayaking trips and there were at least a dozen kayaks and it looked far less peaceful, and was far closer to ketchikan. When you boat out to orca cove it is far enough away that you really feal like you are out in the wild.

 

I took my digital camera, they give you a dry bag, and I would just toss it in the bag after taking a batch of pictures (leaving my wife to paddle!)

 

I'll try to get some pictures up so you can see just how beautiful it was there.

 

You will have an absolute blast!

[kwideman]

Thanks for the wonderful encouraging reply. That's what I wanted to hear. We were all excited about this tour until I heard so much talk about rain in ketchekan. I'm sure it is a chance we will be taking.

 

I'm glad to hear you were able to use your camera!! I'm the picture taker, so my hubby will be doing most of the paddling!!

 

I look forward to seeing the beautiful peaceful scenary!

 

thanks

[jrask]

We did this one too. I'd say that the experience is worth the risk of rain. For us, it was actually a really hot day. My girlfriend wore a turtle neck into port and needed to buy a SE Sea Kayaks t-shirt before kayaking to make it bareable (at 8 am).

 

You can pretty much expect to see bald eagles in a goreous, serene setting. We paddled up to them as they were sitting on a fallen log on a beach and watched them take off after a while. Also had them soaring above and coming down for fish. Lots of salmon jumping everywhere (time dependent) and saw some intertidal life (jellies, etc.) Whales are possible, but more of a rarity.

 

Unless your husband has serious stamina combined with a good ability to ensure that the water doesn't splash at all, you'll probably have the camera in the dry bag and be sharing the load on paddling for most of the trip. Of course, you can take it out whenever you want. Generally, things are very peaceful, so its not an issue to stop paddling when you see a shot that you want. Even our most time sensitive wildlife encounter was more than enough time to allow the photographer to take out the camera while the other quietly paddled onward. The guide will also be happy to take your camera and paddle away for some shots of the 2 of you. Just be clear on what you want ... digital of course makes this very easy. We have close-ups and different angles/backgrounds and this beautiful shot of us paddling in sillouhette as the sun is behind us. If you want, you can bring the water camera as a back-up, but you'll want your high quality camera with the ability to zoom and frame.

[kwideman]

Jrask - thanks for you reply.

 

Everything you said sounds like the tour for us. We would love to see some bald eagles and I have my fingers crossed for a sunny day!!

 

I'm glad to hear that most people have taken their good camera's. I really want to take mine also, but was concerned about the water. I hope to get some great shots also.

 

Yes, I will plan on helping my husband paddle!!!! I will even try to give him a chance to look through the binoculars!! He's loves the outdoors!!! I've been working out for this trip. Between now and August I should be ready to go!!!

 

We hope to do some hiking in Skagway and Juneau!! We are both extremely excited about our first alaska trip!

[Budget Queen]

You NEED to be prepared for rain here. So I would suggest you take a good waterproof jacket. As mentioned, don't expect much wildlife other than birds.

[Giantfan13]

We did the kyack last year and we also had a great sunny day. It was our first off ship tour, so we dressed n ice and warm, shirt, turtle neck and jacket. We both has to hit the bathroom to start taking things off. Short sleeve shirt was all you needed.

You both will have to paddle to make the kyack work right. We had some trouble when we were coming back, in that the wind had picked up, and we were paddling into it, basically going no where fast. The guuide had to throw us a line and tow us back to the small group, but we insisted on paddling back into shore and NOT be towed in. It is a bit strenuous paddling against the wind, and basically going backwards.

[garbgepikr]

Go! You will have a fabulous time! I did not do this in Ketchekan, but did the river rafting in Juneau. So glad we did. The best pictures we took were from the rafting trip! I was not so brave. I took a disposable camera and had them put on disk when I got home. No wildlife for us, but we laughed until we cried the whole time. Our guide was outstanding. In ketchecan, my husband and father took a fishing charter while the rest of the family went to the Lumber Jack show. It rained, but it wasn't bad.I didn't think there was a whole heck of a lot to do in town in Ketchecan. It's quiant and cute, but once you go through the shops, that's about it. I really don't think you will regret it.

Have a great time!