Alaska Trip: days 1 and 2

Emma left from Medford and I left from Portland.  We both packed and checked a bunch of gear.  We met up in Seattle, I had a quick beer, and then we hopped on a plane to Anchorage.  Dinner on board was actually pretty tasty.  We landed in Anchorage at dusk and Emma was amazed at how light it still was at nearly midnight.

We took a shuttle bus to the car lot where a friend had left her car for me.  From there, we drove over to east Anchorage and our Air BnB where we crashed for the night.  We got up early the next morning because I noticed that the tip eye of my fishing pole was broken and I wanted to get it repaired.  So we got up, had breakfast at a cafe, and were at Sportsman's Warehouse as soon as they opened.  Unfortunately, even though "tip repair" was literally on their wall as a service, they informed me that they don't do that anymore.  So rather than drive all around Anchorage trying to repair a $10 tip, I just bought a new pole.  Frustrating, but efficient.  Meanwhile, Emma had rounded up the last few items on her camping list.

Finally we set out on the Seward Highway, south out of Anchorage.  We skipped the first few places I had wanted to try fishing for one reason or another, although we did stop for Emma to take some pictures of glaciers, mountains, and fireweed.  I finally found a good spot to fish at the outlet to Lower Summit Lake at the headwaters of Canyon Creek.  First cast and landed a nice dolly varden!

Canyon Creek (above) flowing out of Lower Summit Lake (below)

We drove a bit more and pulled over at the old Cooper Landing on Kenai Lake.  The weather was warm and beautiful.  Even though fish were jumping, nothing bit.  Drove a bit more to Soldotna where I decided Emma needed to try a reindeer sausage.  This was also where we met LaDonna's brother who had a bag of clothes for me to bring to Daniel.

Fishing in Kenai Lake (above and below)

After lunch, we drove the rest of the way to Homer so that Emma could make her gear check meeting at the Center for Alaska Coastal Studies.  All went well and she got fitted for her wetsuit.  We went out to dinner on the Homer Spit and then headed to our Air BnB down the road a bit in Kachemak which had phenomenal views of Kachemak Bay, glaciers, mountains, and sandhill cranes.  That night we went through Emma's belongings to sort out things she needed to bring tomorrow and things that she didn't need for the rest of the trip that I'd keep with me.

Emma on the Homer Spit overlooking Kachemak Bay

The view (above) from our Air BnB (below)

The view from our Air BnB included glaciers and dancing sandhill cranes