Re: [Paddlewise] Big Trip Dreams

Wes Boyd wrote:
 
> Suppose that, through some unexpected reason, you have the option to take a
> two or three month kayak trip. [snip]
> Where do you go? What would you do? Why? Would you consider doing the trip
> solo? How would you organize the trip? Handle supplies? What boat would you
> want?

This is too tempting to pass up.  Like Wes, I'll probably never actually do a
trip like this one, being a "prisoner" of my obligations.  My trip?  Couple
options, both focused on the rain forest coast of North America.

1. One-way sojourn headed south from Glacier Bay, Alaska, wending a way among
the many islands in SE Alaska, ending in Prince Rupert.  This would be more of
a wandering odyssey than a hell-for-leather bull through to the end effort. 
Never been here, so one objective would be to see this amazing country.

2. Slow out-and-back exploration of the east side of Moresby Island in the
Charlottes, lapping around the southern end into some of the inlets on the west
side.  I'd start and end in Moresby Camp, and avoid the concentrations of
people near Ninstints, Hot Spring Island, and the like.  This is surprisingly
easy to do in the Charlottes.  I've been there before a few times, but never
had the time I've wanted to take.

Both of these trips would be at a leisurely pace.  I would not have hard and
fast goals, and would spend a lot of time poking around inlets and bays a
faster trip would ignore.  A compatible partner might be difficult to locate,
so it is likely I'd be doing this alone.  Solo trips do not intimidate me,
although after a few days alone I miss the companionship of others.  Going solo
makes me focus on my surroundings better.  I see better, hear better, and
reflect more thoroughly.

A long trip like this would put me into a slower rhythm.  I think I'd come to
equilibrium with the seascape/landscape.  On shorter trips, it is tough to
achieve that.  (A couple summers ago a young woman circumnavigating Vancouver
Island (Hailey ...?) happened on our camp in Barkley Sound.  We shared some
soup with her as she narrated her adventure.  Her affect impressed me ...
"serene" does not quite capture it.)

In both of these places logistics would be fairly easy, resupplying in the
occasional settlement in SE Alaska, or arranging for food dropoffs from one of
the outfitters in the Charlottes.  For the SE Alaska trip, I probably would
pre-arrange food resupply (ship food to places I expected to land).

Boat?  If solo, my Eddyline Wind Dancer ("the cargo barge"):  carries a lot, is
comfy to paddle, has great primary stability to make wildlife observation easy,
and is a pretty dry ride.  If traveling with another companion, I'd consider a
double, probably the Pygmy Osprey Double I'm building.  Might not want to be
"married" to a double for that long.  It would work if my SO were in the front
seat, but she can't get 2 months off work ... and she would not tolerate 2
months in the **rain** forest very well, anyway.

BTW, rain does not bother me any more, if I can live at the pace demanded in a
rainy climate.  In fact, I really like the way everything changes as a system
moves through the coast.  I love watching it clear up after a couple days of
dreck.  It's cathartic as hell!

Thanks, Wes, for the chance to dream!  And, the rest of you, let's hear yours!

-- 
Dave Kruger
Astoria, OR
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