Alaska is a land of incredible fjords, forested ocean coasts and high alpine meadows. You’ll see much of this wild country as you explore it on foot and in a sea kayak.
Prince William Sound's deep fjords and massive tidewater glaciers are sure to impress.
Photo: Tracy Baynes
Your month-long adventure will give you a chance to learn two wilderness travel skills, backpacking and sea kayaking, while exploring two very different environments, the waters of Alaska’s Prince William Sound and the mountains of Southcentral Alaska.
Your sea kayak will follow a route where glaciers flow directly into the ocean and seals, sea otters, many species of birds and even whales are easy to spot. You’ll learn how to handle your boat in different conditions of wind and tide, and also how to be a good leader and keep a positive attitude after a long day of paddling.
The mountains of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, the Talkeetnas or the Chugach Range will be your home for the backpacking section. Here you’ll start below tree line and head into the mountains along glaciated river valleys, reaching open high-country known as tundra. The vistas here are wide, the mountains rugged, and the lessons lifelong.
Alaska Backpacking and Sea
Kayaking
Duration:
30 Days
Age:
16 and Over (Average Age: 18)
Tuition:
$4,300
Dates:
May 23-June 21, 2008
June 14-July 13, 2008
June 19-July 18, 2008
June 27-July 26, 2008
July 17-Aug. 15, 2008
Students and instructors celebrate Fourth of July atop a mountain pass in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park during the backpacking portion of their course.
Photo: Amy Rathke
“People talk about wild areas all the time,
but Alaska has a wildness and beauty unlike anywhere else. When
our group finally made it to a summit, we just went wild. I’ll
never forget that feeling of being on a mountain where hardly anyone
else has ever been.”
Ryan Hughes
Semester in Alaska, 1999
University of Maine Student
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