last photo batch

Take a look at my photo set from Petersburg to Glacier Bay and my return
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44629959@N00/sets/72157601659864546/
I'm enjoying wearing a different set of clothes today

Seattle

We arrived back in warm, sunny, Seattle summer last night. So happy to be back, but this also means that my trip is really over. I was happy to see that the kayak arrived back safely. Also, was able to figure out how to fly with all my gear (had to dispose of remaining camp fuel, wasn't sure if security would confiscate my bear spray).

In Juneau, we saw the Mendenhall glacier and then did a boat trip to Tracy Arm to see the North and South Sawyer glaciers. While we were at Mendenhall, we missed seeing it calve because we were watching bears. The Sawyer glaciers more than made up for that, we got to see lots of calving (parts of the face of the glacier falling off into the water becoming icebergs). It was very exciting. The ferry trip to Ketchikan was just what we'd hoped for, so we were a bit bummed we didn't get to do the whole trip, but most happy to be together and to get to see some of the area I'd paddled.

Juneau

Hurrah my parents are here! So great to see them. They were of course bummed to hear that we couldn't take the ferry back as planned, but we're all very happy to see each other and have figured out other ways to enjoy our time together. We'll spend an extra day in Juneau, then take the ferry to Ketchikan and fly back to Seattle from there on Friday when we would have arrived on the ferry. so at least we'll get a bit of the ferry experience. Today we took the tram up to the top of Mt Roberts for cloudy views.

got help

Thanks for those of you who replied, it looks like I've worked out a plan to send the kayak back ahead of me so I can fly back with my parents if that's our best option. Still haven't gotten in contact with them. Huge thanks to Alicia and the Keightley family.
Amanda

kayak pickup assistance

Hi Everyone, please disregard if you're not able to help me figure out an alternate plan for picking up my kayak in Bellingham.

This is a general call for help for anyone that could meet my kayak in Bellingham at 8am on Tues Aug 21. So the ferry we were supposed to take back to Seattle has broken down. I haven't been able to get in touch with my parents yet to figure out what to do instead. One possibility is flying back, but sending the kayak on the ferry that leaves tomorrow afternoon. I've found a friendly family in the hostel I'm staying in that will escort it as they take the ferry back that leaves tomorrow afternoon, but I need someone to meet that at the ferry to pick it up. If you can help me out, send me an email with your phone number by 9am (seattle time) Saturday, so that I can work things out with them before we're locked out of the hostel at 9am Seattle time.

thanks, Amanda

Hoonah

Hired a boat to take me and the kayak to the town of Hoonah (across Icy Strait) where I'll catch a ferry back to Juneau tomorrow. My parents meet me on Sunday, and then we'll take the ferry back to Bellingham together (provided they fix the current mechanical problems that have our ferry out of commission, eek).
I think I'll keep posting to the blog until I'm back in Seattle because it's so much fun.
I'm so happy to be done, what a great ending.

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BARTLETT COVE I'M DONE!TOUR BOAT PICKUP SO I DIDN'T HAVE TO PADDLE ALL THE WAY BACK,PLUS I GOT TO SEE THE WEST ARM

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58 47.106 136 04.212 GARFORTH ISL SUNNY STREAK CONTINUES,WIND REVERSED SO STILL AGAINST ME HEADING BACK.INTERGLACIAL WOOD

Glacier Bay map

Neil here--I found a Glacier Bay park map online which shows the
retreat of Muir Glacier since the 1800s and helped me understand the
last few updates from Amanda better--here it is:
http://www.wideview.it/travel/Alaska_98/Alaska/pagine/gbay_map_big.jpg

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59 00.041 136 09.674 WOLF PT I DID IT!TODAY I PADDLED TO MUIR GLACIER,MY GOAL.I FEEL AWESOME.STAY TUNED,STILL HAVE TO GET BACK

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59 03.714 136 10.792 RIGGS GLACIER MORAINE SUNNY,WINDY & AMAZING.BIG VIEWS OF SEVERAL GLACIERS.NORTHERN LIGHTS

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58 49.205 136 05.296 MUIR PT THIS WAS THE END OF THE GLACIER WHEN JOHN MUIR WAS HERE.SUN,AFTERNOON WIND.SEA LION CACOPHONY

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58 38.970 135 59.385 LELAND ISL NEW PACKING PUZZLE WITH BEAR CANNISTERS.GLORIOUS DAY.SAW A BEAR SWIM BETWEEN ISLANDS

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58 27.086 135 53.662 BARTLET COVE,GLACIER BAY PARK HDQRTS!SEA OTTERS.SHOWERS(RAIN & BATH)

new photos

Neil here. Just got another memory card in the mail, and so there is
new Alaska amazingness on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44629959@N00/sets/72157601293174637/

I'm so glad I'm not a salmon right now.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44629959@N00/1045290484/in/set-72157601293174637/

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58 20.291 135 32.481 PLEASANT ISL EATING UP THE MILES.GREAT WEATHER.SO MANY SALMON

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58 18.173 135 04.543 HOWARD BAY BUSY & CHOPPY CROSSINGS.RAIN. WHALE

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58 22.446 134 43.750 PT LOUISA HAD TO WAIT FOR THE TIDE TO COME IN SEVERAL TIMES,EXERCISE IN CHANNEL MORPHOLOGY.DOZENS OF EAGLES

berries

forgot to mention last night that salmonberries growing on muskeg are particularly delicious, whereas blueberries on muskeg are not very good at all

Juneau!

I bet you were wondering what I was doing paddling up to the head of an inlet. Well, there's a handy tram car and track to do the mile long portage over to Oliver Inlet. Had a bit of adventure with that this morning because I could not get the tram up the first steep hill. I even tried unloading everything and carrying it up the hill and then pushing the tram empty. Still couldn't do it. Fortunately, there was a smaller tram waiting at the other end and it all worked out.

 

I made it to Juneau! very exciting, and it's now been 3 months. hard to believe. the last leg is just icing on the cake, but I'll set off tomorrow afternoon on my way to Glacier Bay. This last leg was a great one. In addition to whales and bears, I met some great people along the way and had more good weather than bad. Saw so many whales because this is a big feeding area for them. Most of the sightings were binocular distance, rather than photo distance, but it was very cool. I could look across Seymour Canal and see 6 spouts at one time (I could see them where they contrasted with the green trees along the shore). Admiralty Inlet's Tlingit name translates to Fortress of the Bears, which is why I saw so many bears there. I saw as many from campsites as from the bear observatory, but enjoyed it much more when I felt like I was watching from a safe vantage point. And they are all brown bears there.

 

Should sign off now as there are other hostel-ers waiting to use the computer. Happy trails, Amanda

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58 05.798 134 18.936 SEYMOUR CANAL CABIN I LOVE TO WATCH BEARS FISH,EAT,SHARE FISH WITH THEIR CUBS & RUN FROM A SAFE,BEAUTIFUL PLACE

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57 53.678 134 15.615 WINDFALL ISL EARLY START TO ESCAPE BEING MUDDED IN.GOT MY PACK CRK BEAR OBS PERMIT FOR TOMORROW!WHALES & GERMANS

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57 39.545 134 06.010 MOLE HBR SUN MORE WHALES GREAT DAY.THINGS NOT GOING MY WAY TONIGHT

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57 25.553 133 55.597 GAMBIER BAY 15 MILES OF CROSSINGS,ISLAND HOPPING,GLASSY CALM. SEA LIONS FEEDING & MANY LOUD HUMPBACKS WOOHOO!

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57 14.563 133 32.282 WHITNEY ISL SO MUCH HAPPIER WHEN ITS NOT RAINING.MANY EAGLES,FLOCKS OF SEABIRDS

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FARRAGUT BAY 57 06.248 133 11.013 RAIN RAIN RAIN FOG WHALE GOODNIGHT

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56 58.114 132 49.199 THOMAS BAY BOAT IS ALL FIXED UP.HAD SUN & CLOUDS MOST OF DAY,RAIN TO CAP IT OFF.SCORED A CABIN AGAIN

Petersburg, day 2

I've had a very pleasant day, got my errands done, visited the local museum, ate fresh foods and went out for coffee with a local minister who is an avid kayaker. It's getting to be close enough to the end that I'm starting to work out those logistics, and even to think about finding a place to live for September. Somewhat tricky to do with only brief periods of phone and internet access. And yet I still have three weeks left which is quite a lot of paddling. I'm excited to be on my way again. Hope all is well with all of you.

Petersburg

Even if it's only been a few days, I'm happy to be in a town again. Camping in the rain is starting to get to me a bit. Petersburg has Scandanavian roots, with Norwegian style painting on many tourist focused buildings. I've decided to stay for two nights, to have a couple repairs done on my boat (actually they probably got them done this afternoon, shortly after I dropped off the boat; I'm quite glad the local shipwrights were willing to take such a small job) and because I felt like I didn't have enough time in Wrangell, getting in late afternoon and having to take off in the morning before things opened up.

I'll be mailing off the latest set of photos tomorrow, and when they go up, they're going to be great. I took enough photos of bears and icebergs that there have to be some spectacular ones in there.

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56 46.747 132 37.909 NORTH OF LECONTE BAY WENT TO SEE LECONTE GLACIER,WOW!PADDLING THROUGH ICEBERGS IS EXCITING & BEAUTIFUL

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56 44.095 132 33.606 CAMP ISL,NEAR LECONTE BAY PETROGLYPHS IN MORNING,ICEBERGS IN AFTERNOON.BIG MTN VIEWS CAME OUT FROM HIDING

Wrangell

In town again, out of the rain and clean and comfy. I find the pace of Wrangell much more congruous coming in from being solo than I did Ketchikan (though I had a great time there). Wrangell is small and slow, and there's only a little tourist infrastructure. Actually it's quite annoying because the one grocery store in town closes at 6, but I thought I had until 7. But I'll be in Peterberg in a few days and can get more perishables there. And the library is open from 7-9 on Tuesday night. I'm off again with an early tide tomorrow to cross Dry Strait (part of the delta of the Stikine River that dries at low tide).

 

Marine weather forecasts in BC were only for 2 days ahead, but in Alaska they do a full week forecast. It's quite depressing when the entire week ahead has rain predicted.

 

 

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56 21.131 132 07.14 WRANGELL ISL NOTICED FRONT BULKHEAD WAS BROKEN THIS MORNING,NOT SURE HOW THAT HAPPENED.TOO RAINY TO TRY TO FIX NOW

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56 13.52 131 55.91 BLAKE ISL GOT TO SEE ANAN BEAR OBSERVATORY!BLACK BEAR CUB CLIMBING A TREE.GRIZZLY EATING HEADS OFF SALMON.AWESOME!

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56 03.680 131 58.065 FROSTY BAY MORE RAIN THAN SUN.SAW PORPOISES TWICE.THE PROSPECT OF A CABIN IS A GREAT MOTIVATOR,I WIN AGAIN

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55 47.798 132 09.720 VIXEN HARBOR OUT OF WAVY WATERS BY AFTERNOON.TODAY,WHEN NOT EXPECTING ONE,I FIND A CABIN,GO FIGURE

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55 38.982 132 12.274 NO CABIN COVE WIND CLEARED FOG BY MID-MORNING,WAVY CROSSING,WAVIER REST OF THE DAY

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55 28.864 131 49.61 PUP ISL SUNNY DAY BUT FOG STUCK IN BEHM CANAL UNTIL 6PM,PUT OFF BIG XING TIL TOMORROW.MANY SPORTFISHING BOATS ABOUT

new photos

Neil here. This is a special guest post just to let everyone know that
there's a bunch of new photos to see:

Amanda's from mainland BC
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44629959@N00/sets/72157600841741711/

Amanda's from Haida Gwaii
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44629959@N00/sets/72157600842125495/

Neil's from Haida Gwaii
http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilbanas/sets/72157600859241714/

you can also skip straight to the bears:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilbanas/832300384/in/set-72157600859241714/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44629959@N00/822337435/in/set-72157600842125495/

Ketchikan

Given the rain, I pushed the extra distance yesterday to make it to Ketchikan a day early to stay someplace warm and dry. There were four cruise ships in the harbor as I approached, and I heard that there are 6 arriving today, so it's a bit of a sensory overload. But my senses were so happy last night in clean, dry clothes, after a shower, going out to dinner. Yum. I ordered crab because I had turned down an offer of free crabs a couple days before from some friendly folks on a motorboat who had too many. In order not to smell attractive to bears, I don't want to cook fish while camping, but it sure was tempting.

Today is beautiful and sunny, but instead of paddling I'm doing errands in town. But I also am leaving my wet things out to dry. Tomorrow I head out again.

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55 13.44 131 09.38 ALAVA BAY HARD RAIN LAST NIGHT,LIGHT TODAY,HARD AGAIN TONIGHT.CAMPING IN SHELTER BY CABIN OCCUPIED BY FRIENDLY FOLKS

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54 57.168 130 56.451 FOGGY BAY LUCKY TO HAVE GREAT WEATHER WHILE EXPOSED TO DIXON ENTRANCE.BIG FISH JUMPING.22 FT TIDES

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54 46.246 130 44.279 TONGASS ISL,ALASKA!WAITED OUT THICK FOG & THUNDERSHOWERS THIS MORNING,STILL MADE BIG XING B4 WINDS INCREASED.TIRED

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54 38.311 130 26.041 MASKELYNE ISL MOTOR BOATS OUT ENJOYING PERFECT SUMMER EVENING.BUGS DROVE ME INTO MY TENT,BUT VIEW STILL MAGNIFICEN

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54 25.326 130 28.878 TREE BLUFF HAPPY TO BE ON MY WAY AGAIN.SUN GLORIOUS SUN!CAMPING ON BEACH WITH LOTS OF TRACKS,LISTENING TO BELLBUOY

back in Prince Rupert

I took the ferry back to Prince Rupert today and will set out north again tomorrow. First I'll fill in some of the details on our Haida Gwaii trip. Gwaii Haanas is the giant park in the south of the Haida Gwaii. We had a sailboat take us and our kayaks down to the southern part of the park over four days, with stops along the way for at least one amazing activity each day. Then Neil and I paddled on our own for three days, and got the weather window we needed to paddle out to Sgang Gwaay (also known as Ninstints or Anthony Island among others), which is the village site of the Kungit Haida, with the most remaining poles and house remains in the park. It was spectacular and beautiful.
And then yesterday we waited around for hours for the speed boat that would take us back up, and then it sped us back up (with fine weather), splashing all the way, just in time to make the last small ferry of the day back over to the town where we had a hostel reservation, but after the taxi in town decided to stop for the night, but we made it there eventually, and I made my ferry back here this morning and hopefully Neil made his flight back to Seattle this afternoon.

Next city stop is Ketchikan. Hope summer is treating you all well, today it actually feels like summer weather here.

SMS from 881631611816@msg.iridium.com

52 09.757 131 06.636 STORMY MORNING TURNED TO SUNNY AFTERNOON.QUIET PADDLE EXPLORING UP ROSE INLET

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SAME CAMP,SGANG GWAAY DAY TRIP.KELP,URCHINS,EAGLES,PUFFINS,SEAWOLF,RAVENS,BEARS,GUILLEMOTS,FROG,SOME CARVED ON MORTUARY POLES

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52 07.646 131 09.828 MORESBY ISL BETTER WEATHER IN TIME FOR KAYAKING & CAMPING.LAZY AFTERNOON ON BEACH,HELLO MR BEAR

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52 08.994 131 05.189 ROSE HARBOR LAST DAY ON SAILBOAT.BIOLUMINESCENCE IN HEAD.

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52 21.135 131 20.740 BURNABY NARROWS HOT SPRINGS BLACK BEAR ON BEACH.BLACK BASS COOKED IN KELP FOR DINNER.MORE RAIN

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52 34.684 131 26.002 TIDEPOOLING.NOT SEASICK.HALIBUT FOR LUNCH AND DINNER

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52 54.680 131 38.255 LIME GREEN SAILBOAT,SEASICK SEAS.TOTEM POLES BECOMING NURSE LOGS

off to the ferry

Neil and I take the ferry to the Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii) today, We'll be there until July 10, sailing, kayaking and seeing the sights. I'm still planning on sending blog updates, but maybe not every day. Yesterday we went to the Museaum of Northern British Columbia, which had some great artifacts, art and history. Sun is out today, hurrah!

Prince Rupert, Day 3

Enjoyed puttering around Prince Rupert for the past couple days. I've done a few errands, read in a local cafe and generally taken it easy. Tonight I'm going to the movies; that's a good sign that Prince Rupert is large enough to have a movie theater. My guidebook says its population is 16,000. I've heard before that it was a pretty depressed town, previously a boom town, but it seems to be doing well enough. People have been friendly and I've enjoyed poking around.

Filling in the gap

I'm still not sure why messages after Bella Bella didn't post, but were still telling me that the message was sent. I think it has to do with reception. The thing about satellite phones is that while they're supposed to work anywhere, they need a clear view of the sky. And the coast here is steep with tall trees that don't make for very good reception while in camp. So I'll post the missing messages below (roughly, I write them out beforehand to get in the right ballpark for number of characters).

June 13
N52 12.878 W128 13.136
Horsfall Island
picked up my resupply box in Shearwater
bear hang much heavier
on my way in new place
rain stopped when I reached camp

June 14
N52 20.910 W 128 23.622
Lady Douglas Island
paddled hard
exposed sections, wind picked up in afternoon
rewarded with cabin, thank you Heiltsuk!
whooping cranes

June 15
N52 30.725 W128 17.102
Susan Island
perfect weather, 16 ft tides
curious seals
sunset behind island at 9:45 but more to go

June 16
N52 35.449 W128 31.174
Klemtu
paddling going smoothly, will have long day tomorrow
ravens around town are noisy
bursts of eagle

Prince Rupert

Well I've made it to Prince Rupert and the comforts of town. I'll be here until Sunday, waiting for Neil to join me, when we'll take a ferry out to the Queen Charlotte Islands, so I'll be posting more in the next few days. Until then, Neil has posted my photos from the Gulf Islands to Port Hardy at http://www.flickr.com/photos/44629959@N00/sets/72157600443890231/

Highlight of today's paddle was watching a group of at least six otters (river otters I think) play in the water. When they saw me, they disappeared, but then I saw them next watching me from shore.

SMS from 881631611816@msg.iridium.com

QUIET DAY BEING A TOURIST,READING,PLAYING SOLITAIRE

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54 11.632 130 13.315 NORTH PACIFIC CANNERY MUSEUM BUNKHOUSE-WILL STAY HERE TOMORROW,TAKE A TOUR,WAIT OUT A FORECAST GALE.SALMONBERRIES!

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53 59.812 130 14.988 PORCHER ISL SUN!COMBINATION OF WINDS,CURRENTS,ISLANDS & SKEENA RIVER MADE FOR WEIRD WATER THIS AFTERNOON

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53 49.947 130 01.709 PITT ISL MORE SUN THAN RAIN.HUMPBACK WENT CLOSE BY MY LUNCH SPOT.DID I MENTION HOW DRAMATIC THIS LANDSCAPE IS?

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53 40.17 129 45.45 KLEWNUGGIT INLET LAZY CABIN MORNING WAITING FOR FLOOD CURRENT,THEN ZOOM,GOT HERE FAST.TOMORROW EBB TAKES ME NORTH

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SORRY IF GAP IN MSGS,DIDNT KNOW,WAS SENDING DAILY SAME AS BEFORE.PHONE GLITCH?WILL LOOK INTO IT.ALLS WELL

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53 33.357 129 34.317 LOWE INLET CABIN ORCAS BEFORE BREAKFAST.LOTS OF CURRENT ASSIST TO GET ME HERE.DRYING OUT & WARMING UP

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53 18.989 129 07.817 GRIBBELL ISL RAIN CONTINUES & SO DO I.PADDLING COMPANION MOTIVATED ME FOR A LONG DAY,THEN HE WENT FURTHER

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BUTEDALE POURING THIS MORNING WHEN TIME TO LEAVE,OPTED TO STAY WARM & DRY IN FORMER MESSHALL.STILL RAINING HARD

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53 09.612 128 41.734 BUTEDALE CANNERY GHOST TOWN.IN LONG STEEP-SIDED CHANNELS PART,SO MANY WATERFALLS & HARD TO LAUNCH NEAR LOW THIS AM

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52 55.290 128 29.942 GREEN INLET WHALE SIGHTING!SMALL HUMPBACK,MAY HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE SOUNDS THAT WOKE ME UP LAST NIGHT.FOG,LIGHT RAI

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52 08.252 128 08.755 BELLA BELLA 10 HR FERRY RIDE,CAMPING BY LANDING,ON MY WAY AGAIN TOMORROW.RAINY

Port Hardy, day 3

The welcome to Port Hardy sign lists fishing, logging and mining as the town industries. There's a bit of tourism, especially surrounding the ferry comings and goings, but there's not tons to entertain oneself with for 3 days. Today I did some more errands, walking around in the rain, reading and puttering. Looking forward to being on my way again tomorrow, but happy for the rest stop.

What other interesting tidbits to pass along. Most of the fishing boats between Texada Island and Johnstone Straight were prawn boats, with traps - which is great because the sustainable seafood guides list trap caught prawns as the happy kind of shrimp to get. Not that I could get local prawns at the restaurant I ate at in Powell River. Now there are a lot of different kinds of fishing boats, and a cannery.

Port Hardy, day 2

I've spent today doing low key town things like switching from the expensive hotel by the marina to the hostel in the middle of town, getting ferry reservations for me and my kayak for Tuesday morning and figuring out the logistics of that (ferry terminal is across the bay and of course doesn't have an easy place to approach by kayak). The local kayak tour guy is great and is letting me store my kayak at his shop, driving me to the ferry Tuesday morning and then when I brought my boat over, he let me wash out my gear and helped me touch up the gelcoat on the bottom of my boat where it's been scratched up already.

What else to write about when I don't have to limit it to 160 characters? One thing that I'm bummed I missed along the way is Robson Bight. This is the reserve where orcas are known to go rub on the rocks to get rid of parasites. The morning I was first going to cross Johnstone Straight, it was too foggy, and so continuing north and crossing over where I did, I missed Robson Bight. I looked across the way, but didn't see any orcas. Oh well, hopefully I'll have another chance to see orcas by kayak.

Tomorrow is another town day, so I'll have a change to ramble more then. Amanda

Port Hardy

Greetings from Port Hardy! I've already had a shower, done laundry, called my parents and eaten a non-camp-type meal. I'll likely be here for a few days. I decided to take the ferry for the next leg, from here to Bella Bella, and I think the next one isn't for a few days (well there's one tonight, but that doesn't leave me enough time to get my town errands done). Sorry to the purists out there, but I decided to use the excuse of the combo of spending extra time in the San Juans with Warren and needing to meet Neil in Prince Rupert by the end of June, to avoid Cape Caution. I've always said that if I wasn't comfortable doing this part alone, I could take the ferry. Maybe some day I'll come back and do this leg, preferably not solo.

Town errands to do. Hope all is well with all of you.
Amanda

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50 43.478 127 23.848 PEEL ISL PADDLING THROUGH KELP FORESTS ANTICIPATING COMFORTS OF TOWN TOMORROW BITS OF SUN FEEL SO GOOD

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50 35.943 127 01.565 HADDINGTON ISL MUCH LESS WINDY.STOPPED IN ALERT BAY TO SHOP AND SEE U'MISTA MUSEUM POTLATCH MASKS

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WEATHER DAY,JOHNSTONE STRAIGHT TOO WINDY,IS CALMER NOW SO HOPING GOOD TO GO TOMORROW.LOW ON TP,OUT OF CHEESE

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50 31.931 126 36.501 W CRACROFT ISL ONE MONTH,WOW! CRUISE SHIPS PASSING.WINDY,SLOW GOING,BIT OF RAIN

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50 30.848 126 17.631 BROKEN ISLS SAW MY FIRST BEAR TODAY,SAFELY FROM MY BOAT WHILE IT WAS HAVING LOW TIDE LUNCH.FOGGY,RAINY DAY

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50 26.810 125 58.325 YORKE ISL LAST OF THE RAPIDS,WHIRLPOOL,IN THE MORNING,BACK ON REGULAR SCHEDULE.PORPOISES,FISHFARMS,CLEARCUTS

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50 25.723 125 39.594 FITTLETON PT SIMILAR TIMING ISSUE WITH GREENE PT RAPIDS,HAD A BEER WITH SOME LOGGERS TO PASS THE TIME,FLAT CALM

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50 26.61 125 23.63 E THURLOW ISL TIMING TOUGH FOR DENT RAPIDS SLACK B4 EBB.WAIT ALL DAY,PADDLE IN EVENING.LUCKILY NOT DARK BY 10 HERE

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50 23.572 125 08.075 BIG BAY,STUART ISL WAIT ALL DAY FOR SLACK FOR YUCULTA RAPIDS,WATER CALM BUT WEIRD.GORGEOUS DAY AND PLACE

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50 17.808 125 04.662 N RENDEZVOUS ISL SWAM IN CASSEL LAKE THIS MORNING.ITS WATERFALL IS COOL.TIDE FLOODS TO THE SOUTH HERE

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50 11.926 124 50.865 TEAKERNE ARM THE SUNSHINE COAST LIVED UP TO ITS NAME,THEN I PASSED DESOLATION SOUND... HUGE RED PLANKTON BLOOM

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49 57.534 124 43.962 DINNER ROCK,NOT ON IT,N OF IT.PERFECT WEATHER EXCELLENT JELLYFISH VIEWING SEASTARS ARE SMALLER HERE

Powell River

After a long slog (lots of wind in the morning, that'll teach me to get an early start), I made it to Powell River last night. I stayed in a hotel, did laundry and am now finishing up on errands before taking off.
A couple notes on the SMS coords, I'm going to drop the N and W from now on, I think you get the idea. Also, my dad says that google Earth prefers degrees, minutes, seconds instead of decimal minutes. To convert, all you do is take the decimal part and multiply by 60 (for example 39.422 minutes is 39 minutes and 0.422*60 seconds). I'm still going to make you all do the math.
If you want to see photos, Neil has uploaded those from my first two weeks, plus photos he and Dean took of the launch to my Flickr account. Go to
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44629959@N00/

Happy Memorial Day everyone! I miss you and am having an incredible time. Today is another beautiful sunny day.
love, Amanda

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N49 39.422 W124 27.980 GILLIES BAY,TEXADA SHORT PADDLE,SETTING UP FOR LONG ONE TOMORROW.TIME TO READ,WRITE,LISTEN TO BIRDS

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N49 36.216 W124 23.823 TEXADA ISL FORGOT TO SAY JEDEDIAH ISL LAST NIGHT LATE START,WAITING ON THE TIDE TO COME IN.CLOUDY DAY RAIN THREA

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N49 29.934 W124 11.862 5MILE XING YEEHAW! EARLY START.WENT EXTRA LONG TO CAMP AT GREAT SITE.WENT SWIMMING FELT SO GOOD

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N49 16.609 W124 06.287 SOUTHEY ISL ALL TO MYSELF WITH WILDFLOWERS CLOUDY DAY MANY BIRDCALLS THE EAGLE STANDS OUT

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N49 11.023 W123 55.807 NEWCASTLE ISL SHOWER AND BROKEN PAY PHONE - SORRY MOM GLORIOUS DAY, FRIENDLY PEOPLE

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N49 05.655 W123 43.527 PIRATES COVE FOND MEMORIES OF MY 1ST UKC TRIP HAVING FUN WHEN PEOPLE ASK WHERE I CAME FROM

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N48 57.345 W123 34.403 WALLACE ISL WET WET DAY STOP AT STORE WITH SOUP MADE BIG DIFFERENCE I LOVE THESE GULF ISL ROCKS

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N48 49.903 W123 23.598 THATS MY LAT LON SO YOU CAN MAP ME PREVOST ISL GOOD DAY SOME WIND RAIN MUD A SEA LION STINKY FEET

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RACCOON STOLE MY COCOA BUT I GOT MY MUG BACK

beautiful San Juans

I decided to spend the past week exploring the San Juan Islands some
more, so I could paddle with Warren, instead of making our way
together through the Gulf Islands (the Canadian equivalent of the San
Juans). I'm spending tonight at Friday Harbor Labs (thanks FHL!) and
tomorrow am taking the ferry back to Sidney (after having paddled that
crossing twice, I'm figure I'd rather take the ferry to get back on
track if I can, rather than spending the next two days retracing my
steps). but enough about the logistics, you want to hear about my
trip.
It's great. The weather has been amazing. I have been vigilant with
the sunblock, but am still pretty pink on the hands and face. There
have been some winds and currents not in my favor, but on the whole I
feel so lucky weatherwise. There have been eagle and harbor seal
sightings almost every day. Yesterday we watched an eagle and two
turkey vultures feast on what I think was a sea lion carcass. Warren
was great for pointing out wildlife, and was very excited to track a
marten at our camp on Jones Island yesterday. Warren also made great
campfires, which I will hopefully keep up on my own. We ate
excellently and had fierce gin rummy battles. I'll have to get used to
playing solitaire next.

Well I think it's time to switch my laundry. And tomorrow will be an
early morning to get everything to the ferry ahead of time.

O Canada

Well I made it to Sidney, B.C. and I'm here in a hotel for the night. It's been an amazing week, with 5 days of beautiful sunny weather. I set an ambitious plan to make it here by today to meet Warren tomorrow and I did an awesome job getting here. Unfortunately, the %!%^&*ing Canadians wouldn't let my brother Warren across the border to meet me to paddle the next leg. So tonight I'll decide whether to adjust my itinerary to go back to the San Juans and paddle with him there or to go on alone. I've really enjoyed going solo this past week, but the thought of some company definitely helped keep me going, so I'm not sure. It would mean making up the time later, maybe by taking a ferry through a different leg up past Port Hardy. hmmm. I need to go plan. So anyways, if I don't continue blogging for the next week, it means I'm back to the US and so not in my satellite phone minutes. Hope all is well with all of you.

Tomorrow (technically today, it's getting late) is the day!

Note: I may not post here every day. You are not allowed to use this blog as a reason to worry. If I’ve been posting regularly and then I don’t for a bit, it may be because I’m too busy watching whales, too tired at the end of the day or am rationing battery power.

FAQs
1. How long will you take? When are you going/coming back?
I’m leaving Saturday May 5 and plan on taking the ferry back from Juneau on August 21, so that’s about 3.5 months. That should be plenty of time, but if I have a lot of weather days, and feel like I’m running behind, there are a couple bits I could always take a ferry for.

2. Who are you going with?
I’m doing it solo, primarily. Warren is going to meet me for the Sidney to Powell River leg, Neil is going to meet me for a side trip to the Queen Charlotte Islands (I’ll take a ferry out there and back) and my parents are meeting me in Juneau at the end to take the ferry back with me. It’s hard to find someone else who can take 4 months off at the same time I can who would want to spend it kayaking. Yes, I will get lonely. I hope to get better at striking up conversation with people I meet along the way. I really like my time to myself.

3. Where will you sleep/camp?
I’ll be camping most of the way, with some nights in hotels when I stop in towns to resupply, recharge batteries, shower and do laundry. For the first third of the trip, official campsites are easy to come by. After that there are stretches where the chief concern of the day is looking out for the next place to camp. What I’ll be looking for at that point is places that are good to land/launch, aren’t too steep and that bears wouldn’t find appealing.

4. Bears?!? What do you do about bears?
I’ll take reasonable precautions. I’ll hang my food (and I’ll have one bear cannister as a backup stash if a clever bear outwits my super bearhang). I’ll try not to camp in places where there is evidence of bear activity. I’ll be bringing bear spray in case of a close encounter, but I sure hope I don’t have to use it. I’m also really looking forward to stopping at one or both of the bear observatories in Alaska.

5. What will you eat?
I’ll take about 2 weeks of food at a time. It will be camping type foods. Yummy bowls of mush are my specialty. I’ve been dehydrating some. Most towns will have a grocery store for resupply and I’ll stop in a town about weekly, with one stretch of 2 weeks between towns. I will mail myself resupply boxes to where there isn’t good grocery stores to be had. Contact Neil for those addresses and approximate dates.

6. Are you crazy?
No. This is something that I’ve been thinking about doing for a long time, that I’ve put a lot of planning into and that I plan on being very cautious about. Yes, there are risks kayaking in the wilderness, and going solo makes those risks scarier. I’m bringing appropriate safety and communications gear. I’ve been sea kayaking for 13 yrs now. I know there are some worriers out there and I’d like to do everything I can to alleviate them, but probably the best thing I can do is pass along updates and photos when possible.

practicing packing my kayak

email post

I've now set up my blog to post by email. Next I have to buy a satellite phone that I can text to this email address, and maybe a wee bit of my ambitios web plan will actually work.

setting up a blog

Here I go. I'm going to have a website and blog to go with my kayak trip. This is the first test to see how easy it is. The next test will be how to send entries remotely.