It was Youth against the Aged. Gordon and Ellie in one two person plastic kayak, Beth and I in the other. A couple from Springfield, Missouri were in the third boat, and our fearless leader Marin was in the fourth -- solo. We had trouble getting started as the boats had been ditched at the top of a very stony beach at high tide. We arrived at this beach early in the morning, at low tide, and had to wade and stumble up to the high tide mark -- 23 vertical feet -- about 1,000 horizontal feet. Most of us were novices at two person kayaking (except for the youth, who had done it on the Potomac) but it is not too hard, the boats are very forgiving, and the guide said she had only had one boat turn over in 5 years -- which gave us some courage. We spent the day circling two islands on the opposite side of the bay from Homer. It was amazing. We saw sea otters (really up close) and a seal, bald eagles, sea birds and their nests, jelly fish and sea weed. Of course, the Youth completed the journey ahead of the rest of the group -- and then suffered from kayak cramps the rest of the evening.
Homer is so full of people like us
. It is hard to get into restaurants. But in the mellow mood that accompanies physical exhaustion, waiting 45 minutes on the soft sofa of the Fat Olive restaurant was no problem.
Kayaking the Kachemak
Thursday, August 02, 2012
Homer, Alaska, United States
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2025-02-15