Why Alaska

Ask 10 people about their Alaskan experience, and you’re likely to get 10 different responses. Alaska is so vast it simply defies definition. So, you might ask, what would my vacation to Alaska look like?

	Float / Fishing / Hiking Adventure: Fly into Summit Lake at the top of Lake Clark Pass and float for four days along this Class III whitewater river. Opportunities for photography, hiking and wildlife viewing are excellent. Spectacular glacial views and opportunities to view glacial calving abound.
	Caving : Few places in the world have karst terrain developed to the extent of southeast Alaska. Karst is topography characterized by caves, sinkholes, and underground streams. About 700 square miles of karst topography exists on Prince of Wales Island. These have formed from limestone and marble bedrock dissolved by our abundant rainfall and decomposing forest matter. El Capitan Cave is the largest known cave in Alaska. It is also the first cave in Southeast Alaska where human fossil bones were discovered. Bear bones in the caves have been dated to over 12,000 years ago
	La Conte Glacier: This wonderful day trip holds plenty of excitement. See whales, seals and other wildlife as you motor up through the islands. Stop and fish for halibut or salmon. The glacier is borne from mountains over ten thousand feet, carving a beautiful fjord as it heads toward saltwater. The ice pack at the base of the glacier acts as an early season rookery for Harbour Seals and thier pups. We can take some kayaks along for a more advanced paddle through the icebergs. Bring plenty of film on the trip adventure (thank God for digital cameras).
	Hot Springs Tours: Spending one day and night at the hot springs on the east side of Baranof Island. These hot springs are just the right temperature in which to soak, so be sure to bring your swimming suit.
	Adventure Sea Kayaking: Paddle in a secluded bays, or up close to the glaciers.  Experience a close encounter with humpback whales.
	Shrimping and Crabbing: All you have to do is say the word and our excursion guides will take you out to throw shrimp pots and crab pots. In Southeast Alaska we have spotted prawns and dungeness crabs.
	Flight Seeing Tours: Most people who come up to Southeast Alaska spend their trip on a boat saltwater fishing, which most don't mind, but wouldn't it be great to not only take home a few boxes of fish but to also see the other spectacular sights and activities that Alaska has to offer? There is no better way than by seaplane.
	World Class Fishing: Along the West Coast of Prince of Wales Island, extreme tides and surging ocean currents create a habitat for millions of bait fish that attract annual returns of trophy-size salmon, halibut, red snapper, and ling cod. These natural phenomena, which first attracted commercial fishermen, offer premier fishing grounds in Alaska for some of the best salmon and halibut sport fishing in the world.
	Bear Viewing::  Kodiak Island is well known for its fishing and bears. The Kodiak Brown Bear is one of the largest carnivores on earth. Over 3,000 bears make their home throughout the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge. Fly-out bear viewing is a great treat, because our guides can bring you to places on Kodiak where bears congregate on the plentiful salmon runs. Sit and watch the bears for hours - playing, fishing, sleeping and whatever else that may occur.

Facts you’ll want to know about Alaska

Sport Fishing: For the outdoor enthusiast, angling in Alaska’s pristine waters continues to be one of the primary reasons for visiting the state. Alaska’s coastal waters are abundant with salmon, halibut, red snapper, lingcod, and rockfish. Cutthroat, rainbow, and Dolly Varden trout are found in streams and lakes along with char, grayling and pike.

Alaskan Habitats: Alaska’s wildlife is as varied as the land itself. Habitats range from Southeast Alaska’s temperate rain forest and alpine mountains to the vast pond-covered deserts of the interior and northern slope. Between and around these desert planes are icy regions that are inhabited only by algae and worms. In between these icy mountainous regions taiga, dotted with trees, and vast tidal deltas, are the preferred habitat for moose, caribou, brown bear and wolverines. The coastal waters surrounding Alaska are immense habitats themselves, home to virtually unlimited wealth of aquatic life.

Wildlife Viewing: The Inside Passage in Southeast Alaska offers outstanding opportunities to view bald eagles, mountain goats, black and brown bear, porcupines, Sitka blacktail deer, and hoary marmots. South central Alaska is a good region for spotting Dall sheep, moose, and migratory birds. The Interior, where great herds of caribou roam the tundra. Visitors may be treated to sightings of wolves, red fox, musk ox, owls, countless migratory birds, and brown bear.

Mountains: Of the 20 highest peaks in the United States, 17 are in Alaska. Mt. McKinley, the highest peak in North America, is 20,320 ft. above sea level. Denali, the Indian name for the peak, means ”The Great One.”

Water Bodies: The Yukon River, almost 2,000 miles long, is the third longest river in the U.S. There are more than 3,000 rivers in Alaska and over 3 million lakes. The largest, Lake Iliamna, encompasses over 1,000 square miles.

Glaciers: Alaska has an estimated 100,000 glaciers, ranging from tiny cirque glaciers to huge valley glaciers. There are more active glaciers and ice fields in Alaska than in the rest of the inhabited world. The largest glacier is the Malaspina at 850 square miles. Five percent of the state, or 29,000 square miles, is covered by glaciers.

Compass Points: Alaska boasts the northernmost (Point Barrow), the easternmost (Pochnoi Point on Semisopochnoi Island in the Aleutians), and the westernmost (Amatignak Island in the Aleutians) points in the United States.

Coastline: Alaska has 6,640 miles of coastline and, including islands, has 33,904 miles of shoreline.

Volcanoes: There are more than 70 potentially active volcanoes in Alaska. Several have erupted in recent times. The most violent volcanic eruption of the century took place in 1912 when Novarupta Volcano erupted, creating the valley of Ten Thousand Smokes.