Alaska Sea Kayaking

This course is an ocean expedition in sea kayaks in the dramatic Kenai Fjords or Prince William Sound area of Alaska. Rugged coastlines, gorgeous campsites, icebergs, calving glaciers and lots of sea life make this course unique. This course is ideal for a broad range of challenge seekers and is best suited to those comfortable in the water.

Your course will take place on the coast of the Kenai Peninsula either in Kenai Fjords National Park or in Prince William Sound within the Chugach National Forest. The coastal shoreline of the Kenai Peninsula is a rugged and remote coastline where icefalls, vertical cliffs and pebbled beaches meet the Gulf of Alaska and the adjacent fjords and passages. Above the shoreline are the Sargent and Harding Ice Fields, dozens of white domes of snow and ice wrapped around six thousand foot high peaks. Dozens of glaciers fall thousands of feet southward and literally spill into the Gulf of Alaska, earning the name “tidewater glaciers.” The fjords into which the glaciers calve were once glacier-carved mountain valleys thousands of feet deep. Due to tectonic movement, these valleys are still sinking slowly into the sea. The best way to access this spectacular landscape is by boat. Sea kayaks, sometimes called “a poor man’s yacht,” are the perfect way to experience this incredible place. With long summer days, there will be many opportunities to explore and enjoy this wild coastal environment.

The Outward Bound Difference
Team challenges like staying together as a group, navigating the complex coastlines and making decisions yourselves contribute to the development of leadership skills on a sea kayaking expedition. Groups will be taught wilderness and team skills and participate in groups discussions and all students are expected to be part of the team. Successful completion of your course demands mastery of skills, trust, fitness, confidence, tenacity, leadership, initiative and compassion. The promotion of these qualities, and the discovery of what’s in you, is the purpose of Outward Bound.

This course may be the hardest thing you have ever done. Outward Bound philosophy maintains that by facing the challenges the course will offer you, you will emerge physically and mentally stronger, with an increased mastery of expedition skills as well as a better understanding of your own capabilities. We think that the payoff is well worth the work, but you should be aware of what you’re getting into and excited about tackling the challenges.

Course Description
A power boat takes you and you group from Seward across Resurrection Bay and then either east to Prince William Sound or west to Kenai Fjords, where it drops you off (and your kayaks) on a thin strip of beach between the ocean and the dense rainforest. You may at first notice is how quiet and peaceful it is. The silence, however, is often broken by the raucous calls of seagulls, the shriek of nesting eagles, the frantic flapping of chubby Puffins defying gravity, the exhalation of Humpback whales, and the rumble of glaciers crashing into the sea. Your group will consist of a maximum of 10 students along with two instructors paddling both single and double kayaks. The first days of the course are spent learning and practicing basic kayaking and camping skills. Paddling a sea kayak is not particularly difficult; in fact it is deceptively easy. However, knowledge of seamanship and judgment must be learned in order to be safe in what can be an unforgiving environment. Instruction in sea kayaking will include proper kayak loading and care, navigation and rescue techniques. You also learn low-impact camping, basic outdoor living and environmental skills.

NOTE: Sea kayaking required skills include learning how to enter and exit the craft while in the water. Non-swimmers may be challenged to successfully, or comfortably master these skills and may wish to consider an alternate activity.

To enroll in this course click the enroll button next to the course dates that work for you. To shop comparatively on line visit our Advanced Course Finder or better yet call one of our expert Admission Advisers at 866-467-7651. Course tuitions listed below do not include our Application Fee or Transportation Fee.

Region: Alaska

Activities: Sea kayaking, seamanship, low-impact camping, solo service and final expedition

Additional Information:
Application Fee
Transportation Fee

Dates	Days	Age	Location	Tuition	Course	Enroll
05/23/08 to 06/01/08	10	18+	Alaska	$1995.00	AKO831
06/07/08 to 06/16/08	10	18-22	Alaska	$1995.00	AKO832
07/06/08 to 07/19/08	14	18-22	Alaska	$2995.00	AKO842
08/04/08 to 08/10/08	7	23+	Alaska	$1695.00	AKP822
08/15/08 to 08/24/08	10	23+	Alaska	$1995.00	AKP833
08/27/08 to 09/02/08	7	23+	Alaska	$1695.00	AKP824
09/05/08 to 09/14/08	10	23+	Alaska	$1995.00	AKP834