Humpback whales, endless daylight and glaciers that run right into the sea are just some of the attractions members of the ISU community can see on the Outdoor Recreation Center’s sea kayaking trip to Alaska in July 2005.

The destination — Prince William Sound, via the cities of Anchorage and Whittier — will be the farthest a group from the Outdoor Rec has ever traveled for a trip, said Chad Ward, Outdoor Rec program assistant.

Ward said the Outdoor Rec is trying to put together bigger trips like the one to Alaska more frequently. He said that he hopes to help expand the Outdoor Rec’s climbing program to offer mountaineering and ice climbing trips.

The Alaska trip was spearheaded by Outdoor Rec staff member Nick Monserud, said Jerry Rupert, Outdoor Rec program coordinator. In previous years, the travel agenda was set mostly by the program coordinator; now, Rupert said, he tries to encourage staffers to select, organize and plan their own trips.

“Students have all the freedom in the world to come up with the trips they want to do, and, if they come up with a trip, they’re automatically going,” Rupert said. “It gives them the opportunity to take the lead from the inception of the trip all the way to the very end.”

Monserud had good reason to choose Alaska. In summer 2003, he spent three months learning skills leadership in the Alaskan wilderness with the National Outdoor Leadership School. One month of Monserud’s “Semester in Alaska” was spent sea kayaking the Prince William Sound.

“[The Sound] is the best way to see the most of Alaska in a short period of time,” Monserud said. The opportunities for quick sightseeing were a big factor in choosing sea kayaking as the skill of choice for this excursion.

Flying to Alaska with a heavy load of gear in tow would have been more difficult and costly, Monserud said. The group can rent all the equipment it needs for kayaking at an outfitter right on location, he said.

Between airfare to Alaska and gear rentals, the price tag for this expedition is considerably higher than what fans of the Outdoor Rec may be used to. The seven-day Alaska trip, which includes travel time, is $1,278 for students, compared with $156 for the six-day canoe trip to Georgia scheduled for Thanksgiving break.

Despite the relatively high cost, trip organizers said that participants get a lot of bang for their buck.

“It’s dirt cheap,” Monserud said. “You won’t be able to do this kind of a trip for this cheap.”

Rupert said that one reason the Outdoor Rec has begun advertising the trip 10 months in advance is to give people time to plan their travels and budgets for the next year.

“[We’re] giving people plenty of time to figure out if this is what they want to spend their money on for next summer,” he said.

Monserud said the trip will begin with a long travel day that includes a flight to Anchorage and shuttle ride to Whittier. The next morning, a large charter boat will take the ISU group to its starting point in Harriman Fjord, where the group will set up camp and spend the first day paddling through icebergs near tidewater glaciers, giving everyone a chance to get a feel for the boats, he said.

The second day out, the group will load the boats and begin the 50 nautical-mile trip back to Whittier, camping every night on beaches and paddling between occasional cruise ships, Monserud said.