t minus 1 week

wow. nervous. dreams of bears. excited for countless days on the sea.
swell. wow. cooking. camping. unknown.
unknown weather. unknown beaches.
endless directions this trip will take on a daily basis.

lists are not growing, no time. lists are dwindling, 'bout time.
will be on a plane in 1 week where lists are no more lists. :)

the energy around this cause is so accelerating.
everyone I talk to is excited, some at work are in awe.
they come forward with their network of contacts
even if nothing comes from their resources
it's great that more awareness is out there

comments on the site, comments in my mail.
we are fortunate, lucky, active, honored.

pride. scared. living life.
no worries necessary.

SanJuan Surf

Surfing in the San Juans

Monday Matt and I went to our favorite surf spot in the San Juans with our friend Collin. It was a birthday surf session as Sunday the 4th of May was my 30th!
The race was big with a perfect westerly swell creating green and breaking waves, mostly around 3 feet.
As the current strengthened the race was intimidating at times. The waves came from all
angles, slapping me in the face and shooting me out in different directions. I would be happily surfing and suddenly find myself blasting into the eddy.
A few times I sat out ahead of the race, letting my boat slip back into the waves and was struck by the beauty of our home and the privilege of playing in our dynamic waters.
I also thought about fear. In a place where the sound of the water and the energy of the waves evoke fear, sitting, watching and breathing centers me. Then I can recognize if there is a real danger present or just a lot of moving water which gets my adrenalin up.
As we embark on our trip, fear of the unknown surfaces.
In Sanskrit, the sacred language in which the Yoga Sutras were written, Abhinidvesa is the word for fear. Fear clouds our perception and we fail to see reality. Even the wisest person suffers from fear because it is instinctual- fear of death. The practice of Yoga helps to overcome all types of fear, through techniques for relaxing the body, controlling the breath and quieting the mind, perception clears.

Thoughts on Firsts May 3

Ahhh…finally getting this whole blog thing figured out! Just made some last tweaks to the skooks video, and thought I’d write up a short post. Had an interesting email exchange with a friend and fellow coach (he is also a college professor), Jonathan Walpole, about the issue of claiming to be “the first” to achieve a goal related to outdoor pursuits. He feels that to claim such a thing is pretty silly, as a lot of the routes attempted in more modern times by people using modern equipment, have most likely been done for one reason or another by indigenous peoples of the area, with far simpler “equipment.” Also, as many outdoor adventurers are not interested in fame or money (motivated by the experience of living and traveling in remote parts of the planet, and often moving via human-power), lots of routes have been successfully traveled, but not announced to the public. I am in total agreement and added that: to make the achievement of the goal (unless survival depends on it) the focus for, let’s say, a kayak expedition, can certainly create a dangerous attitude regarding risk assessment, concern for other group members, and detract from truly appreciating the area which we’re fortunate enough to be experiencing. It was an interesting exchange and I appreciated what he had to say about it all. I should also add that Jon is an incredible resource of information and experience, and that for anyone contemplating a kayak journey, Jon has probably researched (if not paddled) the route and would have valuable input.

Our conversation was an interesting opportunity for me to examine my goals for the trip and to once again, consider everyone else’s. Also a reminder of how careful one must be when presenting themselves, rather personally, to the public. We probably all are guilty of judging others (and their motivations) at times without really knowing them. Add to that the medium of the written word with its absence of facial expressions, tone of voice, etc., and I think it becomes easy to be misunderstood. It’s kind of a new concept for me to realize that once something has been posted on a blog, there is the potential for lots of people—many who don’t know you--to make their own interpretation of who you are and what you are about—and this can work both ways! Anyway, all interesting food for thought.

It was unexpectedly emotional to wrap up our boats for shipping last weekend and see them departing on our adventure weeks before we will!! Kind of symbolic, too, as that’s what will probably happen throughout our whole adventure—but usually by only 7 feet!

-10 days to go testing our signal

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three

there's been a lot of thought around 3
matt and djuna born this trip sometime ago
they were 2, simply put
they asked me to join as a third
to me it's significant.

a 1 person trip is a different purpose of a trip altogether
2 is an intimate trip with more risk than 1
3 provides much aid, but not so hard to move the group
4 now is that group, different agendas come about
5 continues the path to many in a group,
eventually that group splits back to 3.

3 is a magic number
3 provides a tie break in decisions
3 allows 2 to go in the woods protected from bears
3 breaks up camp duties a little easier
3 is a prime number
3 resonates with the universe well
3 boats allows more special foods to be brought
3 sets pace while 2 and 1 talk
3 can navigate while 2 helps 1 if injured
3 makes boat carrying a sure lot easier
3 is easier on the mind than 2
3 can make a triangle, where 2's only a line
3 lines are in a peace symbol

notes from Nikki - Homer AK

it's definitely feeling like a late spring
last saturday had snow and roads were icey, but melted by afternoon
they are forecasted for light snow again tonight
the lake is thawed and shorebird migration is next weekend.

should be pretty nice, hoping it'll be nice, by early June
but it has been late, people were skiing in Alyeska last weekend
Alyeska is south of Anchorage
it was some of the best spring skiing they've had!

no real trends in daily weather
they were affected by bad storms from the Mongolian desert
and some fires in Russia caused some haze
the weather service has 30-day forecast out of Anchorage

she thought we'd be fine but would need some warm clothes
no snow on beaches but does melt off if so.

they are ready for some warm weather
right now the grass is just starting to grow in town
there are no flowers
hopefully by June!!

I told her we'd try to stop in when there.

Nikki - a volunteer at Homer AK Chamber of Commerce

the boats are wrapped and in a container to Alaska!

Here at Enzo's

As we get closer to departure, all the small details are falling into place. We set aside this weekend as a trip planning and prep session, as well as a time for Matt and I to connect with Bridget and Ryder so they would know a bit more about the couple their loved Mathew would be spending six weeks paddling with. Mathew, Bridget, and Ryder came up on Friday and showed up at Scott and Amy’s cabin at dusk. When we came by the cabin, Ryder was totally excited to be on Orcas and was launching his little foam rockets around the place.

As the night went on, I witnessed Bridget’s constant patience and attentive parenting of Ryder. I also saw yet another aspect of Mathew- his caring for Bridget and Ryder and attention to both of their needs.

We all met up again for coffee and trail mix on our porch Saturday morning. We made more lists, including a layout of the day, and gear-to-be-purchased list. Ryder seemed to like our place even though we don’t have trains or toys.

Matt installed foot bars in my boat and Mathew’s, we did some last gel coat repairs, went through kit and took photos.

I can’t believe we will soon leave this island our present lives and routines, to live out of these three slender and beautiful boats.

Photo taken from the beach on Waldron Island on our epic Round San Juan County trip 3/22-24/08. This what 30knots of wind does in the San Juan waters.

orcas planning weekend

Hey Guys!! Very excited about the weekend, seeing you all, being on island again, planning our trip, hanging out with B and Ryder. The forecast looks amazing too, finally some warm temps!

So here's a list of some of the things to discuss -

• food review on complex carbs, meal options, spice kit
  
• chart work updates
  
• radio transmitter registered messages and email list.
  
• medical kit and look at other things needed there
  
• parkas and sunscreen!
  
• building chart cases
  
• safety kit - personal and group
  
• extraneous gear - tarps, ropes, gun, water filter spare
  
• our strategy for raising awareness - yahoo groups, lisa johnson emails out
  
• sea kayaker article - i have some thoughts on a cool follow up for the trip, for awareness
  
• shop gear - paddle, spray deck, ibex
• cameras - 4GB cards, extra batteries, charger compatibility
  
• radio - look at my m88, charger compatibility
• update my boat hydration system
• bug repellent
• build foot brace for Djuna and Mathew's boats
• books we can bring, share, read
• WKC presentation slots. other symposium openings
• blog review at the shop or library
  
• SKOOKS video tweak
• photoshop on the mac
  

Wow, big list, plenty of time. So we'll run into Friday night at Scott's or if you guys run late, we'll see you around 9:30am Saturday.

Have a great day!

seattlesupplies

hey djuna, matt - picked up supplies this weekend for chart cases. I ended up getting 3 yards of 12mil vinyl, only $6.50 per yard. we might be able to get over 6 cases out of it, big ole role! that marine supply store is amazing, would be perfect to kit out a van! also picked up the angle aluminum, hand knobs and carriage bolts (zinc though) for the foot braces.

read through the Lonely Planet tonight, Alaska with a section on the Kenai. talked about the entire west coast having razor clams. we need to tie a shovel to someone's back deck. can't wait to eat some of that goodness. still thinking about food ideas, options, changes...

back to personal lists and gear, made the hard decision today to leave the uggs home!

took my brother, his girlfriend and B to Lake Union on Saturday, a bit of snow but got a few miles in, they all seemed to love it, and raced after passing boat wakes - they all felt surf a wee bit!

snowing in the pacific northwest

it's April 19th. it's still snowing.
not concerned so much about the weather here
a late spring here...late spring in the Kenai.
late snow melt, late foliage, late berries, late salmon runs.
sure hope some warm weather comes soon.
otherwise we'll have snow on the beaches!

Homer, AK			High / Low (°F)	Precip. %
Today Apr 19		Cloudy	44°/33°	20 %
Sun Apr 20		Rain / Snow Showers	45°/34°	40 %
Mon Apr 21		Rain / Snow Showers	44°/35°	60 %
Tue Apr 22		Showers	47°/35°	60 %
Wed Apr 23		Sunny	48°/36°	10 %
Thu Apr 24		Few Showers	48°/36°	30 %
Fri Apr 25		Mostly Sunny	46°/36°	20 %
Sat Apr 26		Partly Cloudy	46°/36°	20 %
Sun Apr 27		Partly Cloudy	45°/36°	20 %
Mon Apr 28		Rain / Snow Showers	47°/35°	60 %

a pending date

Countdown!

This is the calendar I used before launching off to Central America last winter. It was fortuitous to find it when I was organizing for this trip. It reminded me to let the lists grow, keep prioritizing them, but be aware that they don't really get "completed".

Less than 1 month officially. Still much to do. ;)

hola amigos - a new post!

getting off the ground. right now using as a message board.
lots of changes can be made to the site, even the blog name.
all relatively easy, we can talk on orcas.

b and i are spinning moby right now, she's making jewlery.

i got the angle aluminum today for explorer and wicked little 'kap lv.
matt, i only got 1" zinc 10/24 carridge bolts, if you can find stainless.
will get chart case material next week.
got my icon m88 radio. trying to figure out what channel is weather. :)
also got new bladder tubing for on-water hydration, should be set there.
i'm ending with 10L dromedary for the group, and guessing the 6L will be day use.

i'm sorted with most other gear nicely.
still am on the fence totally on footwear- i want the uggs! say there's room?
got a great rubber sealine 30L for front of foot pegs.
i'm pysched for extra storage and to have a little weight there.

am thinking about beans, lentils, complex carbs, fats a lot.
who's getting wicked olive oil. is gee worth the space?
and also thinking on-water food options, trailmix blends still seem best.
djuna, thanks for that article from your PDX friend,
super helpful and also makes a ton of sense for what you feel on the water.
he recommends a daily multivitamin due to lack of fruits/veggies.

those are things top of my mind.
scotty and i are running middle middle tonight!!
it's running fast and ice cold!
looking forward to dynamic water.

on island 4/25.
gran sonrisa.
ciao.

practicing google course following

this map is out of gmaps.

Here's where they slept on May 27th


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ourowntwohands - alaska bound

man alaska is BIG.

and FAR AWAY too.

and it's looking not overly warm.
could be snow on the ground when we start.

I pulled this from an Alaskan Almanac

we're going around that Kenai
the Neopolitian looking weird Italy.
6-7 weeks, 400-500 miles

we're shipping boat april 28th
flying to anchorage may 16th
fixing, packing, buying, visiting...

launching CCW may20th
that's the plan as of now
depends on a lot of things really
the fascinating thing about this trip
it's just a plan put into motion.