When I was told I was going to go to Alaska I was super excited. Like Price-is-Right-Contestant excited. It had been a bucket-list place for me for so long.
I AM GOING TO ALASKA! I thought, doing my happy dance/shimmy in my head (well, probably not just in my head, I have a tendency to bust a move regardless if I'm just thinking about it...whoops).
Then they told me I got to pick a FREE day of adventure. It gets better? Oh, the possibilities! What would I see, what would I do? Would I see fjords, glaciers, bears, the inside of a spa...whatever would I choose? There were well over 30 options and I knew I had to pick something incredible. I only had ONE free day to explore the beauty of Alaska. It also had to be an experience I probably wouldn't ever get the chance to do otherwise. I scrolled through the options, scrutinizing the options until finally, I read...
"enjoy a hike, gourmet lunch and a helicopter ride to a glacier landing..."
SIGN ME UP.
When the morning finally arrived, I felt like a little kid at Christmas! I met the awesome group of travel professionals that I would be traveling with for the day and we headed off to the Chugach Mountains for a hike to a waterfall. If you didn't know, hiking and waterfalls are two of my favorite things. The hike was relatively easy, about 2 miles round trip. What was especially nice were the fall colors. The leaves had turned a magnificent yellow (they don't tend to get too red because the fall in Alaska is too short), and they were slowly falling around us and crunching under my feet.
The waterfall was lovely, and the crisp autumn air was chilly but comfortable. We headed back on the mini-bus to visit a quick cultural stop to learn about the connection between native religions and the Russian Orthodox one. We learned about the burial rituals and visited the tiny Russian Orthodox church that's still in use today.
Following our cultural stop, we headed to the Knik River Lodge, which is about an hour away from Anchorage. We arrived at the newly renovated main lodge which had a delicious lunch set up in the dining room that featured spectacular mountain and river views. The first group departed for their helicopter experience, while I (along with a few others) stayed back to enjoy the fresh and tasty lunch that had been prepared for us. Seafood chowder, salmon caesar salad, BLTA (A stands for avocado, which is an A+ in my book) and tuna salad sandwiches were served followed by chocolate mousse. Simply divine!
While we were enjoying lunch, we were treated to an informal talk by Justin who owns a nearby sled dog kennel and who has run the Iditarod race SIX TIMES. SIX TIMES. WHAT!? The Iditarod is a 1,000-mile sled dog race through some of the most challenging terrain in Alaska, during frigid temperatures and without any outside help. Talk about tough! They call it the "Last Great Race on Earth". It would certainly be the last thing I'd ever do if I tried it, that's for sure. Hearing Justin's stories were incredible - from seeing ghosts on the trail, to injured teammates (his dogs) and how he dealt with it, and the mental strength that's required to accomplish this mighty feat, I was captivated from start to finish. He also brought along Elimm, an Alaskan sled dog (not just any husky - he schooled us on that!) who had also completed the Iditarod several times.
Is it slightly sad when the dog across from you is more accomplished than you are?...
After reassuring myself that I had indeed accomplished a thing or two, we headed to the helicopters that had returned with the other group. The group was beaming from ear to ear, gushing about how incredible the landscape was and how they never wanted to come back to the lodge. Oh dear, my Bob Barker level excitement was coming straight back again!
After our safety brief (blades = bad), I was lucky enough to get the front seat in my helicopter. This was my first time and I was slightly nervous (I had heard a horror story or two), but man, was it ever smooth! We glided on up and out of sight, and kept on going, flying along the forested area and then out to the mountains and the spectacular Knik Glacier. We then floated so low and so close to the lake at one point that I was having backseat-driver syndrome, but it was pretty cool (hehe, "cool"). We landed on the glacier and it blinded me with both its beauty and the reflection from the sun (yes, sun in Alaska, we had a perfect day).
After affixing our much-need crampons to our shoes, we began exploring the glacier with the help of our friendly helicopter pilots (You can check them out on Alaska's Ultimate Bush Pilots). We tasted the pure glacier water (sort of sweet), and took photos "walking" on water. We visited holes in the glacier that were hundreds of feet deep and if you fell in them, you were a goner. I slowly backed away from those ones (I am a klutz by nature, did not want to die that day).
After snapping what seemed like a million photos, but at the same time what felt like 2 minutes, we had to depart to go back to the lodge. Our pilot flew over to where he had previously seen a truck submerged in the river about an hour before, but they either managed to get it out (doubtful) or it ended up living the rest of its life in the riverbed (more likely).
As we got on the bus to return back to Anchorage, and to start the conference, I tried to relive and remember all of the unique and special moments from the day while soaking in the stunning views of mountains, forest and rivers. Photos just didn't do the place justice.
Thank you to the Adventure Travel Trade Association, Visit Anchorage and the Knik River Lodge for their hospitality and for organizing this experience. All opinions and views are my own.