This intermediate paddle is a great way to explore the Prince William Sound and explore an enormous glacier in solitude with great marine wildlife spotting opportunities along the way.

We had two family members visiting Alaska with us and wanted to find a trip that without being overly difficult or dangerous would allow us to have an "expedition" feeling and get us to a beautiful and isolated setting. We decided to plan a 3 day trip from Valdez to Shoup Bay about ~10 miles down the inlet. We'd been to Valdez before and were blown away by its natural beauty with mountains on all sides capped with imposing glaciers and were determined to come back and experience more of the area. Valdez itself is a sleepy fishing town. Our favorite spot in the area is The Potato which has great fries and a good beer list. Valdez is of course most famous for the infamous Exxon Valdez oil spill which devastated the ecology of the area. The tragedy has been magnified in our eyes after taking the trip and seeing just how full of rich and diverse wildlife the area is despite not making a full recovery.

Our itinerary was to get the boats early on the first day and complete the paddle to Shoup Bay and set up camp then have a relaxed evening. The second day we planned to explore the glacier and surrounding mountains and finally return early in the morning of the third day.

Shockingly, the forecast called for three straight perfect sunny days. We didn't even know that was possible on the Alaskan coast! The kayak rental firm informed us, however, that this was a mixed blessing as the sun kicks up a reliable afternoon wind that whips up the inlet towards Valdez. We learned the hard way that this is definitely a real phenomenon and not be underestimated! In the morning the conditions each day were perfectly still but by the afternoon things got dicey with several foot swells that were definitely intimidating for intermediate kayakers like ourselves.

As we set out along the coast we were accompanied by fishing boats which gradually began to thin out as we advanced up the coastline. The marine wildlife was incredible on this trip. We were actually followed by a seal for ten minutes before he finally got bored and drifted away. We also saw dozens of sea otters and shore birds. Next time hopefully we'll get a dolphin or whale sighting.

We stopped about halfway on the first section heading towards the bay for a short hike to a waterfall. We would definitely recommend it, especially if you're in berry season as there were countless enormous blueberries by the fall. After we colored our tongues completely blue we continued onwards.

Given we took way too long to get our kayaks packed, it was now approaching the afternoon and the swells started to pick up. The one treacherous part of the paddle is crossing from the end of the spit of land that marks the entrance to the bay to the coast on the other side. The wind and waves were whipping up straight into the bay so we charted a diagonal course and rode the waves in. It wasn't too bad in the end, but be advised the main danger on this trip would be flipping into the frigid water when not very close to shore.

Once entering the bay the wind completely died and the water became still as glass. It's important to check the tide tables as it's only possible to enter the upper bay at high tide and better to enter with the water to save your tired arm muscles. The upper bay is quite spectacular with the Shoup Glacier rising at its terminus and curving to the right into its ice field. There are high waterfalls on all sides that you can hear before you can see. We also saw a few bald eagles prospecting for the apparently quite abundant fish. In a strange bit of trivia, Shoup Bay is also "famous" for having the highest tsunami of the 1964 Good Friday earthquake at ~220 feet. The earthquake completely destroyed Valdez which had to be moved to another nearby site where it sits today.

We set up camp at the end of the bay to the left of the glacier. Given the strong Alaska tides, we walked the boats quite far away from the water to avoid losing our ride homes. The next day, we set out to explore the glacier face and hiked up to a beautiful overlook. The glacier had tremendously powerful water flows given the high temperatures with a number of ice caves. There are no trails here and half our group decided to bushwhack further up to see if we could summit the ridge and get a better look into the ice field beyond. After a fun but scratch-filled attempt we turned back to collect some driftwood and have a relaxed evening by the fire.

On our final day we got an early start and decided to try to head to a waterfall a few miles further up the coast before heading back to Valdez. This was a bad idea as the conditions quickly started to turn against us once again and left us facing a very long and wavey trip home. At least this time we were going with the wind! 

We had a blast and didn't see any other kayakers the entire trip other than a couple staying at a public use cabin on the bay a few miles from us. We'll definitely be back sooner rather than later and ideally with more time to check out the areas further up the coast!

Tips: 

• No permits of any kind are required for the trip.
• We rented our kayaks from Pangea Adventures in Valdez who were very professional and reliable. We saw a sales listing for the business so it may soon be in new hands or shut sadly. The cost including core accessories but not dry suits was ~$75/day. Parking was free at the kayak rental shop.
• Apparently enormous flocks of terns nest in the bay seasonally. For us this would be an attraction but gulls can be quite territorial during nesting season and noisy, so be advised.
• The night before, we decided to camp at Blueberry Hill State Rec area which is a short drive up into the mountains from town. It's a tremendous spot (there is a small fee) with view of mountains on all sides and a small lake. It's so picturesque we once ran into a local planning for an engagement shoot there! Hopefully they got good luck with the weather.