Wild North Retreat Recap: our Alaskan Rom Com

wild northalaskatravelretreat recap
Written By Amanda Thoe

Our Alaskan Rom Com

This adventure was years in the making. About five or six years ago, Bryana and I spoke aloud the dream- a wild north adventure in Alaska. Our name, Boreal Bliss, is based on the concept of “of the north” and so a retreat to Alaska just felt right. It felt authentic to our mission and who/what we are. We took the plunge 2 years ago, and reserved our dream Alaskan adventure.

We decided we’d only open this retreat up to those of you that have traveled to Birchwood Wilderness Camp (our annual Adventure Awaits retreat) with us. As it turned out, this prerequisite was wildly helpful. Birchwood prepares you to: pack light, travel by water taxi, paddle all day in inclement conditions, how to be comfortable in rainy, cold weather, pack a go-with-the-flow attitude, and relish in life without cell service. Beyond these skills, those of you that have retreated us with us understand the ground rules: no drama, no gossip, no shoulding on others, greet a day in the rain with joy, listen as much (or more) than you speak, create space for others, laugh easily and often… you get the gist! It was such a treat to travel with 29 empowered, independent women. I felt so proud of all of us throughout!!! 

Our merry crew of 29 ladies arrived at Salted Roots on July 7th. Most of the group traveled by train from Anchorage to Seward, and raved about the experience. It’s one of the most stunning scenic train rides around!

For part I of our retreat, we stayed at Salted Roots on Lowel Point. Lowell Point is about one mile past Seward. To get there, one must travel on a truly horrendous road.

The road is in such rough shape due to constant rock slides and water erosion. The road is apparently graded once a week, but let me assure you, this was shocking information to us as you’d never know based on the condition of the road! 

Stacy was the expert driver of our large red 8-passenger van. We rented the van from a man in Anchorage and to our great delight, it came with a ukulele and a guitar! Stacy was so adept at driving this big beauty, she even parallel parked it with ease. Wow, what a lady.

On our first evening, we gathered on the shore of Resurrection Bay for a welcome circle while we watched sea otters and seals frolic about. Once the introductions had been made, Bryana had a special announcement.

“We have the opportunity of a lifetime. For only an additional $60, we can go on a hike to Caine’s Head. The hike is 5, 7, or possibly 15 miles long. We will have to account for the tides so we will leave at either 7am, 9am, or noon. If you don’t hike fast enough, you could be stranded by the tides, but you’d have to be very, very slow to run into that issue. The hike is very strenuous and difficult. But it’s once in a lifetime! Oh and this will be the day after we paddle 13 miles to the glacier in freezing cold rain and wind. And also, I need to know tonight if you want to do this…” 

At the time, on our first night, we were all nervous and didn’t feel comfy yet. So no one felt comfortable mocking Bryana for this yet. Don’t worry, they made up for that later. To their great credit, 9 ladies eagerly raised their hands, yes, they were in for this grueling endeavor, no questions asked! 

Settling in at Salted Roots

The next day was our first full day in Seward at Salted Roots. Our pre-requisite of having experience “roughin’ it” with us didn’t exactly translate to our stay at this beautiful boutique location.  Everyone in our group was beside themselves about the bathrooms - BIDETS! Luxury at its finest people. 

We started the day with morning meditation on a black sand beach. Elizabeth led the beach meditation.  The view at Lowell Point beach is breathtaking. 

We participated in a variety of nature themed yoga classes. Stacy’s moose class featured many jokes about racks. Lol. She said, “they love a good courtship… if you know what I mean”, and we burst out laughing. 

Nora led an information-packed session on sea otters. We put snacks in our special armpit pockets, where we also stored a favorite rock for crushing shells. We rubbed air into our fur and did otter rolls, which were physically challenging! 

Jessica led a class on Grizzlies and Bryana led a class on the Kenai Fjords National Park. Elizabeth led a class on the elusive puffin, the parrot of the North! 

During my whale class, I shared stories I’ve cherished over the years. I’m fascinated by whales. 

Something I’ve grown to love is how our retreats have morphed. We used to be primarily focused on yoga.


At some point, that purview expanded to include:

  • Embracing the outdoors regardless of the weather.

  • Teaching women skills to succeed in the outdoors like portaging canoes and hanging bear bags.

  • Embracing environmental education! We work hard to educate others on various nature-based themes at our retreats! 

So yes, we’re a yoga retreat business… but we’re also something of a travel co-op that seeks to make wild outdoor adventures accessible and affordable! We are nature nerds and proud of it! While packing for Alaska I felt so pleased that retreats have helped me mindfully curate the items needed to succeed in this environment- trekking poles, microfiber towel, kula cloth, rain gear, wool base layers, wool socks, etc!

But I digress! That afternoon, most of the group embarked on a four mile hike at Tonsina Point. The hike was advertised as “moderate” but the overall consensus was that it was quite difficult and felt more like 7-8 miles than four! Similarly, my mom and I completed a one-mile hike that was advertised as “easy” but felt more like two miles and was a bit scary at times! Classic Alaska. 

That evening we enjoyed fresh salmon and the best salted caramel brownies any of us have ever tasted. Most of our dinners consisted of fresh halibut and salmon, and wow we were spoiled. We all tucked in early. Sleep was critical as the alarms for most of the group were set to go off at 4:45am!

Kayaking to a glacier in freezing conditions

On our second full day in Seward, most of the group met the Water Taxis at Miller’s Landing at 5:15am! They embarked on a full day of boating, kayaking, and adventuring. The boat ride to the glacier was surprisingly long, about 60 miles (2 hours) or so. Bryana, Allison, and Carrie embraced the water taxi ride, riding on the front guard rail in the outdoors, wind whipping in their hair and bodies bouncing with each wave. Nora, on the other hand, was quite sea sick in the water taxi. This contrast also became a joke (and funny group skit) later. 

There was a group of fishermen clients from Texas also on one of our boats out to our kayak drop-off location. They were absolutely flabbergasted that our group took a boat ride all the way out to the middle of nowhere in the Kenai Fjords National Park and kayak to a glacier in the cold rain.

Meanwhile, my Mom and I were on a heated, luxurious whale watching boat. When we arrived at the glacier we saw all the lime green kayaks of the BB crew out on the water. It was freezing, cold, windy, rainy, misty, and honestly miserable out there. We wondered how they were alive amidst such conditions, haha! We also couldn’t believe how far they traveled by water taxi. We were so impressed! (We told everyone that would listen that the rest of the group was on those kayaks, and all the other whale watchers were equally in disbelief and amazement!)

The kayaking crew saw orcas, puffins, two black bears at the glacier (and 3 in total!), porpoises, stellar sea lions, seals, sea otters, sea stars, and more. The whale watching crew saw orcas, fin whales, and humpbacks bubble feeding. 

Stacy, Janine, and Danielle did the half day kayak + hike to a waterfall trip and a lovely little lunch in Seward. Fun was had all around. We gathered in the evening exhausted, content, and full of awe. We soaked in the hot showers and the saunas and tucked into bed early.

The day of the “Death March” Hike

On Thursday, our third and final full day together in Seward, half the crew embarked on said “once-in-a-lifetime hike” from Lowell Point to Caine’s Head. The 12-mile hike was dubbed the “death march.” It was also referred to as the “boot camp track” of the retreat, which consisted of a 4-mile hike day 1, 13-mile paddle day 2, and 12-mile hike day 3.

On the 12-mile “death march”, the group actually hiked 7-miles to Caine’s Head and then realized once there that it was yet another 2.5 miles up (5-miles round trip) a mountain to see some cool historical artifacts. The boot camp crew all happily signed on to forge ahead! Wowza!

They investigated a very creepy abandoned bunker from WWII (Ft. McGilvray); according to them, it was something out of Blair Witch. They also oogled over some large black bear scat and an impressive outhouse with the best view of Resurrection Bay! The crew also happened upon “The Outdoor Boys,” an outdoor family that is famous on youtube, and Bryana acted like she was running into Taylor Swift. 

Proof of Allison & Bryana fanning too hard over The Outdoor Boys family (they are in the background at the log lol).

The other half of the group spent the day in Seward. We visited the Sea Life Center, where many animals are rehabilitated and reintroduced to the wild. We fell in love with a 1,500-pound stellar sea lion named Pilot. Then we shopped the adorable town of Seward ‘til we dropped!

That evening I decided to teach yoga on the beach. It wasn’t overly nice out… foggy and low 50s, but hey, when in AK, you must take what you get! 

We laid down our mats and about ten minutes into the class a man came along and started pounding in some fish holding contraptions. “Is it okay that we’re doing yoga here?” I asked.

“Yup. This is where I fish every day,” he said and carried on as if we didn’t exist. He set up his camera and we tried to continue yoga. 

Soon three blue heeler puppies bounded into the area. They wanted snuggles and belly rubs and we were delighted to oblige. 


We got back to the yoga but soon the puppies were headed home and in need of more pets and snugs. Finally I was ready to put the class into meditation.

No sooner did we close our eyes than the sound of a drone buzzed loudly. The YouTube guy was attaching fish heads to a hook, hooking that onto a drone, and flying his line way out into Resurrection Bay. I don’t think any of us meditated. 

Don’t even get me started on that young man out there in freezing cold water (you can see his head in the pic above!) for what had to be 45-minutes. We were all getting worried about the hypothermia potential lol!

That evening we told stories about whales around the fire. My mom and I played some of our favorite campfire songs, including family songs, much to my delight. I learned to play ukulele and guitar just so I could be more like my mom. (Did you know we even have Boreal Bliss song books for just such an occasion?!) Playing with my mom  is such a dream for me. 

The next morning we said farewell to 9 individuals. I had a good cry as I sent my  mom back to Minnesota! Having her along for this Alaskan adventure was really special for us!

We packed up for our Part II adventure to Kayakers Cove. This leg of the adventure would take us about 12 miles up Resurrection Bay to a remote cove where we would not have access to running water, electricity, cell service, or plumbing. dun dun dun…..

Stay tuned!

In the next blog we will recap our rustic adventure. :)

Retreat with us in Minnesota this Fall!

We’ve got everything already planned for you! Show up & enjoy everything yoga + nature with Boreal Bliss Yoga Retreats:

Amanda Thoe
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