Portage Pass Trail hike before embarking in Whittier

[no1racefan1]

We are considering hiking the Portage Pass Trail in Whittier prior to embarking, since we don't sail until 8 pm (guessing all aboard is 6pm). We will be arriving in Anchorage via train (self booked) at 12:05pm. Has anybody hiked this trail prior to embarking? I know I've seen reviews where people doing B2Bs hiked it on their day in Whittier, but wondering about the additional logistics of doing it prior to sailing. The things I'm trying to take into consideration are:

-We could drop our checked luggage w/ porters without boarding the ship, so that's taken care of.

-We would need to carry whatever we have in our carry-ons with us on the hike. This means we likely would not want to buy any wine to bring onboard (which we've never done, but were somewhat considering it for this trip). Or, we could check in and hope our rooms are ready so we can drop off carry on stuff.

-Either find something to eat in Whittier, where there's not a lot of options, or if we board we could grab lunch

-If we board first, eat, and drop off our stuff, would there still be enough time to do the hike? I've read to plan 2-3 hours. I just want to know if it has been done comfortably. I'll probably just scratch the idea if it's going to cause any anxiety about boarding times.

[Glaciers]

You should consider just going to the top of the pass to Divide Lake. The views of Portage Glacier from there are fantastic as well as looking back toward Whittier and Passage Canal. Hopefully someone will chime in to assist with the luggage issue. For lunch, the Swiftwater Café is our go-to spot.

[wolfie11]

Swiftwater Cafe - best seafood in Alaska.  Go for the halibut/shrimp combo.

[no1racefan1]

1 hour ago, Glaciers said:

You should consider just going to the top of the pass to Divide Lake. The views of Portage Glacier from there are fantastic as well as looking back toward Whittier and Passage Canal. Hopefully someone will chime in to assist with the luggage issue. For lunch, the Swiftwater Café is our go-to spot.

This sounds perfect!

[no1racefan1]

The two replies have all but convinced me we should just drop our luggage off and not board the ship. We would just need to be strategic about what we have in our carry ons that we have to hike with.

 

[wolfie11]

I would tag my carryons with the luggage and have it all delivered to your room.  That way you could each have just a small rucksack with essentials.  Be aware that the weather in Whittier can be pretty awful on a regular basis.  It was chosen as a "secret" base in WW2 because it is cloudy/rainy around 300 days a year.  Even on clear days, you can get williwaws - gale winds that blow through the pass on warm days.  There has been a lot of snow this year and there may be snow on the trail into June.

[KRRMCruising]

We are interested in doing this same hike prior to embarkation in June 2024. Did you end up making it work? I am assuming you walked from the port to the trailhead- is that true? Any highlights or lessons learned would be appreciated. Thank you!

[no1racefan1]

On 5/24/2024 at 7:31 AM, KRRMCruising said:

We are interested in doing this same hike prior to embarkation in June 2024. Did you end up making it work? I am assuming you walked from the port to the trailhead- is that true? Any highlights or lessons learned would be appreciated. Thank you!

We didn't because when I looked up trail conditions on Alltrails, reports were that it was still partially snow-covered and hard to navigate. It was also rainy and cold when we got to Whittier!