wow...wow! one week and here you are...AMAZING.
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31 May 2008
30 May 2008
29 May 2008
28 May 2008
day 5 at 8:01 pm ADKT
yay...a signal from our kayakers. they've gone roughly 100 miles since the portage put-in. keep in mind that measurement is based on the scale on my map and my fingers! they've gone past nikiski, one of the planned stops. roughly 75 more miles to homer, their first re-fuel stop.
wishing you a peaceful night paddlers under the sunlit alaska sky.
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27 May 2008
25 May 2008
day 2 at 6:01 pm AKDT
looks like a good day was being had...the first of 2 SPOT signals tonight.
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24 May 2008
day 1 done 7:17 pm AKDT
SPOT signal received...the kayakers arrived to their first destination for the night. looks like they made it a bit further than anticipated. here's hoping you had a fantastic first day. sleep well!!!
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roll away
and they're off! 
here are the kayakers as they depart, roughly 10:30 am on a rainy morning from portage creek at the head of turnagain arm. steve and noel report that they were excited and in good spirits as they stopped walking and began floating.
this photo shows them about one hour later as they catch the ebb tide carrying them west down the turnagain arm.
mateo, matt and djuna -- enjoy this day, the beginning of such freedom, such peace. breathe it in. paddle strong. the water will be transformative. lap it up and crawl inside. as you sleep outside, feel the embrace of the earth. the land of the midnight sun. the sacred dimension is present, and you are entering it naturally. for now you will feel connected to everything, to the small fly buzzing, the tall trees in their rocky home, to the moon and stars wheeling overhead at night. swapping stories with the waves, the marine life, the sky.
your friends left a comment quoting robert hunter (hola fellow heads) and it is worth repeating....
may the four winds blow you safely home.
and we're off!
after several busy days in anchorage - car coordinations, bathroom sharing, phone sharing, computer sharing, several cups of coffee, 5 runs to Fred Meyers, 2 runs to another grocery, calls and drives for camera batteries, gear stores, mountaineering stores... after hours going through and consolidating food for 10 days, after hours of decisions of what to leave home, what to bring as redundancies, what medical kit we each bring, what we bring as a team, what boat repair we double and triple up on, down to how many socks to bring......... it all fit in the boat, quite easily to all our surprises. then we stickered the boats for the journey as our reward.
and we're off! tomorrow we're driving to the mouth of the Placer River near Portage AK and putting in around 10a. we'll share a bfast with Steve and Noel, and then catch the ebb with a 30' tidal exchange and ride ourselves hopefully past Hope AK for our first night. just getting this first night behind us is a milestone in itself.
countless thanks to AK folks, weather and attitude. now we sleep in a warm house for the final night in many weeks. wahoo for no more houses (though we're grateful for those to date)!!
some pics of the last couple days..
Feliz Cumpleanos Paco Wendell
22 May 2008
bagels for boats
WE GOT OUR BOATS!
Today we took a trip down to Northland Services to say "hi" to Megan and the crew of Northland Services. Matt had the bright idea to pick up some bagels and cream cheese on the way for everyone at the Northland office since we had been calling Megan almost daily and figured that would continue until we got our boats. She was very nice and said there was a chance we could get boats by 5:00 pm tomorrow.
We left and ran some errands. We returned to Noel and Steve's a couple of hours later to a message that our boats were ready to be picked up!
When we went back down to Northland to get the boats the scene was pretty impressive. Entire shipping containers (sometimes three stacked) filled with cargo were being forklifted high above our heads not looking altogether stable. We grabbed our boats and got out there.
We left and ran some errands. We returned to Noel and Steve's a couple of hours later to a message that our boats were ready to be picked up!
When we went back down to Northland to get the boats the scene was pretty impressive. Entire shipping containers (sometimes three stacked) filled with cargo were being forklifted high above our heads not looking altogether stable. We grabbed our boats and got out there.
Unwrapping them in them the front yard of Noel and Steve we were psyched to find them all intact. Yeah!
21 May 2008
anchorage light
yes, we are all here now at Matt's parents. it's good to be together. we are lucky to have such a nice place to prepare all our kit and logistics. and Noel is fattening us all up, her meals are excellent, as is the coffee. ;)
the basement looks like an unwrapped christmas morning as we unpack and again discuss all we'll bring. it looks like we'll have plenty of room to carry quite a surplus of safety gear and extra things that will make the trip comfortable, and warm.
tomorrow we make a final gear run and the first big food shop. then we continue to wait until we can dry pack our boats, which are sitting quietly in a port in anchorage. we could get them as early as friday or as soon as tuesday.
the weather is very favorable here. the seas are calm with only 15 knot wind gusts. everything is trending in the right direction.
off to bed for a big sleep. I am in Alaska, but it's weird, it's still light....
the team unites
after an early morning flight from seattle, all paddlers are now together in anchorage (huge grins and hugs) eagerly awaiting the arrival of their boats.
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20 May 2008
18 May 2008
"Nature Bats Last"
Today with Noel and Steve we hiked along the north side of Turnagain Arm. The tide was low, just beginning to flood. We were able to see where there was still deep water. It was also blowing good out of the East, as it usually does there. The mountains are spectacular, rising out of the water. We could also see the head of Chickaloon Bay and Burnt Island on the east side of the entrance to the bay. Chickaloon is a very shallow bay, filled with mud at low tide. The crossing of the bay is about 10 miles, and of course will require a higher or medium tide range to make.
The whole journey through Turnagain Arm is somewhat tricky because of the huge tidal range and all the mud, which in places when the water begins to flood in becomes quicksand. However, if we are conservative and be sure to get off the water before the tide gets too low, we should be okay. That east wind is also nice, pushing us to the west towards Point Possession.
Noel and Steve had picked up a copy of Exploring Alaska's Kenai Fjords by David Wm. Miller. It was recommended by Jon Walpole, and is a great resource of information about the Port Bainbridge to Port Dick section (Gulf of Alaska) of the coastline. As we wait here in Anchorage, anticipating our departure the preface to this book gives a useful reminder:
"Flexible trip planning is essential. An isolated seacoast like the Kenai Fjords presents a host of logistic and weather related issues. Rigid time scheduling may be impossible to follow safely."
When we were sailing our engineless sailboat we were so often faced with this reality- we had no ultimate control over our schedule and could never say for sure where we would be that evening. The same holds true for any adventure in nature and one must adopt this mindset for safety and sanity.
Last night Dave Johnston came over. He was one of three people to summit Denali in the wintertime
(read -148: the First Winter Ascent of Mount McKinley). As we told him about waiting for our boats to arrive and our need for flexibility in planning this trip he remarked:
"Nature bats last."
North to the Future
Matt writing here--i waited too long to respond to the blog invite, but that will get sorted soon. Shawna and Leon (our employers and good friends who own BodyBoatBlade) threw a little going away party for us on the 14th, and it was great to be able to explain a bit more about our trip to people who were interested. It was also sweet to feel the support and enthusiasm of our friends who are excited about us doing this adventure. Djuna and i left our little cabin in the woods on Friday (the 16th) in beautiful weather. Sad to leave, but so excited and fortunate, it doesn't matter. We've got some good friends, Sati and Dave, who are staying there while we're away, and we hope they enjoy it as much as we do. Amalia, who has been a friend of Djuna's since childhood, dropped us off at the airport after a nice visit with her, her extremely cute daughter Lilian, and her husband, Chris. Thanks again, you guys! As we flew North, we could see Port Townsend, the San Juans, Texada and Lasqueti islands, Sechelt Inlet (home to Skookumchuck rapids)--all places that hold some place in our hearts and memories. We couldn't see much for a few hours after that, so sleep became the best option. As we flew on, the cloud cover cleared and suddenly we were looking down at the Copper River Delta in the eastern part of Prince William Sound. Long black sand beaches and bars were visible with big surf breaking, and the mountains and glaciers were glowing orange and pink with alpenglow (10:00 pm). As we flew west, the snow depth increased till it was down to sea level at the west side of Prince William Sound. We were on the wrong side of the plane to look down over Turnagain Arm, but were able to catch a glimpse of Chickaloon Bay and Pt. Posession right before we landed. It was so exciting to feel awed by the sheer scale of the mountains, glaciers, and beauty--quite an arrival. My mom and dad picked us up at the airport, and we have had a great visit with them so far; they are very thoughtful, generous folks and a lot of fun to hang out with! Mathew arrives on Wed. am, and i'm looking forward to the 3 of us being together and preparing to get on the water.
14 May 2008
Changing Plans- "Welcome to Alaska in so many ways"
Today at work I received a call from Matt. There has been a storm raging in the Gulf of Alaska for the past week or so. Winds up to 60 knots and seas to 26 feet. Burly.
We knew all this, and wondered how this might effect the tug and barge carrying our kayaks up to Anchorage. It turns out the barge is delayed one week, so the soonest it may arrive is next Wednesday. We then called the shipper and found out that the barge could take up to four days to unload! A new twist.
So... we have changed our tickets and fly back on July 8th instead of the 1st.
It's hard to have plans change so quickly, but also the first of many great lessons we will learn on this trip. The weather is ALWAYS in charge. Plans are just that, plans and there are so many variables out of our control... I just had a great conversation with Tom Pogson in Homer- he has been, and was today very helpful. Among other things he said was:
"Welcome to Alaska in so many ways!"
The plusses:
Mathew gets to be with Bridget for her birthday!
Matt and I get to spend more time with Noel and Steve.
The weather should be better since it is later in the season.
Yoga classes in Anchorage!
Many more I haven't thought of yet!
We are at Body Boat Blade right now where many of our friends on the island are gathering for a send-off party for our trip. We miss you Mathew, and all others who aren't here!
12 May 2008
donations!
We received our first donations!! very generous ones. It's so great to be actively working for a cause. Lots of people are able to, but it's a first for me in a serious manner. It's exciting. Thank you.
On Friday we fly to Anchorage, and about a week out from being on the water. We all talked after a few tries this weekend. The general consensus is we're ready to go, and ready to leave the rest of the organizing. ;) But really, we feel really good where we are at. And with a little free time, it's given way to some nervous anxiousness.
In a week we'll put putting in the water near Portage, AK.
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The weather report is still looking cold. There's been consistent gale force winds the last 2 weeks. Sun is surely coming, preceded by some 49/40 Olympic coast rainy weather. I think it's safe to expect a cold first week.
I looked closer at the early charts this weekend, and it's not unrealistic to be in Homer with 6-8 days, if we wanted. So if it rains, we can make more miles with more time on the water.
Good advice from Dan - bring more rope and biners than you think. I'm trying to find my old climbing gear bag now. :)
Thanks again for all the gives - financial, support from friends, partners, parents, community - it makes it so much more doable.
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I began paddling in the waters of Cook Inlet, working as a guide in Kachemak Bay. Since then, my husband Matt and I have moved to Orcas Island Washington and work with Body Boat Blade. We are passionate about paddling in dynamic waters and living adventurous lives. The Kenai is so diverse and wild, it’s a place I love to know exists on this planet.
