Resurrection Bay Restoration, Alaska

The Trip

Imagine the view of the North Pacific from a 650-foot-high headland. This will be our view on one of our late afternoon hikes in the Caines Head State Recreation Area in Resurrection Bay. The Bay is on the Kenai Peninsula of southern Alaska and got its name from Alexandr Baranov, the first governor of Russian Alaska. A merchant sailor, Baranov used the bay as a refuge during a dangerous storm in the late 1700s. The storm ended on Easter Sunday and so the bay was renamed Resurrection Bay. Seward, the main settlement in the bay, was founded in 1903 as the terminus of the Alaska Railway. It is one of the oldest communities in Alaska and is one of the only ice-free ports in Alaska with various ways of transportation into the interior.

Because of the strategic location of Caines Head, Fort McGilvray was built there during WWII (1941) to defend against a possible invasion by the Imperial Japanese Army. Due to other successful campaigns on the Aleutian Islands, the fort was considered no longer needed and was dismantled in 1944. The fort and the South Beach Garrison are now popular sites for explorers. We’ll take our headlamps and do some exploring ourselves in the evenings. 

The 6,000 acres of the Caines Head State Recreation Area can be reached by boat and by trail (depending on the tides). There are public use cabins, the fort, a beach garrison and about 12 miles of trails with spectacular views of the bay, snow-capped mountains, beaches, spruce forests and the Pacific Ocean. This will be our home for the week while we assist the rangers of the Alaska State Park system in various work projects in the park.

The Project

Pre-trip Day: Our trip doesn’t officially start until the morning of the first day though we do encourage participants to arrive in Anchorage at least one day early to be sure luggage arrives and you get acclimated to the time changes you may have experienced. There will be a pre-trip meeting at 4:30 p.m. the day before we start. This is a good opportunity to meet the other trip participants and to solve any last-minute equipment challenges. 

Day 1: We will depart early morning from Anchorage and travel by bus to Seward (lunch in Seward on your own). The 125-mile trip will offer wonderful sites including Cook Inlet, the Kenai Mountains, the ghost trees of Girdwood (left by the 1964 earthquake) and possibly Dall sheep or bears. We’ll meet a ranger in Seward and then take water shuttles to our camping area. We’ll have time to set up camp and enjoy our setting, and perhaps get started on our project.

Days 2-5: Our exact itinerary for the trip will be determined by our service project and weather conditions. Our plan is to work every day and have the evenings off.

Day 6: This will be our last work day and we’ll wrap up whatever is unfinished. The park personnel will shuttle us back to Seward where participants will probably get the opportunity for hot showers, shopping, a visit to the Sea Life Center, a quick trip to Exit Glacier, or relaxing. We’ll have a meal out and stay the night at a local hotel.

Day 7: We’ll get up early to take a six-hour Kenai Fjords water tour for a chance to see whales, otters, puffins, other marine life, glaciers and more. The tour and lunch are included in the trip price. Then it’s back to Anchorage for our final goodbyes.

When you are approved for the trip and the leader informs you the trip has filled sufficiently to run, you may make your airline reservations to Anchorage and start thinking about accommodations there. We'll let you know about possible hotels, bed and breakfasts, or hostels after you sign up. You may schedule your departure for as early as 8 p.m. the evening of our last day or stay on in this magnificent state for other activities.

Accommodations and Food

We’ll be staying at the ranger’s cabin and bunk house in Caines Head Recreation Area near our work sites. We have floor space in both areas and wooden bunks in the bunk house. There is also plenty of room to tent as folks have done in the past. We’ll get our water from nearby creeks and cook our hearty meals on a propane stove. All participants will be asked to help with food prep, clean up, and water gathering.

Any hiking we do we'll do as a group, due to possible bear encounters -- plus it’s more fun that way. We’ll also be able to explore the fort (with headlamps). 

Sierra Club trips are designed to be a group experience, so expect to participate on a regular basis in meal preparation and clean-up. Meals will be hearty and sustaining. We will work with you to accommodate specific dietary requirements as much as possible given our wilderness setting. However, any dietary restrictions must be discussed in detail with the leader well in advance of the trip. The first trip meal will be lunch on the way to or in Seward. We will enjoy a dinner out in Seward on our last night (each person pays his/her own way). Our last meal will be on the boat as we tour Aialik Bay.

Trip Difficulty

The work on this trip can be considered moderate to strenuous. The hiking (for work projects) may include some strenuous stretches (mainly due to steepness) and the cabin work will involve much arm stamina. We also may be moving buckets of gravel. No one is expected to exceed his/her capabilities, but all are expected to work. The participants will be asked by the state rangers to sign an additional liability waiver for activities undertaken during the outing.

Temperatures are mild due to maritime influences. During summer months temperatures range from 40 to 70 degrees, so be prepared for any kind of weather as Resurrection Bay is subject to severe and unpredictable weather. Come with good rain gear and warm layers.

Equipment and Clothing

You’ll need a sleeping bag whether you stay in the cabins or tent. If you tent, you need to be sure your tent is waterproof. Extended periods of rain are possible, and staying dry can become a serious safety issue. Suggested rain gear is jacket and pants (coated nylon or Helly Hansen type) versus a poncho.

Detailed lists of recommended clothing and equipment will be sent to participants after they register for the trip. Most of this is similar to what you would use on a backpacking trip. Personal equipment should be thoroughly field-tested before the trip.

References

• Chandonnet, Fern (2007). Alaska at War, 1941-1945: The Forgotten War Remembered. University of Alaska Press. books.google.com/books?id=p01bFVagOJYC&dq=Fort+McGilvray&source=gbs_navlinks_s
• Caines Head Recreation Area: dnr.alaska.gov/parks/units/caineshd.htm
• Sierra Club’s Alaska Page: www.sierraclub.org/alaska
• Anchorage Tourism Information: www.anchorage.net/

Conservation

As a frontier, Alaska has been known for its beauty and wildlife: it’s also known for its untapped energy reserves. The Sierra Club has long opposed the prospect of drilling for oil in the National Arctic Wildlife Refuge. This struggle continues as another struggle has arisen for drilling in the Arctic Ocean off the northern coast of Alaska in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. There are concerns near Fairbanks about coal ash pollution and various fights to protect sensitive lands and waters from proposed mines (e.g., Bristol Bay) and coal processing plants. There are also concerns about preserving native, or “traditional," lands and culture. 

Alaska has become the canary in the mine for climate change. The average temperature is rising faster than the continental US, communities are disappearing as sea ice melts and storms can reach villages where they couldn’t before, sensitive landscapes are changing due to warmer temperatures. So what does this have to do with us who are traveling in the south-central Alaska? Everything -- if we use oil, coal and gold. It is ironic that we will be using oil/fuel to be on this trip -- but we need to see what is in need of protection and be encouraged to work harder and smarter to save this wilderness environment.

Since its founding in 1892, The Sierra Club has worked to preserve and restore the natural environment we all share on this planet. Thousands of grassroots-level volunteers spearhead our efforts to conserve and sustain resources, both in our own backyards and on a global scale. Through direct experience in the outdoors, Sierra Club outings enable participants to better understand, advocate, and participate in the environmental conservation goals of the Club.

Service outings, in particular, stand out as one of the Sierra Club’s most important “boots on the ground” conservation efforts. The work done by service trip participants in our nation’s public lands is a way of practicing conservation in the most direct way possible, whether it’s improving access while preserving wilderness values, restoring wildlife habitat, or repairing human-caused damage to a natural area. Service trips are a great way to pitch in and do something tangible to make the world a better place; they’re a way to go beyond just talking about conservation; a way to get out there and experience conservation with your whole being.

Sierra Club National Outings is an equal-opportunity provider and when applicable will operate under permits obtained from U.S. federal land agencies.

Travel in Alaska and the Arctic

Sierra Club outings in Alaska are special experiences in true wilderness, but they also carry an element of risk. Weather in Alaska is unpredictable, and inclement weather can be severe. Among other hazards are cold river and stream crossings, tidal activity, and the presence of large wild animals. You're in good hands, though, as your trip leaders have experience in Alaska and elsewhere and they'll provide all the guidance you need.

The Sierra Club reminds Alaska visitors that they are traveling in bear country. Because much of Alaska is pristine wilderness, these impressive animals have little or no experience with people. Brown (grizzly), and black bears are unpredictable, and in very rare circumstances can be dangerous to people. Your trip leader will show you how to minimize the probability of having a dangerous encounter with bears, and, in the very unlikely event that one occurs, how to protect yourself and your fellow trip members. We’ll need to keep a clean camp and store food away from our tents. Our drinking water will be retrieved from nearby creeks and will need to be boiled.