[Paddlewise] On the water again

Greetings folks,
Like an old sailor called back to the sea I have returned to spin
paddling yarns once again.

 I may have moved 100 miles inland but the wind and waves called me back
to the sea!
Recently I drove down to Whittier, Alaska for a day paddle in Prince
William Sound. I
had paddled PWS once before, in ‘91 when a friend and I spent a week
there on a
carefully planned route avoiding the damaged waters of the Exxon Valdez
oil spill.
 The following is actually a combination of two trips tossed together to
avoid
redundancy (again and again).
 Getting to Whittier is rather interesting. Driving down the Seward
Highway one
parallels Cook Inlet for many miles. At high tide it looks inviting but
at low tide it is
literally miles and miles of glacier silt and mud. Each year a couple of
fools usually
drown because despite all the warning signs, they walk out on the mud
flats, sink in and
drown as the tide floods in.
 Whittier is only accessible by driving through a railroad tunnel. Yes,
the trains
still use it ! The 2.6 mile tunnel has scheduled times for cars to
travel through and stop
lights to keep you out when the train is coming. Running the stop light
is not advised!
 The drive through the tunnel reminds me of the days of carrying  my
white water
kayak through a half mile RR tunnel in West Virginia in order to paddle
a remote section
of the Gauley River. Once one of my friends looked up to see how far it
was to the end of
the tunnel when he noticed that the light at the end of the tunnel was
getting there really
quick! He screamed “train” and he and his buddies dove into the mud
beside the rail as
the coal train roared by.
 Once in Whittier I launched into Passage Canal , a 9 mile passage, out
to Prince
William Sound.  I paddled along the North shore where the 2500 foot high
mountains
drop steeply into the sea. Many water falls plunge over the sides of the
mountains and
crash and spray into the sea. It was quite a spectacular sight. Two
miles out I passed a
large Kitty Wake colony. Hundreds of birds pair up on the cliffs staking
out places to
nest. As I paddled by about 100 yards out I noticed the flock seemed to
enjoy launching
into the sky together making a big circle and returning to the cliff. I
also noticed “a white
rain” as they passed over head. Looking up was dangerous!
 Farther down the canal a point of land sticks out prominently. Billings
Point is
where Billings Creek has for centuries dumped  the silt from the
Billings Glacier. Many
of the trees on this point are dead. Seems the 1964 earthquake (9.4 on
the Richter scale)
caused much of Prince William sound to sink and the encroaching salt
water killed the
trees.
 Pulling my kayak up on the beach I discovered a tidal pond hidden by
beach
debrey. The pond was the happy home of several ducks including some
Merganser.
 Crossing Passage Canal I headed to Decision Point, so named because
here you
make the decision whether to leave the protection of Passage Canal and
enter the open
waters of Prince William Sound. The south shore was still quite snowy (
this trip occurred
in mid may. Winter hit late this year. The first week of May we had 10
inches of snow!)
The south shore is characterized by small coves and interesting rock
formations. I didn’t
make it all the way out the Decision Pt. Instead I chose to explore
Shotgun Cove .  This
cove is almost two miles long eventually narrowing down to a small
creek. Some snow
still covered the banks and ducks, and seals fished all about.  I found
a lunch spot next to
a small waterfall   tumbling off a cliff and on to the beach gravel. It
was noisy but it was a
beautiful kind of noise. On my way out  a young Sea Otter popped up in
front of me and
seemed quite curious about this strange creature in the yellow boat. He
would dive under
and pop up in another spot for a better look. He stayed with me for
quite a ways finally
getting bored and swimming off.
 On my return I paddled along the north shore. I had heard reports that
the
Mountain Goats where down close to the water seeking the fresh new
spring forage.
Trying to spot a white goat amid patches of snow was not easy but
finally I saw some
movement. Five Mountain goats were grazing about 200 feet up. One of the
was a Mother
with a kid. The Goats, even the little one, were amazingly sure footed
along the cliffs and
steep mountain side. They were also quite content to graze along the
cliffs because no
wolf or bear (or kayaker) in its’ right mind would try to climb after
them.
 Reluctant to leave I began to paddle back to Whittier. Wham! Out of
nowhere a
huge wind gust hit me from behind. In all honestly had I been sitting
sideways it would
probably have knocked me over. As it was it almost took the paddle out
of my hands!
Admittedly with such a wind at my back the next 20 minutes or so I had a
blast flying
along and surfing the waves. The problem though was I was along the
North Shore and
Whittier is along the South Shore!  I faced a mile and a half crossing
sideways to this
screaming wind.
 To cross or not to cross , a decision I have faced many times. What was
this crazy
wind going to do? Would it get worse? Was I mentally and physically up
for the
crossing? How big and breaking would the waves be in the middle ?  My
experience tells
me that ones survival depends on honest answers to these questions.
Answers based on
bravo or ego can get one killed. I felt the conditions were within  my
skill level so I
elected to go for it.
 The cross wind conditions  actually proved more difficult than to
paddle directly
into the wind. Basically I had to paddle the whole mile and a half
leaning heavily into the
wind while watching the waters surface for the stronger gusts! “So there
I was” the wind
trying to knock me over and the whitecaps breaking over me and my boat.
In other words
I was having a great time!
 My enjoyment was one of those “you have to be a sea-kayaker to
understand”
moments. On the one hand it was a difficult and dangerous situation. On
the other hand it
was within my skill level. This strange combination I have always
enjoyed both in sea
kayaking and whitewater. Part of it is an adrenaline rush but also it is
one of those
moments when one feels really alive.
 Eventually I ducked in behind the shelter of the breakwater and took a
breather.
My next challenge was to load my boat in that crazy wind! I am not sure
which was worse
paddling in it or lifting my boat overhead in it?
 I drove home that evening and did my second favorite thing next to
paddling. I
unrolled my maps and started planning my sea- kayak next trip!

peace
Bob


***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed
here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire
responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author.
Submissions:     PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net
Subscriptions:   PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************