For those of you trapped in the cold & ice - if dreaming about next summer seems a good idea - I'd love some help to plan an adventure. We want to do some paddling and see some of the great country in BC and Alaska. It'll be our first time north of Whistler - Lake Louise. We have 28 days - next July / August - flying into & back from Vancouver. To set the stage for you... Natasha & I are reasonably strong & confident ocean paddlers. We have 10 years and some 1000's of coastal kms behind us, although neither of us has done more than a 10-day trip (yet). On a trip we may do 15 km on an adverse day (or one with lots of caves & arches ;-) or 75 km on a crazy-long day. Metre-high surf beaches are fine, two metre surf is best avoided. 15-knot wind is OK, 25 knot is a pain and 35+ is get-the-hell-off-the-water. That's our comfort zone mapped out. Oh - and neither of us is good at living off the bounty of the sea. N hates it and much of it would send me into a nasty allergy reaction (if I were silly enough to eat it). So we carry a nice range of home-dehydrated meals and leave the fish alone. In anticipation of the colder water (colder than we normally encounter here in NZ), we now both have Kokatat Goretex drysuits (with feet) and have paddled enough in them to start to get a feel for sweat, good/bad under-layers with various air & water temps. All OK & still having fun experimenting. Marvellous bits of kit ! We have acquired a Feathercraft K2 (double folder - 10 yo but in v. good shape), which we consider to be a very strong and sea-kindly kayak. We believe we can survive the relationship perils of the tandem - and one goal over the next 7 months will be honing our techniques for getting a loaded double down to & up from the water's edge. All of our experience with doubles has been with unloaded ones - and we are wide awake to that difference. We both have solo experience with heavily-laden singles. We are both licensed VHF users, practised in rescue skills and do our best to access risk intelligently. Bears & calving glaciers do sound scary ;-) So - that's what we're bringing to the party - now what best to do ? I would've loved to get to SSTIKS (June) or the symposium in Port Townsend (September), as N & I have been very involved with the Coastbusters Symposium here in Auckland. However, neither fit July/August. Anyone know of something that does ? We'd like to : - paddle in some different and stunning scenery - mountains are a big plus - survive some wildlife - drive through some of the great open spaces I'm tempted to rent a car for the month, drive up to Skagway or Haines (2700 km is big, but we enjoy long drives), do a shakedown overnight paddle somewhere, take a ferry to Glacier Bay and paddle as long as we want and as long as the weather lets us. Good: Very flexible - weather, energy, fear, etc. Water-taxi backup in G-Bay Bad: Have to retrace (by & large) our driving steps to get the rental car back. I have always wanted to take the ferry up the coastal 'inside passage' - but I have read that after kayaking in the panhandle, the ferry is 2nd best. Flying in & out (Juneau or Sitka) has some merit - but loses much of the flexibility for deciding that the current weather is 'crap' and we should instead drive up to the Arctic Circle or the North Slope - or implement some other plan B that seems better than sitting around waiting on the weather Gods... Anyway - you get the picture. Tear it to shreds. Any suggestions for lakes or rivers that would appeal on the inland route north ? Is Glacier Bay a million times less interesting than coastal Sitka to Juneau ? All comment welcome. Oh - and to complicate it further, if I can squeeze a few days into the schedule, I've a friend near Tofino (on Vancouver Island) who I'd love to visit... So - if nothing else, I've got you dreaming about next summer, right ? Best Regards Paul Hayward, Auckland, New Zealand *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Thu Dec 17 2009 - 05:31:30 PST
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