Backpacking Caine's Head

Someone help me to rotate pictures on the blog....LOL

This week I had some new and amazing experiences! Seems like all my Alaskan experiences have been new and amazing, but this one is up there with the best so far. On Monday and Tuesday, we went on a short overnight hiking/backpacking trip to a spot right out of Seward called Caines Head. Caines Head is towards the end of Resurrection Bay that Seward is on. It’s a fairly easy hike, not a lot of hills, but in order to get to it, you have to time the tide because a section of the beach is not crossable during some tides. We were lucky enough that the tide schedule was easy, we had to cross at 9am going in and at 10am going out the next day. Sometimes the tide is scheduled for 4am…yikes! So Sunday night we packed our bags and planned when we had to leave the trailhead in order to safely cross the beach at low tide. I have never been on an over night backpacking trip so I was constantly asking David “do I need this?....Where should I put this?”. But I did it, I got everything I’d needed for the short trip in my backpack ($20 at the Goodwill well spent!). I tried it on with all the stuff in it, it felt snug and it seemed heavy, but not too bad. Plus I was a Tough Mudder, I could do it, right? Anyways, we got to bed by midnight and planned to get to the trailhead at 8am. The trailhead sits on a place called Lowell Point, which is a small community outside of a Seward 3 miles and it’s a popular spot for cabin rentals, kayak tours, and other getaways.

We got there on time, paid the parking fee, and we were off! In my normal adventures and hiking, I like to walk fast or even run, but with 30 extra pounds on my back, I decided to take it easy and enjoy the views and scenery. The first mile and a half is all in the woods, crossing over big rocks where the snow must have melted and so was left rugged. It was gorgeous though and the smell! The scent of the woods there was so fragrant and sweet. It smelled how you’d imagine a candle named “Sweet Alaskan Spring” would smell! Then after that mile and half, we came out of the woods to a clearing. An amazing and perfectly clear spring ran underneath the bridge we were crossing into the bay. I was humbled by the beauty of the clearing, beautiful creek, green grassy meadow, all opening up to the bay and giant mountains being kissed by the sun. We kept walking along the trail, which led us to the beach! The park sign before we even started the trail described this trek as “Walking on the Edge”. From the first view, I could see why. The whole way to the north side of Caines Head, was on the beach.

Out of the Woods!

Beautiful Creek

The clearing in the trail leading to the beach portion of the hike. 

<3 

More Beautiful Views 

We started our way on the beach, and quickly I heard “Jillian!! Jillian!”. I was like “who is calling my name way out here?”. It was my friend from work, Maria, who said she might try to join us, and she did! She caught up to us on the beach. So David, Maria, and me started to trek the beach. Within minutes, we were all sweating. For Alaska, it was so hot! I think it was about 70, but when you are up here 70 feels like 85 or 90! It felt good when we came across a little stream to splash our hands and face in the icy water to cool off. Shortly after the start of the hike, we noticed what we are pretty sure was a seal, bobbing up and down in the water swimming. The farther we kept hiking, we kept seeing him. He followed us for a good while, sticking his little head out of the water. I imagine he was saying “hey guys, whatcha up to?”. We named him Seal, after the 90’s artist famously know for the song “Kissed by a Rose” and we even tried to sing it a little bit in honor of our new friend. The seal wasn’t the only wild life we got to see up close on this adventure. About halfway down the beach, Maria wanted to change, so she went off behind a rock, and David and I were just  standing there still, resting. The David heard something up in the trees and then pointed out there was a group of about 5 river otters up there. We stayed as still and silent as possible in order not to scare them away. The river otters are SO cute! They looked at us, sniffed super loudly, and made their way down the cliff side to some rocks. They are very shy little creatures so once we moved they hid in the rocks. So we kept walking and when we turned around, we saw them waddle across the beach and dive into the ocean. I guess it was lunchtime for them! From what David’s learned at his job, River Otters are extremely shy and don’t usually like to be seen by people. ( I have pictures coming and will post as soon as I can retrieve them from Maria's camera!) So the fact we got to see them so close up and watch the group of them walk around and get into the water is super rare! We were so lucky! 

On the beach! 

Trekking the Beach

We found a waterfall on the way!

After hiking across the beach for a few hours, we got to the trailhead on Caines Head. Personally, I was grateful for some shade, I was getting really hot and forgot sunscreen. We got to the fork in the trail and decided to sit for a bit. It felt SO good to take my heavy pack off and get a snack. Dried mangos, trail mix, and dark chocolate never tasted so yummy! Maria even had homemade coconut cookies, yum! After a picnic, we decided to take the trail to Fort McGillivray. The trail splits where we were and you could go to the old military fort or a trail called “Alpine Trail”, but the Alpine trail loop was another 8 miles, and I didn’t think I had it in me. We hiked another 2.5 miles to the old fort, of course all up hill…but our climbing was not for nothing, once we came to the clearing, we were on the cliff, with the most amazing view! It was a perfectly clear day, no clouds, and warm weather! We could see 3 glaciers, Fox Island (a small island with a resort on it), and the edge of the bay. All 3 of us took our packs off, laid down by the cliff, and took a nap in the sunshine! After our nap, we decided to set up camp there, since it was such a beautiful place, and spend the rest of the day relaxing, reading, and enjoying the view. Maria had to hike back out at low tide that night so we said our goodbyes to her and set up our tent with a million dollar view. I was so tired from a few hours of sleep the night before and from the hike with the heavy pack, I took another nap!

***I’d like to add in a little bit about making sure you are properly hydrated on a hiking trip. I don’t think I drank enough water on the way in and had about 20 minutes of being super irritable and grumpy. So my apologies to David and Maria, thanks for putting up with my sourness for that little bit. 

In the evening, we looked down at the bay and saw some wildlife swimming around. We were trying to figure out whether it was whales or porpoises. But after some debate we decided it was a couple packs of Orca whales. We watched them swim around from high up on the cliff. It was amazing and we really wished we would have brought the binoculars!

View from the top!

Our friend we made at the top!

Camping on top of the world! 

I love this picture.

While up on the fort, we explored it’s old lookouts and shelter (not sure what it was used for). It was really dark inside the shelter structure and had many rooms, which looked like dungeons, but maybe also looked like storage? Any history lovers want to help me out here? Here are some pictures…

Minus being a little chilly, I slept pretty well in the tent, only waking a couple times. Camping in Alaska in the summer is challenging. Besides kind of always having a thought that a bear will eat you, you  wake up to the lightness of the sun, expecting it to be 5 or 6am, but you look at the clock and it’s 2am and still light out. I think for me, it will take some getting used to…but after going to sleep for a few more hours, we woke up at the right time to allow time for packing up camp, and getting to the beach for the tide schedule. The hike back felt shorter and quicker to me. On the way back, my muscles were feeling weak, my shoulders ached from the pack, and my belly was growling for some food! We let time pass and discussed what to eat for lunch when we got back into town. It was tie between breakfast or Thai food. There is an AMAZING Thai place in town called Woody’s. We ended up deciding on Woody’s Thai Kitchen because their panang curry is to die for! We were delighted to find they were open!

Once we got to the car, I was so happy! I took off my stinky boots and even stinkier socks and threw on my Teva sandles to let my swollen feet relax! I couldn’t help but feel proud of myself! I was proud of myself for making it through the hike, carrying my bag, camping, and making it all the way back (with only a minimal tiny grumpy patch). I felt it was a great first introduction to backpacking and I can’t wait to do it again! But this time, I think I’ll leave some things behind….maybe 2 beanies and 3 headbands was a little excessive. 

We got to Woody’s Thai Kitchen starving and I was excited because they weren’t that busy! We ordered Thai Iced Coffee which I had never had before. Let me say this, this was the best coffee ever! Perfectly sweet, strong, almost chocolately, and topped with cream! It was AMAZING and perfect after being sweaty and hot from hiking.  I might have a new addiction…Our food was, as always here, amazing. We stuffed ourselves! We dragged ourselves home, lugged our bags upstairs, took hot showers, and passed out for a nap. A hot shower and nap never felt so good! 

I am so happy I got to experience this trip! Backpacking is amazing. Who knew this California city girl would fall in love with nature so much? There is something so special about being out in nature, experiencing the sights, sounds, and smells. Backpacking helped my mind to quiet, any anxieties to settle, and allowed me to let go of the crazy world, even just for 2 days. Time goes slower when I was backpacking and I felt I could actually listen to my body and let go of any stinky thoughts. I am really looking forward to doing more backpacking, hiking, and camping! I think I found another love...

For next week I’ve got some fun stuff happening too! On Monday and Tuesday, my mom and little brother will be here for a visit! I hope Monday we can have  chance to go on a walk out by Exit Glacier and on Tuesday we are going on a tour of the bay, whale watching, and seeing glaciers. I’m excited to see my family and show them all what I’ve done here in Alaska so far! Maybe if my mom sees what I’ve been up to here, she’ll maybe worry less? Or maybe it’s a mom thing to never stop worrying about their kids…? Anyways, until then! Hope you all have an amazing week and I’d love to hear from you and how you are doing! Also, come visit! We have a couch for you to sleep on!