Exploring the remote Lituya Bay, Alaska by hiking and kayaking.
Published on HivePostify by @dtam · Mon Sep 07 2026
My hearty group of bushwhackers. We were wet, and they were probably a bit tired, but we made it to Fish Lake and were rewarded with this magnificent view of the lake and the glacier beyond.
We’ve had a lot of first on this expedition trip; landing on Kayak island, taking guests paddling at Hubbard Glacier, exploring the coastal town of Yakutat, touching glaciers in Icy Bay, and now, entering and exploring the infamous Lituya Bay, on the outer coast of Alaska. This was a place that the crew has been hearing about for years. I was very excited to check it out.
Lituya Bay is home to the highest tsunami run-up ever recorded. In 1958, a 7.8 earthquake struck the fairweather fault, just offshore. This triggered a massive landslide to collapse in Gilbert Inlet, at the back of Lituya Bay. The rock hit the water with such force that it generated a huge wave. Instead of traveling across the Pacific like a normal tsunami, it slammed into the nearby mountains, surrounding the bay. The wave surged up over 1,700ft, ripping away entire forest, and carrying a small boat up and over the trees before depositing it outside the bay in the ocean.
The window! This was the view we were hoping for. There still wasn't much of a shoreline to pop out on, but there was a break in the foliage with an amazing view. The rain let up just enough, and the clouds cleared, all to give us this amazing view of Cascade Glacier way in the back of Lituya Bay with Fish Lake in the foreground.
As we entered the bay, we could see a stark line, high in the forest, where new growth has occurred after being deforested in 1958. I couldn't help but think that Lituya Bay isn't where an earthquake moved the ocean, its where it dropped a mountain in it.
We were able to spend two days exploring all corners of the bay. My goal was to do as much scouting and exploring as possible, adding new adventures to our list of known activities to do with guests. We did shorewalks, bushwhacks to hidden lakes, kayaked all over, watched bears work some salmon streams, and hiked on the glacial moraines at the back of the bay. The weather was dramatically different on our first day from our second. We had drenching rain for Day 1 in the bay, but that didn't stop us. However, the lightning and thunder plus a waterspout did put a pause on activities for a bit.
One of my favorite memories is leading an exploratory bushwhack, up a salmon stream, to find a lake called Fish Lake. You never really know what kinds of conditions you will find when you enter the rainforest here in this part of Alaska. I was a little worried about downed trees, criss crossed and laying over each other, leftover from the tsunami wave. We poked in at the stream, saw some salmon heading up towards the lake, and found a ton of bear trails. These were the easiest way through the forest, so off we went. We made sure to make noise to let any bears know that we were coming. Eventually, we made it to a break in the trees, and the beginning of Fish Lake. It was filled with down trees. Probably leftovers from the wave. We bushwhacked our way along the edge of the lake, going on and off animal trails. I actually saw more moose scat, than bear scat at this point. We couldn't find a really good view of the lake, until our last effort paid off. There was a perfect window through the dense shoreline, to Cascade Glacier in the distance. It was worth all the effort to get there. At this point it was getting quite dark, so we started booking it back. We still had a swamp to get around, and a salmon stream to cross before making it back to the shoreline and our pickup spot. We made pretty good time on the way back, even though navigating through the dense forest can be tricky. We were getting pretty close to our pickup point, and I was calling the boat to let them know, when I stopped short.
A huge brown bear head had just turned and looked up at me from about 35ft away. I had been making noise, but we both looked a bit surprise. We stared at each other for a few tense moments, before he let out a big "chuff" and then turned and loped away.... in the exact direction that we wanted to go. It was enough to get my heart thumping. I did have my bear spray bottle in hand, ready to go, but as usual, I didn't need it.
The guests were pretty pumped on the whole experience. Our mission of finding the lake was a success. The challenge of the hike itself made everyone feel accomplished. And coming face to face with a big brown bear in the middle of a dense Alaskan forest is something no one will forget.
Our second day in Lituya was spent exploring the back of the bay. We had blue skies, sunshine, and calm conditions. I can honestly say, we have put Lituya Bay on the map for expedition travel. Luckily there were no landslides while we were there.
I flipped over a rock and found an entire ecosystem of intertidal life. This hermit crab was one of many that started moving all around.
My skiff tour landed at this beach on Cenotaph Island in our search for the plaque, set out to remember the death of Admiral La Perouse's men, at the mouth of Lituya Bay. We didn't find it, but we did find this cool driftwood turned nurse-log.
A lone brown bear checks out the food availability in Fish Creek. This is where we would later land to start our bushwhack to Fish Creek.
A water spout accompanied some heavy lightning and thunder on our first day in Lituya Bay. All of these things are very rare to experience in this part of the world.
After busting through the initial bushy forest entrance, a nice bear trail led us through the forest at a good pace.
I always try to stop along the way to soak in the sights and feelings of the forest. Even though we had a mission of making it to the Lake, we often do bushwhacks just to immerse into the coastal rainforest. It may involve laying down on the mossy forest floor, or stopping to watch salmon heading up the stream. I half expected a bear to be doing the same thing on the opposite bank.
Hitting our stride on our bushwhack to find Fish Lake in Lituya Bay.
We made it to Fish Lake! We had to balance on some of these logs to get a view beyond the forest. I bet there will be a better view if we just push a little farther... famous last words.
Panorama of Fish Lake. These logs are probably remnants from the big tsunami in Lituya Bay.
This part of the forest was pretty easy to move through. This is what I like to see on a bushwhack.
It was starting to get hard to take photos at this point because everything was so wet. Here we are crossing a salmon stream. Luckily everyone was prepared with tall rubber boots and weather proof clothes. Mostly weatherproof at least. A lot of hot showers were needed once back aboard the ship.
The sun came out on Day 2, and we went to explore the glaciers at the back of the bay. This is Lituya Glacier, with our small boat in the foreground.
I took a group of shorewalkers on land to explore the terminal moraine, left behind by Crillion Glacier.
This raging river, which came out from under the glacier, blocked our path from getting closer. So we found nice rocks to sit on and just sat and took in the view.
Its always interesting finding fresh bear scat, right where you are walking. Staying 'bear aware.'
Even our easy shorewalk had some challenges. I just see them as more opportunities for bonding.
A wolf track pictured next to my hand for scale.
I'm not sure how this lone tree remains when all others have been carried off. Lituya glacier is seen in the background, the site of the landslide which caused the 1,720ft tsunami.
Cascade glacier, hanging up in the valley at the back of Lituya Bay. Look at that blue sky!
We took advantage of really nice kayaking conditions to go on a five mile kayak along the back bay of Lituya.
Our first ever kayak in front of the glaciers at Lituya Bay.
Soaking up the sun.
We checked out numerous waterfalls along our kayak this afternoon.
Water just tumbling out of the rainforest.
Everytime I turned around to check on my kayak group I had to take a picture. Today was so beautiful, especially after how rainy yesterday was. It was like a different bay!
We made it all the way to Cenotaph Island. Wow, what a paddle.
I had organized a surprise pickup and drive back to the boat for my kayakers. The skiff also brought some cocktails and cookies which really surprised the guests.
As we cruised out of Lituya Bay and made our turn south, the rising moon cast light on the majestic Fairweather Mountain Range, which is the starting point for all the glaciers pouring into the back of Lituya Bay, as well as Glacier Bay National Park.
As always, keep traveling and keep posting! Dai Mar
[//]:(!worldmappin 58.653102 lat -137.528499 long Hiking and Kayaking in the Remote Reaches of Alaskas coastline: Lituya Bay d3scr)
Tags: #travel#worldmappin#adventure#photography#nature#alaska#glacier#hike#hiking#kayaking