We flew into Anchorage on arriving a day before the official start
of the trip, July 28 at about 3am local time. That day, we met up with
two of our fellow travelers, Greg and Jerrine, and spent the day
walking from the hotel to downtown and back. We had lunch at the Glacier Brewhouse, lunch
was excellent. Found the REI on our way back to the hotel.
On the morning of July 29, we met up with the rest of our group and
headed off. We first stopped at a Chugach State Park for a quick
orientation from our guides, Ophir and Kyle. This park is adjacent to
the "Turnagain Arm" of Cook Inlet.
We then drove to Portage Lake and spent some time at the visitor's
center. After that we lined up to pass through the tunnel
to Whittier. This tunnel was originally a railroad tunnel, single
track, but has been converted to use by both trains and vehicles. Upon
arriving on the Whittier side of the tunnel, we took a hike up the old
Portage trail to the pass and looked again upon Portage Lake as well as
Portage Glacier. Use of this trail or road cuts off the whole of the
Kenai Peninsula between Anchorage and Prince William Sound.
After the hike, we had lunch out of the van, and continued into
Whittier where we caught the
fast ferry to Cordova. (There
is a slow ferry as well)
Dinner was on our own, but we all ate at the same place, the Taco
Bus
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