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Two Gales, Five Glaciers, One Orca, a Bear's Butt...and much, more more: A Journey on Prince William Sound, Alaska, June 4-15, 2015


prudenceb

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Pru and Beth,

I had a mixed response reading your report of your Alaskan adventure. Part one with cold uncooperative weather felt so daunting that I wondered when the fun was to begin and envied you and your companions not. However, the more I read and thought about it I felt that in retrospect the pleasure of satisfaction in overcoming obstacles and your palpable acomplishments would long trump a few days of discomfort. You have my admiration for doing this awesome trip.

Edited by GCosloy
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Gene,

Interesting comments. Yes, sun is nicer than rain. But anyone can be cheerful and do a long trip when one is warm and dry and the sun shines all day. I actually wondered in advance how I'd handle adverse conditions - and certainly at the outset, as I wrote in the report, I was not doing well internally. But part of what I wanted from the trip was a test of myself. Maintaining - at least outwardly! - a positive attitude was very important, and soon I arrived at more of a sense of peace with the soggy environment, and with my own soggy self, and was prepared to have an entirely damp experience, and actually was rather enjoying - and amused at - being constantly wet, at which point things turned around for good, and it was nothing but sun.

I think Beth has already written that it was good to experience the range of conditions that the Sound can offer. Twelve days of sun might lure one back for another trip down the road, and it is almost certain that it would never be that nice again. I can think about returning for another go mindful of what it will be like, and being even better prepared for it.

There was also a certain beauty to the cold and overcast/rainy days. I think my favorite day was the paddle down Icy Bay.

I ended the trip feeling I'd passed the test I'd set for myself, and that was surely another layer of what made the trip such a wonderful experience.

pru

ps PLUS...black flies don't like rain and wind and cold any more than we do! It was a blessing to have had only two buggy days on the trip...

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.....

I ended the trip feeling I'd passed the test I'd set for myself, and that was surely another layer of what made the trip such a wonderful experience.

pru

ps PLUS...black flies don't like rain and wind and cold any more than we do! It was a blessing to have had only two buggy days on the trip...

I'll take cold and damp over black flies any day! We found the same thing in Newfoundland, and it was surprising how far offshore one had to paddle before the cold of the water overcame the heated air of the land, at least as it applied to those blood sucking devils.

best

Phil

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What a wonderful trip!

What a wonderful trip!

What a wonderful trip!

I really resonated with your feeling of being overwhelmed by the largeness and remoteness of the area as your trip began. I'm very familiar with that feeling, and I tend to deal with it the same way you did - grounding in the tasks of the moment. And I resonated with your feeling at the end of the trip of not wanting to lose the isolation and beauty of those 9 days. So hard to step back into the bustling world where it doesn't matter a bit if you know the difference between a map and a chart, or how to rig up a tarp.

Thank you for posting all your photos of this magnificent place, and writing up the detailed report.

What a wonderful trip!

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Nice read and great pictures. It was as great trips often are ....never quite on script, but always on target for a rich experience. Glad all from big weather to sickness made it come together for one of those great moments in Life.

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