Turnagain Arm | Alaska’s Best Kept Secret [S1-E9]

welcome to Alaska's turn again arm it is  incredible that one area can pack so much   punch unbelievable scenery a title phenomenon that  will Astound you especially when you see people   surfing it telltale signs of the world's second  largest earthquake if you know where to look and   the chance to see whales and doll sheep in the  wild throw in a couple quaint Alaskan towns and   some truly epic hiking trails and there you have  it an Alaskan treasure a stone's throw away from   Anchorage and easily accessible by the world  famous Seward Highway Jump On In and let us   introduce you to Alaska's turn again arm saving  the most epic and most unbelievable for last in episode 1 we called the turn again arm  arguably the most epic backyard of any American   city challenge us on that one if you want but  we'll need some hardcore convincing because   this is what lies a short 25 minutes from Downtown  Anchorage the turn again arm is a waterway in the   northern part of Alaska's Cook Inlet this is the  great state of Alaska surrounded by the Gulf of   Alaska to the South the Bering Sea to the west  and the chukchi and Beaufort Seas to the north   this Inlet of the Gulf of Alaska is called  the Cook Inlet and in its northernmost reaches   we find the kinik arm and the tourniquen  arm the turning in arm stretches about 45   miles long and if you're wondering how  deep it is well that is the cool thing   the arm is home to the largest tides in the United  States here the difference between low and high   tide averages 30 feet that is huge and it gives  rise to one of Mother Nature's Most Fascinating   phenomena abortide during low tide the arm nearly  empties leaving behind broad mud flats imagine the   sheer amount of seawater that must come into the  arm to raise water levels by 30 feet and now take   into account that all that sea water has to move  through a relatively narrow waterway what is going   to happen the incoming tide is not going to come  in gently it is going to form a wave that barrels   into the chernigan armat speeds ranging between  6 and 24 miles an hour it is called a tidal bore Alaska is home to an Adventure sponge  and tends to attract Travelers Cut From   the Same Cloth so of course even  though this water is cold locals   and visitors alike come here to surf  the famous tournament arm bore tide   twice a day the wave comes in its height depending  on the tidal range the greater the difference   between low and high tide the taller the wave on  its best days the wave can get up to 10 feet tall   the board tide schedule is easy to find online  telling when the wave will arrive and whether   it's predicted to be tiny big or somewhere in  between and there are five viewing pull outs   along the arm where viewers can watch the waves  sweep into the arm carrying along Surfers with it the board title loan could be the turning  in arms claim to fame but there is so much   more going on here for one beluga whales  five populations of beluga whales live in   Alaska but interestingly data indicates they  do not interbreed and so they maintain very   clear separate groups the most genetically  distinct group lives here in the Cook Inlet   the Cook Inlet Beluga is classified as endangered  with only about 331 whales counted in 2022.   these highly social highly vocal mammals often  Venture into the turnagain arm especially from   mid-july through August when the salmon are  running one of the best places to see them   from is bird point this beautifully built Lookout  Point flows smoothly with the landscape educating   visitors and providing Stellar views of the arm  there is even a bike trail that runs from here   all the way to gerdwood six miles away complete  with air and tools for any repair your bike might   need and when the whales do stop by man is it a  sight their white bodies flash against the silty   waters lacking a Dorsal fins so they can move  easily through sea ice when it begins to form   and speaking of sea ice if you're wondering  how this place changes in the winter time oh   just wait if you can believe it something happens  here to make this place even more epic when we saw   it it left us speechless you're going to see it  but we're going to leave the very best for last while the board tide comes and goes twice a  day and the whales come and go when they will   the mountains are always here ready to welcome  adventurous hikers up their slopes in fact it is   here that we experience one of the most stunning  and challenging hikes of Our Lives we're popping   over to the settlement of Hope on the other side  of the arm with a year-round population of about   161 people hope is cradled within the valley of  Resurrection Creek and tucked right up against the   turnigan arm in the late 1800s gold was discovered  in Resurrection creek and a mining camp sprang up   shortly thereafter at one point the population of  Hope swelled to over 3 000. now it is an awesome   place to come to Camp fish for salmon learn all  about the town's interesting history and hike   all of our research says that if we want to  challenge an absolutely to die for views we should   take on Hope Point Trail we are diving in but  to be honest we have no idea what we are in for so this is a registry we put down our name  where we're going the day we started the   time we started so that if anything happens  to us somebody knows that we were out here   and maybe they could send help Point Trail is about 8.5 miles there  and back depending on how high you go   in this time you experience a huge  variation in climate and ecosystems   right now we are in a lush Forest  surrounded by both deciduous and   coniferous trees there isn't a patch of snow  in sight it's full on summer and it is hot look at this what is it it's a heart this  says hope someone must have made this and   and throw them around here on the trail  for people to find that's beautiful foreign wow look at this amazing view so beautiful so  we've been on the trail for about two hours   and we have gained about a thousand feet  in elevation we have 2 600 feet more to go that's the town of Hope right there as we climb  higher we leave the forest behind we are now in   the zone of Alpine Meadows full of wildflowers  low shrubs and a few coniferous regulars please and the fuse of the arm are well put  it this way in all of our time here   in Alaska we have never seen  the turn again arm like this foreign it gets colder and colder but it's actually  pretty refreshing after the hike coming up   here you get really hot so it's kind of nice to  be up here with the cold wind for now at least we're almost there we gotta make it  all the way to the top over there and now the world has changed we are far  past the realm of lush Alpine Meadows no   trees survive up here we are now in a climate of  harsh extremes bitter cold and gale force winds it's crazy windy up here I don't  know if we're gonna be able to make   it to the summit the wind has  really picked up and it's cold   we'll see if we make it man the world  just changed getting off this high in almost poetic fashion we find ourselves  suddenly surrounded by something very familiar   Tundra this time the Alpine variety so similar   to the Arctic tundra we just  returned from in episode 8. it's crazy to think that far below that hot Lush  Forest sits a completely different world from up   here we are surrounded by 360 degrees of beauty a  landscape of brutal extremes and it is magnificent Suddenly It's Technical and we realize we  really should have crampons and trekking   poles just to be safe but here we are  without them so we take it slow but at   this point nothing is going to stop us  from getting to the top of Hope point foreign are we grateful we kept at it because the  view from The Other Side of the Mountain   takes our breath away whoa that's  it that's the summit we made it that's a crazy hike hook Point has an elevation  of 3708 feet and to think we started this hike at   well sea level we stayed just long enough to soak  up the views and then start heading down we have   to get down fast because the Sun is setting  though it's Alaska in the summertime so this   Sunset will take its sweet time little do we know  Mama nature is going to send us off with a bang did you know that Alaska is the most  seismically active state in the U.S   this is one of the main reasons the massive  Alaska illusion Mega thrust fault where the   Pacific Plate is subducting beneath the  North American Plate the movement along   this plate boundary led to the second largest  recorded earthquake in Earth's history and the   turnagain arms shows scars of that Quake if  you know where to look and that brings us to around the upper reaches of the arm a curious  sight can be seen large swaths of dead trees   Standing Tall within marshy bogs like a forest of  ghosts in 1964 when a magnitude 9.2 Quake struck   Alaska large sections of Bedrock surrounding  the arm dropped by five to nine feet in a   matter of seconds salt water inundated those areas  soaking the roots of the trees and killing them   since then feet of silt has filled the void  creating a new Surface but the trees still remain   a powerful Testament to the power of Alaska's  geology and if that weren't enough the turnagain   arm has another unexpected geological treat  up its sleeve and this one is all about faults   a fault is a boundary between two bodies of rock  along Which movement occurs these bodies of rock   could be as small as the cliff behind your house  to entire mountain ranges to entire sections of   the Earth's crust it doesn't matter if there's  a fracture and movement is taking place along   it it's a fault Alaska is home to many large-scale  faults which owe their existence to a fascinating   and ongoing geological history one of them is the  Eagle River thrust fault which takes place right   along here there aren't a lot of places in the  world where you can drive right across a major   fault Zone and see it in action and you guessed  it right here on the turn again arm is one of them   west of the fault one can see the blocky  light-colored rocks of the McHugh complex   Triassic to Cretaceous and age the McHugh complex  is a tectonic melange or jumble of large blocks   of different rock types east of the fault one  can see the darker thinly bedded layers of the   Valdez group these sedimentary rocks formed in  a deep Marine setting around the lake Cretaceous   so they are younger than the rocks of the McHugh  complex the fault Zone itself is several hundred   yards wide and sits just west of Indian Creek  with some great spotting in the mile of highway   just east of Falls Creek Trail along this  stretch one can see a great deal of fracturing   and chewed up rock evidence of two large bodies  grinding past one another and most fascinating   this area is a treasure Trove of a  particularly awesome geological feature   right here is a little mini Fault part of the  larger fault zone system and right here you   can see uniquely shaped abrasions this is a slick  inside and a braided and Polished surface caused   by frictional movement between two bodies of Rock  the Slick insides feel smooth in One Direction   and rough in the other and this tells you the  direction of relative movement along the fault   in this case this section of rock was moving  in this direction isn't that the coolest thing of course Natural History isn't the only  history that abounds here on the arm here   at Beluga points it's one of the most significant  archaeological sites of the upper Cook Inlet this   site has yielded evidence of early use in hunting  dating as far back as 10 000 years including fire   pit hearths and the bones of mountain sheep who  in fact still live in this region doll sheep can   often be seen perched along the rock outcrops of  windy Corner not far from the bird Point site it   is a very unique thing to see these remarkable  animals up close right from the roadside   as you have seen there are Treasures up and  down both sides of the turnagain arm and   at the very end of the arm is no different  the arm ends here where the Seward Highway   takes a dramatic turn and multiple Rivers  and Creeks flow into the tidal mud flats   one of them is Portage Creek and its Valley  Portage Valley is a place not to be missed   a few short miles up from the arm is one of our  favorite camping spots tucked right along tangle   Pond the chugach mountains rise majestically  before us and the world is calm we have no cell   service out here and honestly we love it it's  the perfect place to disconnect and appreciate   the beauty of Alaska's Wild Spaces and it's  incredible that a spot like this sits just   one hour from Downtown Anchorage we're taking a  night off and resting up because tomorrow we have   another hiking day this time up close and personal  with one of the Pinnacle natural landmarks of any   Alaskan Adventure glaciers Alaska is full of  them and we feel like Portage Valley could   easily be nicknamed Glacier alley it seems like  everywhere we turn glaciers Tower high above us   slowly oozing down the mountainsides feeding the  creeks and rivers that flow into the turnigan arm   many of these icy goliaths can only be reached  by helicopter or skilled Mountaineers but   every so often there is a chance to get a little  closer with just the power of your own two feet today we are headed up Byron Glacier Trail it's  not too crazy of a hike and yet you can get right   up next to a glacier so join us for this little  jaunt up to see some of Alaska's natural wonders   thank you I want to be doing  this till the day I die Byron Glacier Trail is actually a pretty  short hike by Alaskan standards only about   2.5 miles in and out but we know we'll  be out here for a while because it's the   destination what lies at the end of  this trail that really interests us   still there's no harm in taking  one sweet time to enjoy the journey in no time we come around the corner to  see our first ice cave in the distance   it is really incredible to be in a place where  almost everywhere you look glaciers pour down   the mountainsides though they are shadows of  their former selves Once Upon a Time these   were all merely tributary glaciers flowing into  Portage Glacier who filled Portage Valley and   flowed all the way out to the turn again arm the  rate at which glaciers are melting in the state   of Alaska has been a cause for significant  concern in recent years according to the   Alaska Department of Natural Resources Alaska's  glaciers are in steep Decline and are among the   fastest melting glaciers on Earth Research  indicates that Alaska's glaciers have been   losing approximately 75 billion metric tons  of ice annually and we feel as though we are   witnessing just a microcosm of this larger  problem right here in this place foreign we continue our hike up the valley and all around  us we see signs of geological processes at work Byron Creek's snakes along the  valley floor in braids common for   glacially fed streams and rivers  as they carry High sediment loads and we highly suspect the hill we just climbed  over was an old terminal Moraine of Byron glacier   a terminal Moraine forms when melt at the  glacier's Leading Edge deposits rocks and   sediment that it carried along its Journey  creating a distinctive ridge-like landform   behind us that classic U-shaped valley is clear  evidence that Byron Glacier once filled and   carved its way through this Valley Portage Lake  shimmers in the distance just a hundred years   ago we would have seen Portage Glacier here  instead of the lake it has receded that much foreign after a bit more scrambling we come to our  second ice cave in the winter when the ice   caves are more stable maybe we would venture  inside but right now that's extremely dangerous so we take it all in from a safe distance we do take on one activity that is risky however  this might look like a pile of rocks but really   we are on the ice now and every so often  we see signs of crevasses all around us these fractures in the ice surface can open  close and shift without a moment's notice   and they can sneak up on you foreign we take a brief moment to  reflect and take in the landscape   each in our own way Jose through  photography and me through sketching we decide our final destination will be  this smoothed over chunk of bedrock and   the Striking waterfall carving into its  Western Edge Byron Glacier Towers above   and all we can do is gaze up humbled  by this massive and Powerful structure thank you the sheer amount of water coming off Byron is  astounding this flow will reduce in the winter   but probably not completely if we come back next  year we will probably see even less ice foreign we reach our destination and as  predicted we see signs of how it   came to be so smoothed over much like a river rock rocks trapped in the bottom of Byron  Glacier left these scratches called   glacial striations telling us that once  upon a time Byron Glacier flowed right   over this spot on its way to meet Portage  glacier as the light Fades we finally head   back down surrounded by those colossal  structures of the disappearing landscape no exploration of the turn again arm would  be complete without a John over to the   cool little town of Girdwood just like  the arm this town packs a lot of punch   surrounded by incredible natural beauty  life here is entrenched in the outdoors it is home to alyeska ski resort and its famous  runs down Mount alyeska including North America's   longest continuous Double Black Run in the  summer the lists transport daring mountain   bikers up the mountain and of course hiking trails  abound in the surrounding chugachu mountains   gertwood also has its roots as a gold mining  camp established in the early 1900s but the   settlement was originally located right along the  arm knowing what you know now about the history of   this region can you guess why it was moved here  2.5 miles up the valley during the 1964 Quake   the ground beneath Girdwood dropped by nine feet  putting much of the Town below the high tide line   this one massive event forced the entire town to  relocate to its present location Girdwood is also   home to one of my favorite coffee shops in Alaska  unabashedly nerdy and chock full of memorabilia   the grind is a great place to hang and work thank  you and not gonna lie the food is pretty awesome   and this town is home to hands down the  most artsy and beautiful laundromat we've   ever encountered and that's saying something after  four years on the road we've been to a lot of them and this mural it is something else all right it is time to share  what we consider the turnagain   arms most epic show the thing is it's  a show that it only puts on in winter these are the ice tides of Alaska's turn  again arm if you joined us for our winter   road trip in episode 5 you caught a glimpse  of this it's hard to describe just how other   worldly this site is standing right next to it  in person footage only does it so much Justice   during the winter sea ice forms within the shallow  Waters of the arm but of course Nothing Stops the   tide from Rolling in and out twice a day Mother  Nature's rhythmic metronome as winter progresses   the arm becomes so choked with sea ice that  the Waterway almost resembles the fractured   textured surface of a dried out lake bed but  this surface flows it is hypnotizing to watch it   looks as though a whole section of Earth is slowly  sliding out to sea a constant conveyor belt of ice   and slush we remember the first time we saw the  ice tights and how we stopped to watch in wonder   in all of our travels we have never  ever seen anything that compares no matter the season the turnagain arm is a  magnificent corner of Alaska and obviously   one of our favorite places that just keeps  calling us back to it now we head onwards   to a new slice of Alaskan heaven where a  whole new set of Summer Adventures await   and of course we are bringing you along  for the ride next time on Art we variant if you enjoyed this video be sure to give  us a like subscribe to our Channel send   us a comment below and for exclusive  content and a behind the scenes view   of the art We There Yet Journey join  us on patreon see you over on patreon

Channel: Art We There Yet?

Views: 29,762

Keywords: art we there yet, the turnagain arm, Alaska’s Best Kept Secret, The Breathtaking Turnagain Arm, Witness bore tide surfing, turnagain arm bore tide, Alaska’s Best Kept Secret | The Breathtaking Turnagain Arm, epic mountain trails, bore tide, girdwood, bird point, beluga point, breathtaking scenery, bore tide surfing, Town of Hope, alaska road trip, Hope Point Trail, Byron Glacier Trail, Turnagain Arm, Alaska's geological past., alaska, life in alaska, traveling in alaska

Id: jMS9OxTf_yw

Length: 29min 13sec (1753 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 24 2023