RE: [Paddlewise] High points of 2010?

Sounds wonderful. Are we going to see some of those photos?

Brad Crain

Quoting Paul Hayward <pdh_at_mmcl.co.nz>:

> 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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