After days of not seeing whales, I was escorted for awhile by three humpbacks gently swimming along. I suddenly realized I had promised to make video for my Dad and this is the result. I tend to get lost in the moments with them and forget to make sure I'm actually filming them.
Thursday, May 30, 2019
Thursday, May 16, 2019
A Partner for Part of the Passage
Day 1 - Auke Bay to Juneau 23km
Started off at 9am in 1ft waves , paddled to Entrance Point and waited for the tide to come up on a sand bar for about an hour. Made it through Mendenhall wetlands only getting stuck in the mud once; not my favorite place to paddle. Once in the Gastineau Channel the winds really picked up out of the south at 30knots. We crossed to Juneau and paddled hard into the headwind, went past our harbor and had to turn around after the bridge (messy waters under the bridge!) and finally found Harris Harbor. Found a room at the Baranof Hotel for the nignt.
Day 2 - Juneau to Taku Harbor 44km
Rain most of the day. Great colorful starfish colony under and abandoned wharf south of Juneau. First crossing went well. Pushed our distance to see how long the weather will hold. Saw 9 whales today!
Day 3 - Taku Harbor - Stockdale Point 2.2km
Big winds and stormy day put us onto a beach as we left our sheltered bay. We had a terrrible time moving our boats up the beach here as we were forced to land at low tide. Left Taku Harbor as the tide was going out and had to really fight muddy bottom to load the boats in the draining bay. This was the worst experience I have ever had loading my kayak! I learned to check my chart and tide table and never leave a drying bay at low tide again.
Day 4 - Stockade Pt. to Holkham Bay My 41st Birthday
Sunshine Finally. Icebergs and a seal colony were highlights today. My partner telling me to "stop talking" when I tried to explain the importance of channel 16 on a VHF and the ensuing silent treatment for the remainder of the day was not enjoyable. I did attempt to communicate that her behavior wasn't ok and she simply paddled away and ignored me. A VHF radio is not a glorified weather radio and our shared VHF wouldn't work. She refused to allow me to look at the radio.
I celebrated my birthday in the sun with a glass of wine and my book. I dried out all of my things. I refused to let someone else's bad attitude ruin my day. I even sang myself a song. It was a good day after all. As I was brushing my teeth, I saw two beautiful brown bears come down onto the bay across from our camp. Yelling at them only scared them into the bushes for a few minutes. After observing them and seeing that they simply wanted their dinner, I chose to make a fire out of driftwood. My paddling partner chose this mini crisis to begin speaking to me again and offered assistance. A decent fire was built on our part of the beach, below the high tide line and we went to sleep.
Day 5 - Holkham Bay to Unnamed Bay South of Windham Bay 37km
Long Day of headwinds and against the tide. Almost no wildlife until the bay and then so many porpoises. We saw them zooming everywhere. maybe feeding on fish caught in the nets?
Day 6 - Unnamed Bay to Cape Fanshaw 44km
Sunny and clear. What a Day! We made good time down the coast and across Hobart Bay and Port Houghton. Calm seas allowed us to stay far out and cross quickly. Not much for wildlife. The winds picked up after noon so we chose to slide down Cleveland Passage on our way to Cape Fanshaw to give ourselves a break out of the wind. Once out in the bay we could foretell that the Cape would have some fair size waves due to the winds. We rounded the Cape at approximately 5:30pm into 4foot waves and surfed our way down Frederick Sound into a cobbled beach.
Day 7 Cape Fanshaw to Read Island
Paddled 12km in building seas where we landed because the ebb current had created 3-4foot seas and my paddling partner thought it may blow bigger. We landed in a very shallow bay and pulled our kayaks out of the water.
While waiting out the wind we sat against an old beach log and ended up falling asleep in the sun. Some sixth sense woke me up and I immediately spotted a black bear 200 feet to the left of us, peacefully snacking on seaweed. I woke up my partner and pointed out the bear which she could not see until it moved. I stood up and put my hands over my head to make myself larger and spoke to the bear to announce that we were there. The wind had hidden our smell, and he hadn't heard us talking. He ran into the woods, but came back in a few minutes to check us out. We both got up and yelled at him this time and again he ran into the woods. Then back he came so now we moved out onto the gravel beach to get the bear bangers. (Spray was always at hand.) As I was loading a banger that bear popped out of the trees right beside the log where we had been sleeping in the grass. He was way tto curious! I fired the banger over his head and off he went. He was gone for a very long time.
When we see the bear again, he is halfway across the bay. We stayed out on the gravel at our kayaks for safety as I did not like the behaviour of this bear. The bear came out of the trees to some seaweed and sat on his haunches and chewed and watched us for awhile. He learned to stay away from people.
Many hours later the seas are calm enough to paddle so we go again. We paddle to Read Island and find a sandy beach to put up our tent for the night.
Day 8 - Read Island - Petersburg
Beauty Day for paddling in Frederick Sound. Saw millions of herring roe in the shallows everywhere. The bad was my paddling partner. She was snippy with me right from the start of the day and then gave me the silent treatment all day again.
During the crossing at the Sukoi Islets we diverge. I insist that there is a busy shipping channel and as kayaks we should cross directly to shore and handrail into Petersburg for safety. My partner wants to paddle the most direct route, straight down the shipping lane. A large fishing vessel come out of harbor and up to full speed before seeing the kayak in the channel and putting his engines in full reverse. My paddling partner did not make a course change to paddle directly towards shore at that point either. I cannot continue to paddle with a person who is a liability to others' safety any further. I choose to stay ahead and inform her by way of messaging that I will not continue with her after town.
Day 9 - Petersburg - Crab Pot Beach 27.7km
Against the tide! Today started off with coffee and chatting on the phone. I needed to wait for the drugstore as I have been quite sick and needed a few items. Once my boat was loaded and away the shoreline disappeared quickly. The moment I was at zen three humpback whales spouted 200 feet away from me. I hadn't seen a whale in days. They spouted and dove and swam with me for about a half hour.
Day 10 Crab Pot Beach to Wrangell
I forgot to turn on tracking, oops. Had to make it across the Stikine mudflats at high tide so iwas anxious. I wa up and moving on time. Once I made it to Dry Strait it was difficult to figure out which island was which and I headed for the southern tip of what I thought was Rynda Island. I t turned out to be Kadin Island so I corrected course and continued paddling hard. The crossing seemed to take forever. The rainstorms were constant and so thick I couldm't see through them. I was so worried about getting stuck on the mud and having to wait out the tide.
My other big concern was visibility. I couldn't see Wrangell through the rain and that meant boats wouldn't see me. I prayed for it to clear and it did. I took a compass reaading just in case and headed out. I was so pleased to hit the harbor at two in the afternoon.
The Kah Shakes Tribal House is right next to the harbor and I was drawn to the sound of drums. Inside I found Tlingit and Tsimshian dancers and singers performing songs and dances about paddling. I felt as though they were singing to my soul.
The hostel at the Presbyterian Church is not yet open, however the kind operator made and exception for me and picked me up a the harbor. I had and amazing shower and sleep last night, watched over by a glowing red cross.
Day 11 - Wrangell Rest Day and Chores
I have been eating pizza all day. Breakfast and lunch and most likely dinner. I found a beautiful lady named Jenice at the Busy Bee to repair the tear in my spray skirt. I purchased a few items at the a few other stores and now I'm at the Public Library. Kim from the Presbyterian Church Hostel came to check on me and brought me some homemade canned salmon. I'm waiting for low tide to walk out and see the petroglyphs. I needed a day off.
Started off at 9am in 1ft waves , paddled to Entrance Point and waited for the tide to come up on a sand bar for about an hour. Made it through Mendenhall wetlands only getting stuck in the mud once; not my favorite place to paddle. Once in the Gastineau Channel the winds really picked up out of the south at 30knots. We crossed to Juneau and paddled hard into the headwind, went past our harbor and had to turn around after the bridge (messy waters under the bridge!) and finally found Harris Harbor. Found a room at the Baranof Hotel for the nignt.
Day 2 - Juneau to Taku Harbor 44km
Rain most of the day. Great colorful starfish colony under and abandoned wharf south of Juneau. First crossing went well. Pushed our distance to see how long the weather will hold. Saw 9 whales today!
Day 3 - Taku Harbor - Stockdale Point 2.2km
Big winds and stormy day put us onto a beach as we left our sheltered bay. We had a terrrible time moving our boats up the beach here as we were forced to land at low tide. Left Taku Harbor as the tide was going out and had to really fight muddy bottom to load the boats in the draining bay. This was the worst experience I have ever had loading my kayak! I learned to check my chart and tide table and never leave a drying bay at low tide again.
Day 4 - Stockade Pt. to Holkham Bay My 41st Birthday
Sunshine Finally. Icebergs and a seal colony were highlights today. My partner telling me to "stop talking" when I tried to explain the importance of channel 16 on a VHF and the ensuing silent treatment for the remainder of the day was not enjoyable. I did attempt to communicate that her behavior wasn't ok and she simply paddled away and ignored me. A VHF radio is not a glorified weather radio and our shared VHF wouldn't work. She refused to allow me to look at the radio.
I celebrated my birthday in the sun with a glass of wine and my book. I dried out all of my things. I refused to let someone else's bad attitude ruin my day. I even sang myself a song. It was a good day after all. As I was brushing my teeth, I saw two beautiful brown bears come down onto the bay across from our camp. Yelling at them only scared them into the bushes for a few minutes. After observing them and seeing that they simply wanted their dinner, I chose to make a fire out of driftwood. My paddling partner chose this mini crisis to begin speaking to me again and offered assistance. A decent fire was built on our part of the beach, below the high tide line and we went to sleep.
Day 5 - Holkham Bay to Unnamed Bay South of Windham Bay 37km
Long Day of headwinds and against the tide. Almost no wildlife until the bay and then so many porpoises. We saw them zooming everywhere. maybe feeding on fish caught in the nets?
Day 6 - Unnamed Bay to Cape Fanshaw 44km
Sunny and clear. What a Day! We made good time down the coast and across Hobart Bay and Port Houghton. Calm seas allowed us to stay far out and cross quickly. Not much for wildlife. The winds picked up after noon so we chose to slide down Cleveland Passage on our way to Cape Fanshaw to give ourselves a break out of the wind. Once out in the bay we could foretell that the Cape would have some fair size waves due to the winds. We rounded the Cape at approximately 5:30pm into 4foot waves and surfed our way down Frederick Sound into a cobbled beach.
Day 7 Cape Fanshaw to Read Island
Paddled 12km in building seas where we landed because the ebb current had created 3-4foot seas and my paddling partner thought it may blow bigger. We landed in a very shallow bay and pulled our kayaks out of the water.
While waiting out the wind we sat against an old beach log and ended up falling asleep in the sun. Some sixth sense woke me up and I immediately spotted a black bear 200 feet to the left of us, peacefully snacking on seaweed. I woke up my partner and pointed out the bear which she could not see until it moved. I stood up and put my hands over my head to make myself larger and spoke to the bear to announce that we were there. The wind had hidden our smell, and he hadn't heard us talking. He ran into the woods, but came back in a few minutes to check us out. We both got up and yelled at him this time and again he ran into the woods. Then back he came so now we moved out onto the gravel beach to get the bear bangers. (Spray was always at hand.) As I was loading a banger that bear popped out of the trees right beside the log where we had been sleeping in the grass. He was way tto curious! I fired the banger over his head and off he went. He was gone for a very long time.
When we see the bear again, he is halfway across the bay. We stayed out on the gravel at our kayaks for safety as I did not like the behaviour of this bear. The bear came out of the trees to some seaweed and sat on his haunches and chewed and watched us for awhile. He learned to stay away from people.
Many hours later the seas are calm enough to paddle so we go again. We paddle to Read Island and find a sandy beach to put up our tent for the night.
Day 8 - Read Island - Petersburg
Beauty Day for paddling in Frederick Sound. Saw millions of herring roe in the shallows everywhere. The bad was my paddling partner. She was snippy with me right from the start of the day and then gave me the silent treatment all day again.
During the crossing at the Sukoi Islets we diverge. I insist that there is a busy shipping channel and as kayaks we should cross directly to shore and handrail into Petersburg for safety. My partner wants to paddle the most direct route, straight down the shipping lane. A large fishing vessel come out of harbor and up to full speed before seeing the kayak in the channel and putting his engines in full reverse. My paddling partner did not make a course change to paddle directly towards shore at that point either. I cannot continue to paddle with a person who is a liability to others' safety any further. I choose to stay ahead and inform her by way of messaging that I will not continue with her after town.
Day 9 - Petersburg - Crab Pot Beach 27.7km
Against the tide! Today started off with coffee and chatting on the phone. I needed to wait for the drugstore as I have been quite sick and needed a few items. Once my boat was loaded and away the shoreline disappeared quickly. The moment I was at zen three humpback whales spouted 200 feet away from me. I hadn't seen a whale in days. They spouted and dove and swam with me for about a half hour.
Day 10 Crab Pot Beach to Wrangell
I forgot to turn on tracking, oops. Had to make it across the Stikine mudflats at high tide so iwas anxious. I wa up and moving on time. Once I made it to Dry Strait it was difficult to figure out which island was which and I headed for the southern tip of what I thought was Rynda Island. I t turned out to be Kadin Island so I corrected course and continued paddling hard. The crossing seemed to take forever. The rainstorms were constant and so thick I couldm't see through them. I was so worried about getting stuck on the mud and having to wait out the tide.
My other big concern was visibility. I couldn't see Wrangell through the rain and that meant boats wouldn't see me. I prayed for it to clear and it did. I took a compass reaading just in case and headed out. I was so pleased to hit the harbor at two in the afternoon.
The Kah Shakes Tribal House is right next to the harbor and I was drawn to the sound of drums. Inside I found Tlingit and Tsimshian dancers and singers performing songs and dances about paddling. I felt as though they were singing to my soul.
The hostel at the Presbyterian Church is not yet open, however the kind operator made and exception for me and picked me up a the harbor. I had and amazing shower and sleep last night, watched over by a glowing red cross.
Day 11 - Wrangell Rest Day and Chores
I have been eating pizza all day. Breakfast and lunch and most likely dinner. I found a beautiful lady named Jenice at the Busy Bee to repair the tear in my spray skirt. I purchased a few items at the a few other stores and now I'm at the Public Library. Kim from the Presbyterian Church Hostel came to check on me and brought me some homemade canned salmon. I'm waiting for low tide to walk out and see the petroglyphs. I needed a day off.
Tuesday, April 16, 2019
17 Days Til Launch - Paddling Film Fest Tonight
The reality of stepping away from my life for a month is hitting harder everyday. My youngest daughter turned eleven today and we are planning several celebrations of her birthday over the next few days. Today is also the local paddling film fest, that I am partially resposible for helping to oraganize and host. I'm excited to share my Inside Passage expedition plans and inspire others to get involved in volunteering with our club. The film fest is always a fun night and a great event for our club and community.
I am finished editing my "lists" and am now packing all of my sods and sorts into bags to be packed and repacked into my kayak.As I check off errands on my to do list I feel the anxiety waning and the excitement rising. There are still many things I must accomplish before setting off including filing our club's funding applications this week, presiding over our annual general meeting next week, and teaching an introduction to sea kayak rescue skills course days before our launch. (Not to mention buy a few last minute items, get USD at the bank, celebrate Easter, mail food to Wrangell, upgrade cell service & InReach, and more) I really want to get a few long training paddles in too!
Leaving my everyday life feels like the hardest part of the expedition planning. So many things could happen while I am out there and unable to do anything for the people I love most. I can only have faith that I have planned for the things I could and trust in my loved ones to take care of each other and be well when I return. It is hard to tell my own daytimer that is normally crammed with appointments and deadlines that I am unavailable for the month of May. It is a mental challenge for this matriarch to leave the nest unattended for such a stretch. I'm not even at the Inside Passage and yet I am conquering my first major challenge.
Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Trials of Training: 24 Days to Launch
Portage Cove, Haines Alaska April 6, 2019
The plan was to circle the Chilkat Peninsula over two days, allowing ourselves the opportunity to work out gear packing subtleties and talk about last minute expedition planning. My paddling partner and I haven't spent a lot of time together over the last few months as we have very busy lives and schedules. This weekend was to be a chance to discuss our shared gear, our packing strategies, and shared food. We drove the five hours to Haines on Friday to set out early Saturday morning.
The marine weather forecast was not predicting friendly waters. Seas were at six feet on Friday when we arrived and settled enough on Saturday to two feet with a stiff wind of fifteen knots to allow for paddling. We put in with gentle wind waves that grew to three feet against the incoming tide. We enjoyed our surf session and soon the wind settled and our paddles carried us around Seduction Point. We chose not to camp at Seduction Point based on a nasty marine forecast for the next day and proceeded north up the west side of the peninsula. After a nautical mile we encountered our first whale spouting in a bay across from the Davidson Glacier.
We finished in Leitnekof Cove as the tide was going out and we were unsure how much further into the bay we would be able to paddle without getting stuck on the mud flats. A quick ride into town with a local to collect the car and we were back camping at Portage Cove for the night; after a bite to eat in the Bamboo Room as both of us were happy to not be rehydrating meals just yet. Having a meal made for us after 36km of paddling was a great luxury.
The next morning, taking advantage of the calm befoe the storm, we paddled north up the Lutak Inlet past the Haines Ferry terminal. We paddled slower, and closer to shore to enjoy looking at the inter tidal zone and the variety of life found there. After a few short hours as the wind was collecting itself, we returned to the car and made the long drive back to Yukon.
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Making Corn Bark
Food has been my trip focus lately. I've been busy buying groceries and cooking recipes from a book to deydrate and splurging on a few prepackaged meals and specialty items. Meal planning for an expedition is about more than just taking enough to be satiated at the end of a long day of paddling. I want tasty food that is easy to prepare and provides me the nutrition I need to get up the next morning ready to go again. I'm also hoping to have some variety, reduce waste, and food smells so we don't attract hungry bears.
My dehydrator has been running a lot. I made my favorite food first; dehydrated watermelon, and promptly ate it with my kids. Next up was pea soup and cream corn. Then I was on to curried chicken with raisins and currants, and ginger mango chicken with cashews. I also made some chipolte sweet potatoes, several other meals, and yes more watermelon for the trip in May. I'm still holding out hope a bison falls in my freezer beore the end of hunting season so that I will have bison jerky to nibble on for this trip.
Most days we will not want to spend much energy on meal preparation so I have planed many meals to be rehydrate and eat. Food I buy at local stores will be cheese, dry sausages, avocados, carrots and apples. I'm really hoping to squirrel away one piece of fresh food for each of the first ten days out. There will always be seaweed available if we need fresh greens.
My dehydrator has been running a lot. I made my favorite food first; dehydrated watermelon, and promptly ate it with my kids. Next up was pea soup and cream corn. Then I was on to curried chicken with raisins and currants, and ginger mango chicken with cashews. I also made some chipolte sweet potatoes, several other meals, and yes more watermelon for the trip in May. I'm still holding out hope a bison falls in my freezer beore the end of hunting season so that I will have bison jerky to nibble on for this trip.
Most days we will not want to spend much energy on meal preparation so I have planed many meals to be rehydrate and eat. Food I buy at local stores will be cheese, dry sausages, avocados, carrots and apples. I'm really hoping to squirrel away one piece of fresh food for each of the first ten days out. There will always be seaweed available if we need fresh greens.
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
65 Days Until Launch Con't
Changes have swept through my lists and all of our planning. We have made a slight delay of a couple days in our start date and further planned our shared food and gear. As a team we will share a tent and a kitchen, combining good gear from both of our kits. Food will be a shared responsibility as we will cook for each other only at dinnertime. This leaves me to plan for my own breakfast and lunches for 30 days. I always pack food for a few extra days and this time we will have the luxury of shipping parcels of it ahead to Wrangell and Ketchikan in the mail.
The days are whipping by fast and the reality of this adventure is coming quickly. I have been focused on our charts and navigation for the past few weeks. I really want to make sure that I have dialed in exactly which charts we will need to be safe and pass by the most hazardous "sticky outy bits" as my instructor last year referred to them. The book charts provided for home printing by the NOAA are decent for overview of the area. I've ordered a few back up paper charts for the critical areas like Cape Fox, in the event all three of our Garmin GPS maps crash and burn. The most important chart arrived this week in the mail already. It is a five foot tall tourist map of the inside passage I bought for my youngest daughter to track my progress with her marker and little stickers for my camps.
I dream of the whales and the icebergs, of paddling through the icy channels, piloting among them like a seal. It is difficult to remind myself at times that this is my ultimate goal, despite the anxiety of preparation. This week I expect to receive several shipments of gear that I needed to replace or upgrade and I will drive four hours round trip to collect expedition food from my American mailbox! (I'll sneak in a ski at the White Pass if I can.) Training for a paddling expedition when you have frozen water is challenging; I have learned to be flexible and creative and use the frozen water to recreate with. Currently I am xc skiing a few times a week and swimming twice a week with weights and the odd planking thrown in for good measure. I expect the first week out on the water to hit me hard anyway.
My dehydrator will rest again at the end of April, when I have completed preparing food for this trip. I love and hate meal planning. I learned last year when we took our kids on a multi day hike that making our own dehydrated meals was far more palatable and thrifty. My new favorite is dehydrated watermelon, oh my! Then I trained as an assistant sea kayak guide and the other students and I shared our cooking skills over a couple of weeks and I learned some great tips and tricks. Kayak cooking is unique unto itself, and I am definitely one of those people that needs appetizing food on my trips. The typical ramen noodles rarely make it in my food sac.
May attempt an April paddle in Haines, Alaska. To be determined by the weather and moods. :)
Changes have swept through my lists and all of our planning. We have made a slight delay of a couple days in our start date and further planned our shared food and gear. As a team we will share a tent and a kitchen, combining good gear from both of our kits. Food will be a shared responsibility as we will cook for each other only at dinnertime. This leaves me to plan for my own breakfast and lunches for 30 days. I always pack food for a few extra days and this time we will have the luxury of shipping parcels of it ahead to Wrangell and Ketchikan in the mail.
The days are whipping by fast and the reality of this adventure is coming quickly. I have been focused on our charts and navigation for the past few weeks. I really want to make sure that I have dialed in exactly which charts we will need to be safe and pass by the most hazardous "sticky outy bits" as my instructor last year referred to them. The book charts provided for home printing by the NOAA are decent for overview of the area. I've ordered a few back up paper charts for the critical areas like Cape Fox, in the event all three of our Garmin GPS maps crash and burn. The most important chart arrived this week in the mail already. It is a five foot tall tourist map of the inside passage I bought for my youngest daughter to track my progress with her marker and little stickers for my camps.
I dream of the whales and the icebergs, of paddling through the icy channels, piloting among them like a seal. It is difficult to remind myself at times that this is my ultimate goal, despite the anxiety of preparation. This week I expect to receive several shipments of gear that I needed to replace or upgrade and I will drive four hours round trip to collect expedition food from my American mailbox! (I'll sneak in a ski at the White Pass if I can.) Training for a paddling expedition when you have frozen water is challenging; I have learned to be flexible and creative and use the frozen water to recreate with. Currently I am xc skiing a few times a week and swimming twice a week with weights and the odd planking thrown in for good measure. I expect the first week out on the water to hit me hard anyway.
My dehydrator will rest again at the end of April, when I have completed preparing food for this trip. I love and hate meal planning. I learned last year when we took our kids on a multi day hike that making our own dehydrated meals was far more palatable and thrifty. My new favorite is dehydrated watermelon, oh my! Then I trained as an assistant sea kayak guide and the other students and I shared our cooking skills over a couple of weeks and I learned some great tips and tricks. Kayak cooking is unique unto itself, and I am definitely one of those people that needs appetizing food on my trips. The typical ramen noodles rarely make it in my food sac.
May attempt an April paddle in Haines, Alaska. To be determined by the weather and moods. :)
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