RE: [Paddlewise] High points of 2010?

Kirk asked "Now that 2010 is over does anyone have any high points"

Long overdue response on this - yes we had a truly wonderful Alaskan paddle
in July/August.

Thanks again to all on this list who helped with suggestions about food,
routes and helpful comments about our preparation. Natasha & I are most
grateful. 

A special thanks to Bob Carter in Petersburg, Alaska - who (after lots of
useful tips via email) took the time to come down to his town's Ferry
Terminal and say hello as we passed by on the Columbia. Our time on shore
was restricted, as the Columbia was trying to make up lost time - so we had
opportunity for little more than a 'hello' and a quick look at the tide
tables and charts that he'd brought along for our benefit.

I have to say that Bob's warm welcome to Alaska was typical. We had nothing
but the kindest of treatment from the many good folk we met along the way.
Perhaps as paddlers do anywhere, we stood out a bit from the general throng
of cruise-ship tourists, but we certainly felt that people went beyond the
motions of 'Have a Nice Day'...

We flew directly into Vancouver (from Auckland), along with our refreshed
folding K2 Feathercraft, our paddling gear (including 3 split GPs), all our
camping gear and personal kit. I had managed to keep it just grams under the
old airline baggage limit. The spreadsheet was prodigious ;-)

We picked up some local food items & camp-gas canisters and made it down to
Bellingham (WA) for the weekly departure of the Northbound Alaska ferry
'Columbia'. What a great experience she gives a traveller. We pitched our
tent on the afterdeck (with many others) and enjoyed good facilities, food &
friendly fellow passengers on the 60-hour passage up to Juneau.

At daybreak in Juneau, we transferred to the impressively quick (38+ knots
on my GPS) cat ferry out to Sitka where we would begin our paddle.

At the end of the next 14 days, we had paddled about 400 km of wonderful
coastline, though the Myriad Islands, into White Sulphur Hot Springs, the
tiny settlements of Pelican & Elfin Cove, to the whale-watching Mecca of
Point Adolphus and across Icy Straits and into Glacier Bay. There we
explored the Eastern arm and got up to the face of the tidewater McBride
Glacier to paddle amongst the bergy bits and experience the glacier calving
at first hand. 

I have to say that this was probably the only moment (of the entire trip)
when I missed being in a single - as the K2's forward and after cockpits
differed on the safe distance from the face. We survived both the debate and
the potential Gino Watkins moment - to pitch our northernmost camp. The
nearby shoreline of house-sized bergs strained & groaned continuously,
making it a cool but noisy night.

The weather was pretty kind to us - the only lay days were occasioned more
by feelings of 'can't bear to leave here just yet' than by 'don't want to
head out into that'. We had our tarps, our drysuits and the right
expectations for enjoying a misty rainforest coastline. 

We swam a bit - but more for cleanliness than amusement.

We met no other kayakers on the water, met 4 parties of kayakers in camps (2
couples and 2 groups) and met 2 other parties in power-boats. So, for days
at a time, we had the world to ourselves.

Weather radio reception was much better than the internet VHF coverage maps
led us to expect - which was a bonus. I bought a tiny new AM radio as a
backup to augment our VHFs, but its only use was in the middle of one night,
when Natasha got tired of talking to herself (I was fast asleep) and turned
the radio on to 'keep the bears at bay' - which was much on her mind at that
moment.

We were pretty scrupulous about bear hygiene - 100m 'kitchen' distance from
tent, using bear-proof containers (hard-shell) for all smelly stuff, etc. As
bear-country neophytes, we may have been over-cautious; but a number of
Alaskans seemed to take the risks seriously - so we followed suit. 

For whatever reasons, our bear encounters were experienced safely with us on
the water and the bears on land. The dear, eagles and the multitude of
sea-birds were great and the sea-otters, sea-lions, orca and humpbacks were
seldom absent for long. The otters were cute. The sea-lions were stroppy ;-)

	
At the end of the Glacier Bay exploration, we rinsed off, folded up and took
a Cessna back to Juneau. As we had a few days in hand (our bad-weather
allowance), we decided to have a brief look at Alaska's goldrush
neighbourhood (Skagway & Chillicoot) and fly back to Vancouver from
Whitehorse (cheap fare).

So, what were the take-homes ? 

The kayaking was fun and extending, the scenery was stunning, the wildlife
was awe-inspiring.

We have some wonderful memories. Should they dim, we have about 3600 photos
to refresh them. 

Perhaps more than anything, we have a sense of accomplishment that we set
ourselves a challenge and pulled it off. 

Best Regards
Paul Hayward, Auckland, New Zealand
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