Final Plans for touring SE Alaska

[LuvToCr]

Opinions Please...

 

We will be spending 8 days pre-cruise in July. While I have most of my general plans made, some specifics are still getting finalized. We are planning on driving to Palmer after we arrive in Anchorage. We will spend the night in Palmer and plan on driving to Chitina the next day. First question...I had planned on taking the 2:45 flight from Chitina to McCarthy, but since the drive time is about 3.5 hours do you think this will be to rushed to make that flight time? We would like to stop along the way, possibly the Matanuska Glacier and for sure the Wrangell NP visitor center. Would it be better to do the 5:45 flight?

 

Second question...we are looking at doing a whitewater Raft trip from McCarthy with Copper Oar. Has anyone done their day trip or used their services? We are planning on spending a second night here and then doing the Root Glacier hike in the morning prior to flying back to Chitina and continuing to Valdez. I again am hoping for a 2:00 flight time...is this doable (Root Glacier in the morning and meet a 2:00 flight time)?

 

Third question...we have a 10 hr kayaking excursion scheduled for the next day in Valdez (Columbia Glacier). Would it be better to spend the day exploring Valdez and then look to schedule a kayaking excursion in one of the ports? Since we are doing alot of exploring and excursions pre-cruise, we haven't scheduled things from the ports yet and planned to take the ports a little more laid back, and see what we felt like for the day. If things are booked, we're ok with exploring the port on our own. What are some stops to see along Hwy 4 coming into Valdez?

 

Fourth question...we will then be taking the ferry to Whittier and driving to Steward...here we are planning to do a glacier hike/kayak trip with Exit Glacier Guides. This is a 5 hour glacier hiking trip and then the next day a full day Resurrection Bay kayak trip. Any one use them?

 

Thanks for any feed back...These boards have provided valuable information for my planning already!