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If you're looking for wilderness and spectacular mountain scenery, this tour is for you. Pioneered by Anadyr Adventures in 1999, you'll see both advancing and retreating glaciers in the same week. After a drop-off by water taxi at the face of Meares Glacier, you can witness first hand the power and immensity of an advancing glacier. From Meares paddle the length of beautiful Unakwik Inlet, the spectacular and remote Granite Bay, Long Bay and Columbia Bay.
End the trip in the majesty of Columbia Glacier, the largest and most rapidly receding in Prince William Sound.
Day 1
The morning you’ve been waiting for.... load the water taxi then sit back and enjoy the ride out to Unakwik Inlet and your first views of Prince William Sound. Upon arrival your guide will give a paddle lesson and talk to you about safely moving in the wilderness of PWS. Then you’ll pack your kayak and begin the expedition.
Unakwik Inlet is one of the most remote areas in PWS, over 50 miles from any port. The fjord runs north and cuts deep into one of the highest coastal ranges in the world, the Chugach Mountain Range. It is bordered on all sides by lush temperate rainforest that give way to snow and ice capped peaks. The head of the inlet boasts a glacial glossary: apron, valley, hanging and tidewater glaciers.
Admire the aptly named Brilliant glacier which descends thousands of feet before stopping just hundreds of feet above tidewater.
The highlight of Unakwik Inlet is Meares Glacier, one of few advancing glaciers in PWS. Meares Glacier is over 15 miles long, with a terminus nearly a mile wide and 300 feet high. Each year it pushes slowly forward knocking over trees that lie in its path. You’ll marvel as the vertical wall of ice calves into saltwater while you navigate your kayak safely through the ice floes. Watch for seals hauled-out atop the ice and listen to the thunderous sounds of ice breaking free from the glaciers face. For most, this is a once in a lifetime experience!
After an amazing day of exploring you’ll set-up camp and enjoy a wholesome meal prepared by your guide. Then relax and listen to the distant thunder of Meares Glacier as it continues its century long journey in Unakwik Inlet.
Day 2
Coffee, tea, breakfast then break camp, pack your kayak and continue the journey. Paddling south you’ll spend the day tracing Unakwik Inlet’s beautiful shoreline. Along the way you’ll pass waterfalls, weave through Islets, and gaze into the crystal clear water. You’ll pass the old terminal moraine of Meares Glacier, a testament to the days when it occupied much more of the fjord. The old terminal moraine and a small island group known as the “cow pens” are home to one of the highest concentrations of sea otters in PWS. Watch as they dive and come back up with a belly full of food. Look close for mothers carrying fluffy pups. But make sure to keep an eye to the tree tops as well, where bald eagles nest and perch waiting for the salmon runs which flood these waters in mid summer.
Stop, stretch and spend time exploring beaches. Then choose one of the beaches towards Unakwik Point as your home for the night.
Day 3
Readied for another day of exploring you’ll round Unakwik Point and the southern limit of the mainland. In the distance island groups break the horizon, which otherwise stretches for miles across Prince William Sound. Today you may have the opportunity to explore Granite Bay, Fairmount Island, or Fairmount Bay.
Wherever your kayak points beautiful scenery is sure to be ahead. The high energy beaches in this area are great for beach combing and stretching the legs.
Your guide will find a favourite and you’ll set-up camp for the evening. Sit back and take it all in, page through a book, or try your luck at fishing.
Day 4
Wake-up to hot coffee and tea and a breakfast prepared by your guide then take in the view from camp before pushing off for the day. Round Granite Point and head for one of our favourite paddling spots, Glacier Island.
From the south side of Glacier Island the view across the open water of PWS is expansive. Trace Glacier Island's unique shoreline while surveying the colourful intertidal zone for seastars, chitons, mussels and barnacles. Poke into sea caves where sea birds such as cormorants and puffins nest along the ledges. Be sure to occasionally pull your eyes away from the shoreline to scan the water for the Stellar Sea Lion and Humpback Whale, as this is a favourite area for them. We’re confident that it will be one of your favourites as well.
After the days paddle you’ll camp on one of the high-energy beaches and enjoy a hot meal prepared by your guide. Then relax and take-in the unforgettable sights and sounds of PWS.
Day 5
The distant roar of stellar sea lions means you are approaching Bull Head, a haulout to hundreds of bull stellar sea lions. Watch as these thousand pound animals scrap for beach space and be ready for a troop of these curious giants to come and play.
You’ll continue to marvel at Glacier Island's vertical shoreline and rock formations as you round the corner.
Approaching the north side of Glacier Island the heart of the Chugach range comes into view. The snow-capped Mt. Columbia climbs 9,000 ft from tide line and hangs above the massive river of ice, Columbia Glacier. The air here is cooled and ice bobs offshore and gets stranded on beaches.
Glacier Islands open muskeg meadows are perfect for stretching your legs. Lay your feet atop the spongy mosses that have built-up over generations. Drop to a knee and checkout the insectivorous sundews, wildflowers and search for blueberries and cranberries. Then follow the trails of Sitka black-tailed deer as they meander through the spruce and hemlock, past huge leafed skunk cabbage
and continue still onward. Before or after dinner enjoy some time to read or try your luck with the dolly varden or salmon that may be swimming by somewhere off the beach.
 
Day 6
The mainland lies 4 miles away, prepare yourself for the paddle across open water then enjoy the panorama from the middle. The destination is the protected water of Heather Bay. The scene is gorgeous, blue water and lush green mountainsides give way to white snowcapped peaks.
Weave your kayak through brash ice, growlers and bergy bits while searching the floating ice for sea otters hauled out for a midday rest. Keep an eye to the treetops for perched bald eagles. Trace the shoreline into emerald cove and around Jade Island as your bow breaks a glassy reflection. 
Views from camp in Heather Island can be hard to beat anywhere in the world. Listen for loons calling and enjoy your last evening by sitting back and soaking it all in.
Day 7
Coffee and breakfast are ready; you wake up and take in the scene from camp one last time. Then push off towards the terminal moraine of Columbia Glacier.
The scene is unforgettable and the scale almost unfathomable. The largest tidewater glacier in PWS, Columbia Glacier covers over 400 sq. miles. Stop on the old terminal moraine for a view of the “iceberg impoundment area” and the face in the distance.
Walk among towering icebergs left stranded by an ebbing tide. Then back on the water, the moment that may have lured you to Alaska in the first place... paddling among icebergs in a bay so tranquil you can so your own reflection on the water. A truly amazing day!
Your water taxi will pick you up around 4pm for the return trip to Valdez and the end of a truly life-changing experience!
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