Slight hitch with the Wellington boots...

We packed and almost didn't panic..pretty civilized for us actually...it was only when we were driving quickly to catch the tunnel opening to get to the ferry port. (It's a tunnel that was formerly exclusively for trains now everyone takes turns, vehicles to Whitter,then 1/2 an hour  later vehicles from Whittier etc Interspersed with scheduled trains.. it's a long tunnel and you actually drive over/on the train tracks very Lord of the Rings inside the Mountain, or Gringotts tunnels to the vaults depending on your reading choice.) When while racing along rapidly realizing that the distance from Girdwood to Whittier was 20 miles not 10 so we had cut the time a little fine ...ho hum we did the same thing last year so at least we are consistent.....  I put on my Wellingtons ready for the boat trip and found that I had one of mine and one of Mike's old pairs just 5 sizes too large ...oh dear...decided not to mention this until we arrived at the Charter boat as what could we do until then?
Anyway we made the Tunnel, and when we arrived at the Charter boat base I confessed my boot trauma and they kindly ran inside and found me a pair ...if I had been twenty years younger I would've kissed the kind chap as it was I settled for heartfelt thank yous. We kayak in Wellingtons so much more practical that feet in icy water.
 We traveled for the Third year in a row with Epic Charters and can happily recommend them they were as usually Brilliant!

We loaded all our kit, 11 duffels, a large metal box, wood stove , 4 of us and dog and two huge tandam Kayaks and set off. About 90 minutes of boat ride later we were set on the rocky shore..Waved goodbye to the crew and set about setting up camp. There were tents where we usually camp so we moved onto an empty section of spit and set up there . One of the established camps had a couple of loose dogs which came up to say hello. Not really a plus as loose dogs are a nono in this wildlife area ...to say nothing of the fact we Know there are resident porcupines that you do not want you pets to meet. Still we set up fine Big tent and cook tent and then collapsed in a happy heap. We'd made it!.

This year there were changes ..people here already and NO SNOW!  Normally the snow is deep and we set up camp upon several feet. But this year the ground and the mountain slopes were green and the greenery was in leaf and lush!  There were also some of those unmentionable creatures present ..the Alaska state bird (The Mosquito) oops but not to many and the cool breeze off the Glacier really holds them back! Thank goodness.

The weather for the beginning of our trip was not Sunny...it was dry for our arrival and set up ..which was great . Then rain set in so we curled up by the stove and sorted ourselves out. 
The first week  turned out to be not quite as planned. Neighbours left and new ones arrived. We didn't move our campsite to our favourite spot as we didn't have the energy..it turned out that the virus that our youngest had a week or so ago which we hadn't caught..wasust biding it's time and ran through the rest of us in turn ...effectively poleaxing us...Oh dear.
While Mike was flatout the wind and rain increased and I worked on the kitchen tent wth extra guys and stakes ...then we listened to the weather radio ....and the word Gale was mentioned. So out again into the rain and I took down the kitchen tent and covered it with rocks ..checked the main tent , Mike staggered out and took down the stove chimney and we snuggled inside to sit out the storm. It was a bit of a blow! Quite exciting in fact..but the tent and Mikes investment in homemade 2 foot iron rebarr  tent stakes paid off and she road the Gale well and we fell asleep cosy and dry in the middle of the storm.
In the morning the beach showed signs of the storm and our neighbours encampment had suffered somewhat . They had been caught out somewhat. To the best we could tell they hadn't staked out their tents fully. We couldn't quite figure out why. There group tents (Kitchen etc) sustained damage from fighting the gale and I think some kit was damp. They were a big group who we'd seen other years so should've been fine? anyway they mended and restaked out tents . If we hadn't been taking it in turns to suffer a particularly unpleasant Nausea and headache virus we'd have invited them over to the stove. But no one would've wanted the virus. 
 Anyway it's a beautiful place to be even when ill...on the bright side we were well up on stores and lost some weight....and we did eventually recover but boy our energy was limited . So we settled for Crossing the river at low tide and walking the lagoon each day. Paddling in the lagoon. Collecting ice from beached bergs for the most delicious drinking water. Reading, playing cards, knitting, the girls made felt dolls with outfits.
Read alouds included Treasure Island.
The Chalet School series books 1 to 4 by Elinor Brent Dyer. a
The Hound of the Baskervilles and other Sherlock Holmes short Stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
  By the second week we began to Paddle further and Made a couple of trips to the white sands of Deep Water Bay an about 10 mile round paddle.
   Highlights....playing on the White Sand beach, watching The otters come and check us out, The Hummingbird that came regularly to see what we were up to at breakfast,

THIS IS NOT MY VIDEO BUT THESE ARE FILMED IN THE SOUND

Eagles fishing, Seals on the bergs, Wildflowers, Beautiful blue icebergs. Echo's pleasure at curling up with everyone in turn at night! The peace and views!  The last week we were alone on the Beach..we don't mind sharing but the peace was lovely.