516

Today is 516 and I am departing from Anchorage to Seward. I got up super early at 5 am to catch up the train at 6:45 am. The lyft drive was so fast and I got to the station at 526 am more than 1 hour earlier. Early morning is so struggling for me, but I feel pretty well today.

I walked around in downtown and the sun was just rising over the mountains, it was so beautiful. But there are some homeless people sleeping on the ground so I tried to avoid them.

However, due to an avalanche the train was cancelled, and instead they offered a bus service from Anchorage to Seward with the same schedue, so I got on the bus and I am stuck on the road now.

The drive was so beautiful, almost otherworldly. It made driving along the highway very tempeting for me, and I will try it some time in the future. But back to the bus drive. We first got out of Anchorage, from downtown to midtown, and along Seward Highway. On the road I recognized some places I hiked the day before. So much faster with car!

The driver is very interesting man and acted as a commentary along the way. We have 2 stops along to take photos and stretch, and they are amazing stops.

We went around Gulf of Alaska and the driver explained that it was called turnagain because that the tide rise and fall so quickly, and that at 6 am in the morning it is highest, but by the time we got to Seward the Gulf would be almost empty. Captain Cook discovered this place. Also, they couldn't construct a bridge across the Gulf because there are only mud in the mountains, no rocks.

The driver said that we might spot Dull Sheep or Bears on the road left of Seward Highway, and "call animal left/right if you saw", then someone called dull sheep left. But I didn't see anything, and we just passed. The driver also said that there might be seagulls, swans, or something. Then we saw a trail of snow or ice which covered the tracks of the train and the driver suggested this is the avalanche that cuased the train to cancel.

The driver explained that there are no ecosystems in Turnagain, animals come and go, and that sunlight cannot penetrate the water. Then we passed to Girdwood and on my right there was many dead trees, to which the driver explained was once Girdwood, but in a 9.6 earthquake in 1960s it caused a large tsunami, which flooded nearly all of the sea cities, including hope and sunrise. The dead trees are salty and rocky, not like rotten dead trees, since they drank the salt water in the tsuname.

Then we stopped at Girdwood as some passengers may be getting on the bus, I run around and took some pictures. There was mountains all around, and covered with snow.

Then we kept moving and got higher and higher, to a parking lot where I could walk on the snow. The snow was very soft and when you stop on it you leave a big footprint. I nearly got my shoes wet. I didn't walk far becuase the stop was only 15 minutes. I could see the snow and ice stretching all the way to the top of the mountain. The scenery was breathtaking and I took many selfies and let someone else took a photo of me. On the mountain among the rocks I can see remains of avalanche We got to Moose Pass, where it was a small town with few hundred people, and that there are not a gas station. I spotted an elementary school and I wonder how it feels like to study there, since there are less than 1000 people there might not be enough students for even 1 class. Then we passed the Trial Lake. The lakes here comes from glaciers and is greeish-blue. The lake is so calm and beautiful and I thought about the lake and mountain I saw in Switerland but couldn't recall much since that was many years ago. We went along Kenai Lake, and we are currently stopping with Kenai Lake under our feet. The Kenai Lake is shaped like Thunderbolt, and it is very very long. It is the best place for Salmon fishing, and they would go "combat fishing", shoulder to shoulder on the ground.

The mountains are covered by green pine trees and bushes up to a certain height, then it begin to get white.

The driver said that there are only 3 seasons in Alaska, winter, almost winter, and construction, and since it is expanding this highway there is only 1 way to go, and now we are on the way again. It is raining hard at this time.

We arrived at Seward pretty soon, and I went looking for Orange Bike luggage service. Turns out the door is locked but there are 2 young people with the tag on the road, so I deposited my bag. It was like 11 am, and it was raining so hard the town looked worn down, and there is almost nothing I can do. Then I went to Kenai Fjords tour which I previously booked in 517, and I asked if I could change the date and they said they could, and I got on the boat at about 11:30 am.

It was raining pretty hard. Only as I got on the boat did I realize that I haven't been on a real cruise before. I did remember going on a sea or lake a few times maybe, but the ship is so slow and so peaceful that I could barely feel anything. However, today it is absolutely different, as it was rainy and windy, and when I went on the deck the wind blew so hard that I couldn't stand without hanging to the railing. Anyways, I went back inside and found a seat at the front of the boat across 2 elder woman, and they asked me to take a picture of them and I asked them to take a picture of me in return.

The boat was almost like riding on a rollar coaster, as it goes up and down. I couldn't even stand at first. But eventually I got used to it. I saw some young people going outside at the front of the boat, so I went out too. The wind blew water in my shoes, but it was fun standing right there nevertheless. We kept going and it felt more like a cruise out to the sea than a national park tour, as I had imagined. The captain had a harsh and deep voice, and I couldn't hear him well inside the cabin. The captain announced we are going 110 miles, and off we went.

After a while I heard the captain call "orca", and the ship slowed down. Many people went out to shoot photos. There is a black tail there, and the captain explained that it is the fastest swimmer, going as fast as 30 mph. Then the ship started again. The mountains are surrounded by fog, and I couldn't see much. Everything around looked misty and magical.

Then we went to see glaciers, and it was the most stunning thing I had ever seen in my life. It looked so pure. There are floating icebergs on the sea, and as the boat went around I could hear crack crack as the icebergs hit the boat. I saw like 7 people kayaking around, and it had already been quite a time on the speedy boat, so I don't know how these people had managed to get all the way here, and how they had managed to overcame the freezing temperatures. It was very cold outside, and my fingers went frozen. Almost everybody else had gloves. There are eldely couples and young man, mothers bringing their young children. It was a lovely site as everybody was taking photos and selfies and looking
around.

The glacier came between mountains, and it was sort of white-blue color. I wonder if there is some fantasy kingdom on there, as it looked like in those disney movies. The glacier looked too magical, coming out of nowhere and shaping itself in beautiful curves. There are icebergs floating all around, and they stretched in all directions, all the way to the mountains. Then one of the crew members picked up one iceberg with a fishnet, and showed it to us to touch, claiming it had been there for hundreds of years. I couldn't describe it better in words, but after seeing that I find the trip very worthy.

Then we went to see a second glacier, and I heard noise of ice falling to the ground. Among the iceberg there is a whale, and it would occasionally come up to the water to breath the air. There is also a small hill with no trees, and there are some caves in it.

I got very sleepy since I didn't get much sleep last night so I dozed off. Then it was 4 pm when I woke up, and the rain stopped, the day became cloudy and rays of sunshine penetrated the cloud to the ocean.

Then we went to see seals, and there are fat, slippery and cute just like in documentaries, where polar bears would try to snatch up as their food. There are many seals resting on a rock on the ground. But there doesn't seem to be polar bears here. The ocean became blue as we came back, and the mountains were clear. We then went to Fox Island to pick up people, and I wonder how it feels like to live on the island.

Then I think it is time to call it a day and I went for my luggage and came to the airbnb. I think I really love Seward and I am enjoying my days.

Photos

Sunrise in Anchorage

Chugach National Forest

Tern Lake

Trail Lake

Kenai Lake

Kenai Fjords Boat Cruise

Holgate Arm

Holgate Glacier

Aialik Glacier

Derby Cove

Airbnb 3rd Street

517

Today is 517, and I slept half of the morning. The airbnb wasn't as good as the last one, and in the morning the cars were very noisy.

Then I wanted to go to the Seward visitor center. I first went out to the two lake park, and there was a woman with a huge white dog. The dog came after me, and the woman shouted "friendly, he is friendly". I managed to get away and went on the opposite direction to see the waterfalls. Only at the park did I realize that I had been walking on well-constructed roads nearly all my life, and hadn't seen a trail before. The trails are just basically a place where there are not a lot of plants going, that you can get through. I went to the waterfall, then went back, and there was the woman and the dog again. This time it walked up to me, and I was so scared, but it merely stopped in front of me and looked kind of cute and the woman smiled and said "sorry", to which I replied I am afraid of dogs. Then I walked to the 2 lakes and it took me a long time to get out, and I was kind of sore.

I was wanting to get a breakfast or lunch, and went to Ray's Waterfront. The servants are really nice but the price was so expensive. I ordered a hamburger and a dessert and it took me 40 dollars. I thought that I would never eat at such a restaurant again, and that I would always go eat and subway or something like that. Although it said only hamburger on the menu, the dish turns out to be hamburger and fries, and there is a steak and some bacon and some mushroom in the hamburger. I didn't even finish the hamburger, out of my expectation, since it is very large. I then asked the people in the restaurant if it is plausible to hike up Mt Marathon, to which they replied that it is best to go with a mate, and there is snow on top. I wanted to go to Seward visitor center but it was 1 mile away, and I didn't want to walk anymore, so I called them instead and asked about the trip. I took the whole dessert back. However, I spilled part of the dessert in my backpack, causing my backpack to be flooded with milk and cream, which covered my pen case and water bottles, and I had to take time to clean it up.

Then I went to Mt Marathon. There is a 5k race every 4th of July at Seward that is kind of a real popular event, and many people came to race on Mt Marathon. But it was only mid May now. The trailhead is 100m from my airbnb, and when I walked up to it I saw a sign that said not for inexperienced or unprepared, but the trail looks good enough, and it said "jeep trail", which I am guessing is for jeeps, so I climbed anyways.

It is steep and I took many rests along the way, but overall not that hard. I was afraid of bears but fortunately I saw no animals, well except for maybe birds and squirrels. After the Jeep trail the mountain is covered with snow, and there was nothing I could to do to keep going, and that is about 1/3 of the whole trail. I was stil fresh, and walked along a waterfall for a while and took some pictures before turning back. In total I met 3 people on the trail today, with one experienced mid-aged man going up and down very fast, saying he is going up 2 times, and an elderly couple, who didn't went up the trail much and said they were only there for 2 hours.

Then I went to Lost Lake trail. I wanted to go somewhere and went to Harbor 360 and asked how to go there, and they said there is shuttle but somehow I didn't find any information of the shuttle on the Internet and they said it is best to go in a taxi. So I went there in a taxi, and it took me 25 dollars, and 50 dollars round trip, which I found very expensive.

So I went to the start of the trail and wanted to began hiking. However, there is a water spring blocking my way, and I suddenly began to feel a little sleepy. I wanted to find a way to cross the spring but couldn't, and the road around was covered with snow. In the end I finally stepped right into the icy water and crossed it. Then I went hiking and the trail was very rough, partly covered by snow. Halfway up I saw a man and I said hi and asked how far could I go. He said he went on for 2 miles before turning back. The path is so hard I am always in danger of slipping, and there are 2 trails, summer trail and winter trail. I thought that since it is closer to summer now I would take the summer trail. The trail is mainly small rocks and tree roots, and there is snow everywhere and snow is melting, causing the mud to be very wet. There are bushes, but those shortcuts are hard. It is really hard course.

However, the summer trail is just covered with snow and full of ups and downs, and before long I had to turn back since there is a cliff and with so much snow it is very dangerous, and I had already climbed a mountain a little today and wasn't that fresh, so I turned back. Then I tried going to the winter trail. I saw two woman, and they were also going into winter trail. Somehow the winter trail is much easier than the summer trail, and although they are both covered with snow winter trail seems it is designed to be like that, and the road went on quite smoothly. However, I was very tired in my legs and my water is running out, so after about only 1 km I turned back. Literally the snow was so high that I tripped and half of my body went into the snow. I didn't even go to the point where I could see views because there are too many trees. The two woman looked prepared and kept going. During the way down I bumped my foot a little, and had to step into the icy water spring again. I called the taxi and it picked me up. Then I searched the map and it was like 14 miles, which is like 22 kilmeters all the way, and I am not that well prepared anyways. I looked at photos online where there are trees and flowers and the trail seemed so beautiful in the summer with no snow, and I was like, how bad is it that I came in such conditions. It is only mid-May, and I figured that it will take about 2 months for all the snow to melt. Anyways, the day is long and hard, and I didn't actually see much, but it is still very unique first-time experience for me.

Photos

Ray's Waterfront

Mt Marathon

Lost Lake Trail

518

Today is 518, and it is halfway thorugh my trip. I am boarding the bus to Anchorage now, and hopefully I will be in Denali tomorrow noon.

Today I went flightseeing. It was originally scheduled at 10 am, and I woke up at 8 am to walk there. It is very hard getting up at 8, and it was a long walk. I walked passed Seward High School and the Ryan Lewis Memorial Field, and there are some people playing soccer and frisbee. They are very young, and I figured that they are probably the students, and I really wanted to join or have a conversation but I am quite sleepy, and need to go to AA Seward Air.

When I finally went there, which is a kind of hard walk, and my legs were sore. The winds were blowing so strong this morning I felt in blowing right in my face, and I went in the little house and chatted with Malia, a worker in the AA Seward Airline. There are many brochures in the little house, and I thought about Kayaking adventure and different hiking routes I didn't even try, and thought there are still so many things I can do. She asked where I came from and what I was studying and had I been on a small flight before, and how there was this snowstorm 3 weeks ago that made mountains still covered with snow, and that in normal years snow would have melted. I learned that the pilot is called Joey Smith, but he is also kind of mechanics and organizer and commenter. It kind of made me want to be a pilot someday. However, after a while, she told me they couldn't fly the plane this morning, and I had to join the afternoon tour at 1 pm. I thought how I could have slept all morning instead of waking up at 8 am,, but the tour at 1 pm is more costly, so it turns out to be a budget, but still, it is very expensive to fly anyways. They offered me a ride, and I said I wanted to go to Sealife Center, so they took me there in their car.

However, sealife center is very small. There are only 2 floors and I saw Seastars and Seals and Sea Lions and Shrimps and Anemone and Skate and Salmons, and some kind of birds with a strange voice. The birds were trapped in a net so they can't fly out. I ended up getting out in less than 1 hour,, and there was still some time left before 1 pm. The wind was very strong outside.

Then I went to the Waterfront Park, the view is fantastic, the snowy mountains rising on the otherside. There are some kids halfway on a tree and they smiled and said hi to me. Then there is a pavilion where someone is having a barbecue and it smells so good. But it is kind of private. Then I saw a playground where there are kids of all ages, some almost my age I think. They are playing happily on the swing. Then I kept going, and it became so windy that I had to get my hat on, and could barely walk. I went to Firebranch BBQ to have lunch, which is kind of delicious.

Then I walked to AA Seward again, which is like 2 miles walk, so I ended up walking 4 miles in total, which made me sore. I walked on the rail track, and got there in time, at 12:30. Then I saw Malia again, and it turns out that I would be flying with an Australian couple. The elderly couple was really nice, and introduced themselves and the big man shook my hands and said Hi Jim, and told me he was Rob.

Then we flew on the plane. It was my first time on a flight, and I was so excited. I had those life jackets on and they also suggested me weating earcovers with microphone as a way to communicate, since it was very loud, by normal voice people cannot hear each other. There are 3 seats beside the pilot's seat on the airplane, and it is sort of formed like a car.

Then the plane took off, and in a matter of seconds the town of Seward went small, and the pilot Joey Smith said we are going to see glacier, and off we went. Everything just seemed so spectacular on the airplane. I had seen some glacier on the boat, but on the plane it looked totally different, and we went straight over, and I could see all those oddly shaped icebergs on the ground. Occasionally there is a blue pond, and it reflected in the sunlight. The glacier is just dazzling, and I was taking pictures the whole time. The man chatted with the pilot about how to tell winds, and it seems the man had some experience with flying a plane.

On the way there was a bear on a beach, but it was on the other side of the window. I also managed to take a picture of the bear, and it is the first bear I saw on the trip. I figured I would probably be seeing some in Denali. I kind of wondered why sometimes the lake shows a reflection of the mountain and sometimes it doesn't. I then thought that this is as good as those scenery films on YouTube featuring like Switzerland or Iceland, with floating icebergs from the glacier, and all those beautiful shapes carved by snow. Most of fresh water comes from glaciers.

Then we went to Harding Icefield, and the pilot said there are some glacier climbers he had just dropped off here a few days ago, and they are camping down. We managed to get a pretty close look on them, and seems to me glcier climbing seem so interesting. We were going past the Harding Icefield, and it looked like a white desert, so pure and so white that I could barely open my eyes. I was amazed by this massive white down there. It purified my heart, and I looked at the harding icefield and it gave me a sense of calmness when I thought about everything else. In the ground snow covered everything else and white is the only color, and I thought that maybe after a few hundred years after my death my life would be kind of like that, with white covering everything and leaving not a trace in the world. I am yet to go to a desert, though. The pilot said that if we land down there the snow can get all the way to waist. I kind of wanted to go to Harding Icefield Trail but it was closed. Then we circled back.

Then the flightseeing tour ended and it was really fantastic. Then I thought that a bird could easily do that flight everyday. However, a bird can't talk or be as smart as humans so anyways, and we were saying goodbye when the couple noticed I was walking, so they offered me a ride. I was touched and so grateful fromt he kindness of strangers, as I barely talked with anyone all year long, and barely know anyone would have such kindness in their hearts. So I got in their car, which is big and contain a table and 2 beds. They are very kind and let me sit in the front. I kind of want to rent a car too. I thought about coming here again in summer of 2025 when I would be 20 years old, and I would learn to drive and rent a car like theirs and drive up to Prudhoe Bay alone, and how I would see the Arctic Ocean and the northern lights, and hike to the most beautiful places in the world.

The man told me they had 60 kangeroos in their backyard, and when thinking of backyards I was like thinking about the 30 square feet yard that people in the first floor would have, and it felt too amazing to belive. Then they told me their backyard was 9 acres, and I found that it was something as large as 10 football fields, and I couldn't help but get amazed even more. Then they said it wasn't even big in Australia, which made me wonder just how different are people's life around the world, and I have no knowledge at all about the world whatsoever if I stay in Shanghai my whole life. They dropped me off at Harbor 360, and the woman gave me a doll with Australia on it, and I was so grateful for the gift. I thought about going to Australia one day, and it turns out that I forgot all of my times in New Zealand.

Then I saw a free shuttle and I hopped on it, and the driver was like where are you going, and I was like I don't know just wanna go around town. There are about 20 other people on that bus, so I went around and got off at Sealife Center again, because I didn't know where else to go to. Then it was like 14:23, and I figured that since the bus departs at like 6 pm I stil had lots of time to do whatever I wanted, and I thought about going around and turning back at 4 pm. I first went to the Lowell Point Waterfall, which is quite small. I was at kind of south end of Seward and didn't know where to go, since Caines Head was like 2 miles away and there are no trails besides Mt Marathon that is less than 2 miles away, so I settled with Mt Marathon, and I decided I am climbing it again. Since I was climbing the hiking trail yesterday, I figured I would be climbing the racing trail, and I went to the trailhead yesterday and a man explained to me where the racing trail was--at Jefferson Road. So I walked to Jefferson Road and went in and tried to climb it.

However, the path is so treacherous. I never saw such a primitive and dangerous path ever before. I first saw the cliffs, but there are sliding rocks just everywhere, it is just too dangerous and not even a way to go. Then I saw another trail and went up a little and found the waterfall switchback trail, and I figured that it is the "easier" trail and I would like to attempt it somehow. The path went up a waterfall, and it was so steep like 40 degress up. There are leaves and mud and falling rocks everywhere on the way, and it was just impossible for me to climb with a backpack and my jacket in my hands, so I put the jacket in my bags. I climbed like 30 meters and couldn't go on anymore, and it felt truly like rock climbing. There are many rocks that is not stable, and there is no place I could get a firm hold on or put my feet on. At one point I was almost sliding down the mountain, and kept myself not sliding with my arms almost underneath me. And there is nothing I could do except turning back from the racing trail before going through the first like 50 meters.

And then I began to climb down, and I realized how hard the trail was again. Turned out that I crawled on all fours with my butt on the ground and my backpack in my hand, and I got my pants all covered in dirt. But going down is much safer. Then I saw 2 people, probably a couple, coming down and they were going so fast on the impossible trail for me and they looked as quick as a rabbit, and as easy as walking on the ground.

I thought that since I had grew up in Shanghai, a crowded city where there are no wildlifes and no mountains and doens't seem to be exposed to any kind of nature except those artificial small trees and tinny ponds in the school or something like that, I have no experiences with the mountains or rocks. I imagined myself going up the treacherous trail everyday instead of playing in Century Park, and camping outside and hiking alone instead of spending most of my time in cram classes, and I thought that would be so fun, and this path shouldn't even be hard for me. However, I could not go back to my childhood, nor could my parents afford it anyways, and I thought that maybe if I come here after obtaining maybe a higher degree and be a professor or something, then I would have the chances of exploring nature pretty much all the rest of my life.

Anyways, I said hi and since I was lying on all fours they jumped to the other side of the waterfall and went down really quickly, and before I took one or two steps they were at the ground. I finally went down the treacherous path, and they were just driving away in their cars, and we said hi again. I said I am visiting and they said good job, and the 3 mile up the mountain are the hardest in the world, the waterfall part are very hard and it will be easier up there and they congratulated me. So I was happy again. I kind of wanted to go up there but anyways I was lucky to go without injuring myself. I went to the railroad depot and boarded the bus.

Then it became time to say goodbye, and it became very very sad--I never want to leave Seward, and this is almost my favourite place so far. Alaska is so much better than Berkeley, where you cannot even eat peacefully at a Macdonald or Subway, where there are too many homeless and beggars and strange people that walking on the streets downtown yields a feeling of disgust, although the surrounding area is ok. But I figured I have been to most of the surrounding areas already anyways.

Photos

Harding Icefield

Seward

The car I Hitchhiked in

Waterfall Switchback Trail

Summit Lake