WE'RE IN JUNEAU!

LOCATION

Juneau

TOTAL DISTANCE COVERED

PLACES PAST SINCE LAST REPORT

Frederick Sound; Stephen’s Passage; Sundum Glacier; Juneau.

INCIDENTS OF NOTE

The story

After 3 fantastic weeks of Alaskan weather, our last days paddling was in the pouring rain and a building wind, which spurred us to paddle on and arrive in Juneau in at 8pm. With much luck, we managed to locate the wheelchairs and a warm dry garage to sleep in within an hour of arriving….Fran, Pete and Adi slept under a boat, Karen and Suresh beside an old Volvo, Mark and Susi under an airplane, Alan beside a JCB and Tony in the paint shop! (It was some garage!!). Since then we’ve been helped by Sierra who works for ORCA (Outdoor Recreation Community Action), an organization which do similar work to Interventure here in SE Alaska. With their help, the kayaks are now lined up in front of the alter in the local Catholic Church!

We’ve been loaned the church to sort out all our kayaking gear, leaving fairly rancid smells permeating the building – Mass will never be the same again here.

A big thanks to Fathers Tony and Thomas!

The church has also given us a meeting space to review the expedition and collate our learning that we are keen to document and submit to the Expedition Advisory Centre at the Royal Geographical Society as soon as possible and while the things we have learnt are still fresh in our minds. We hope that others embarking on inclusive expeditions can learn from our findings and equipment research.

The good

• We’ve paddled as an inclusive team from Vancouver to Juneau in 2 months and 2 days, approximately 1100 miles.
• Whale watching (within a few metres!) and abundant wildlife (sea lions, seals, otters, bears)
• A bear encounter whilst searching for a campsite, Alan wandered into the woods with dark sunglasses to check out the camping possibilities, and was slow to spot Mr. Bear hiding!)
• Kayaking by icebergs, and then drinking Baileys on icebergs on ice!
• Weeks of stable high pressure in Alaska…if you can cope with kayaking in British weather, you can cope here.

The bad

• Aid’s pressure sores have deteriorated significantly and getting to Juneau fast and directly became a priority for the team. Which meant we missed a side trip to Tracey’s Arm and the glaciers?

Things learned of use to other paddlers

• Alan has found that paddling in bare feet means avoiding trench foot and that feet stay warm.
• Karen has found, with no sensation in her feet, that good protective neoprene boots with gel discs in the heels have provided good protection.
• Take local advice regarding good campsites etc. with caution as it is often given from a boating rather than a kayaking perspective e.g. a sandy beach is a great place for a party but not for camping gear!
• Don’t wear your sunglasses when scouting out woodland campsites.
• Foam seat padding is not sufficient to prevent pressure sores – gel seating has provided pressure free paddling (everyone was envious of Karen’s gel seat as food rations meant that bottoms got progressively bonier and more painful to sit on.
• Personal organization is extremely important to ensure that kit stays dry and functional. As Karen and Adi have not often been able to pack their own kayaks, being systematic and methodical has been very important e.g. using colour-coded dry bags has made it easier for other members of the team to retrieve equipment for them.
• It is important to bring sufficient disability related medical kit as wear and tear is increased in outdoor conditions. You are likely to need 2 to 3 times the amount of catheters and bags that you would at home.
• Dehydration is an issue. It can lead to a build up of sediment and blocked catheters. Washing the catheters out daily with sterile water (brought in ampoules from the UK) proved effective in preventing these problems.

STATE OF THE TEAM

• The original wound from the stone in Adi’s bottom, has deteriorated significantly in the last 2 weeks to a deep open wound. A second wound has developed which is open but shallow and other minor abrasions have occurred on the bony parts of the pelvis. These new wounds have probably occurred due to a change in seating position – additional foam was added to relieve pressure from the original wound, which has raised Adi’s seat in the kayak and caused different pressures to compensate for the original injury. In recognition of these developments, we felt we needed to get to Juneau quickly and directly to minimize further damage.
• As for the other team members, there are various stiff necks, shoulders, backs and tired muscles…and various rashes!
• Karen had a small wound on her ankle due to pressure from a zipper pushing onto the ankle bone against the side of the kayak.
• We are happy to be here!
• We are receiving congratulations from all directions, but due to a very wet and grey Juneau and a church full of kayaking kit to clean and organize, we are focused on getting the final tasks completed before we can really feel the elation.
• As we have arrived in Juneau so much earlier than expected, we're all splitting out on Tuesday to do our own thing. Fran & Pete heading south on the Ferry, Tony Susi, Mark and probably Alan are heading up to do a short road trip to Whitehorse Alaska, Suresh is off to London on Tuesday night, and I fly home on Wednesday and Adi on Friday.

JUNEAU REACHED

From Tony

Juneau in the rain...yes we made it. Thursday night at about eight o’clock in the mist, the weather has finally broken.

The last few days from Petersburg have been pretty cool - endless whales, most literally feet from the kayak, clear blue skies and endless views of glaciers and snow covered Alaskan peaks.

Camping for once has been easy with many beaches and inlets, although bears seem to be a bit thicker on the ground around here.

Juneau seems huge after the weeks away from major cities. Like Ketchikan its cruise liner central, only this time there are freeways and cars to deal with on a grand scale, pretty tiring.

Right now we are holed up in a disused church and motel across the road.
As usual the people we have met have been so good to us and offered help in so many ways it’s quite incredible.

We still have much to do, packing away kayaks to the UK, squaring away kit and arranging onward plans....next couple of days will be very busy I suspect.

Once that’s done it looks like I’ll be heading on up north overland for a bit of a road trip to the interior before heading south to warmer climes....

Thanks for all your mails, sorry I've not been able to answer each one personally - its great to hear what’s happening elsewhere so keep them coming!

BFN Tony Hocking

ALASKA AT LAST

From Tony and Alan (who have temporarily split from the main team).

Its 0905 pacific daylight time, Petersburg, Alaska...what a paddle the last few
days have been since leaving Prince Rupert.

We nearly got swallowed by a humpback whale on the Canadian border before paddling into the States and Ketchikan, capital of the cruise liner world, a bizarre experience.

Suddenly guns are on everybody’s hip, despite the fact that there appears to be nothing to actually shoot. Hell, you can carry a shooter, but just you try and have a
beer outside!

All of a suddenly the scenery has changed dramatically. We are amongst glaciers and Deltas.

We stopped at a forest service cabin on a striking delta, hundreds of square miles of flat grasslands overlooked by the Le Conte Glacier, icebergs and the most amazing northern lights. Brilliant brilliant brilliant.

Bears are now everywhere, the salmon are running and its feeding time on every inlet.

We stopped off at Anan Bay, apparently one of the major salmon runs in Alaska. After leaving the boats at the river mouth and stashing the food, we walked up the creek for maybe 25 minutes...and oh my god theres' bears everywhere, walking across the trail in front, to the river and chewing on the salmon which are literally turning the river silver. At the top is a small hide where we watched the grizzlies from, maybe twenty metres away, just stuffing in salmon like its going out of fashion. In the background some black bears too, waiting their turn when the grizzlies have had there fill.

So now only a few days from Juneau and a lot more work to shift the equipment back home and make plans to move on...busy days ahead.

Keep it country.

OVER THE BORDER

From the main team.

LOCATION

Ketchikan, Alaska

PLACES PAST

Port Simpson, Boston and Proctor Islands, Tongass Passage - Tongass Narrows, Cape Fox, Foggy Point, Boca de Quadra, Pot Cover Cove, Mountain Point

DISTANCE COVERED SINCE LAST REPORT

INCIDENTS OF NOTE

The General

• The team have now arrived in Ketchikan and received a warm welcome from South East Sea Kayaks - Alaska's team, led by Kim Kirby.
• We have spent the past day or so preparing for the next leg of the journey, north to Wrangell and Petersburg.
• Arrival into the USA was fantastic the dockside warmth and greeting from possibly the friendliest immigration team ever was matched by the days of endless sunshine in Alaska's rain capital as we seem to have arrived in a heat wave!
• Suresh has spent most of the time in Ketchikan at the Chiropractor and then doing strange walks up and down the promenade under doctors orders, honest. It is amazing what Kayakers will do to get their lower backs back into shape!
• The team has mastered a new way of fishing which requires very little equipment, in fact no line, or rod, or lures. All that is required is a smile and an English accent to charm a supper off even the most staunch and hardened fisherman.
• Hanging food is still problematical. Finding trees which are tall and strong enough with good clearance is a real challenge so stashing provisions is the way forward.

The bad

• Mark has developed an appreciation of Suresh's sense of humor - Sussie and the rest of the team think that this is bad - Suresh however is basking in his delusion of being the funniest man on the trip.

Things learned of use to other paddlers

• Use a robust plastic sheet to move and deposit waste in an appropriate place (in the inter tidal zone).
• Use a paper bag for depositing used toilet tissue so that it can be burnt later if required.
• Refining moving and handling has enabled the smaller team to cope with the lifting of bats and people.
• Sussie says that fabric plasters are the best plasters she has used for protecting her fingers whilst kayaking, 'they seem to be the only
  ones which stay on!' she states.
• Do all the paperwork and radio ahead when approaching the Alaskan boarder and you will be fine.
• Using a tarp on the beach to keep kit and people clean can make camping on sand bearable even for multiple days.
• We are still using big fabric bags to keep kit off the ground and protecting dry bags, which is working well.
• Don't paddle on the float plane runway! Wave if you do!
• Longer days kayaking, with non lifting rest days have helped the team keep back injuries in check.

STATE OF TEAM

Health

• The mini team is trying to keep up the pace without Tony and Alan.
• Adrian is back on the water and a mix of Duo-Derm and Allevyn(adhesive)
  have kept the wound dry and provided adequate protection.
• Additional padding has been used on Adrian's seat in the form of Tempur Pedic foam - this is working well.
• Using a Doughnut shape piece of padding around a pressure sore has not been effective in this case.
• Suresh is having real difficulties with lower back pain.
• Fran has had more minor back strains, but is surviving.
• All the team are developing allergies to the expedition rations, these are purely emotional.
• Whisky is becoming established as an essential ingredient in the evening's hot-chocolate.
• All have lost weight - some of the team are considering entering slimmer of the year contests in Juneau! Suresh has got a better chance than most of winning.
• We can't get Pete away from posing in the emergency signaling mirror or shop front. So if there is a coastguard incident using mirrors ....

OTHER POINTS

• Bagels are the business for July
• Wraps are so June! who knows what will be in Vogue for August!

Cheery bye from
Suresh and the rest of the Salty rascals in Alaska.

CATCHING UP

Having split from the main group to stay with Adi, Tony and Alan are now in the process of catching up with the main body of the team. Here's their report so far.

LOCATION

Prince Rupert

PLACES PAST

Outside Passage, Bella Bella , Prince Island, Laredo Sound, Aristizabal Island, Caamano Sound, Estevan Group, Banks Island, Porcher Island to Prince Rupert

DISTANCE COVERED SINCE LAST REPORT

INCIDENTS OF NOTE

The good

• After paddling 30 Nmiles in heavy rain and swells with gales we managed to paddle into a pod of killer whales. 8ft high fins coming straight at us coming within 20 Metres of the kayaks, we did not know whether to take photos or start praying but it was a very uplifting moment (never knew I could get Goose bumps on the palms of my hands)!
• Very good camp sites with sandy beaches and views of the Pacific sunsets.
• Lots of bird life, traces of Wolves and Bears at all the camp areas.
• The Humpbacks kept us amused on a rough crossing of Caamano sound.

The bad

• Campsite at Grief point had the highest concentration of the most ferocious Sandflies we have ever encountered, only took us 40 minutes getting on the water the next day due to this.

STATE OF THE TEAM

Health

• Tanned, muscular and toned, well actually, a rickle of bones to be honest.
• On several days we got off the water at midday and Tony developed the ability to sleep all afternoon on the most uneven of rock surfaces.

Morale

• Still trying to find out the plans of the rest of the team, nobody in Prince Rupert seems to know, but hopefully catch up before Juneau.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Can't translate Humpback!

KIT COMMENT

Nigel Dennis kayaks

Poseidon behaved very predictably in bigger seas. Felt very stable in 2M swells and 30 knot winds, gave a very confident ride.

Terra Nova

Cassini tent is proving to be an excellent and very spacious shelter keeping out all the weather.

NOTE FROM TONY

So, arrival in Prince Rupert on the Canada Alaska border after an epic eleven days paddling the outside passage.....the trip we were told not to do. Awesome scenery, wide open pacific paddling, day after day of wind and rain followed by a break in the weather, then more north westerley than you can shake a stick at and endless open crossings.

After looking after Adi in shearwater for ten days and putting him on the ferry to Rupert, we were left with big days out to catch up with the rest of the group who left a week earlier for the North...day after day of 35 mile ten hour paddling sessions has put us pretty close now - tomorow we leave and hope to cross the border sometime midweek.

The hardest paddling so far but also the greatest reward - 8 hours on your butt in the clagg then stumbling through a pod of transient killer whales, 11 in total just metres from our kayaks, their fins towering above us. 15 mile open crossings accompanied by humpback whales and only a distant island 200 meters long for visual in the fog and 2 metre swell - tricky compass work even if I say so myself. Overnighting in a treehouse on Aristazabal Island....the list goes on. For once we have been away from the boat and floatplane traffic that plies the coast and it feels pretty weired being back in civilisation.

Any way, time presses...bye for now, hope everyone is well

Tony

SPEED JOURNEY TO PRINCE RUPERT

LOCATION

Prince Rupert (left Shearwater July 10th, arrived Prince Rupert July 19th).

DISTANCE COVERED SINCE LAST REPORT

PLACES PAST

Seaforth Channel, Klemtu First Nations village via Jackson Narrows, Laredo Channel, Principe Channel, Anger Island, Petrel Channel, Ogden Channel, Lewis Island, Prince Rupert

INCIDENTS OF NOTE

The good

• Humpback whales beside the kayaks in Otter Channel
• Fresh caught salmon for dinner!
• Strong spring tides and a southerly wind made for good progress (we took 10 days to reach Prince Rupert instead of 15)
• Klemtu First Nations longhouse (traditional community hall) and an opportunity to spend a day learning about First Nations culture
• Longest paddling day yet, 65km

The bad

• Incomplete group (Adi, Tony and Alan missing)
• Insect bites! (black fly and mosquitoes)
• 3 days and nights of continous rain
• Difficult to find beaches with sleeping spaces above high tide (Fran and Pete were nearly washed away at 2am!) resulting in some long paddling days in search of good sites

Things learned of use to other paddlers

• Logistically, 6 seems to be an optimum number to travel with, allowing easier camping and decision making

STATE OF TEAM

Health

• Adi's pressure sore is healing and decisions are currently being made as to whether he should begin paddling again yet
• Pete's tendonitis of the wrist is better
• Fran has shoulder / back pain due to the amount of lifting
• Various friction rashes (in personal places!) amongst the team
• Everyone is feeling various strains from long days paddling and lots of lifting

Morale

• Following some difficult decisions in Shearwater about the group splitting up and maximising the paddling opportunities for everybody, morale improved dramatically once the journey was underway again.

OTHER NOTES

It was clear in Shearwater that Adi's injury hadn't healed enough to continue paddling with the group and that he would have to catch the ferry on to Prince Rupert. This was going to give him the best opportunity of paddling the last 4 weeks in to Alaska. Tony and Alan elected to stay with Adi for a week (until the next ferry) and then paddle super-fast via the Outside Passage, hoping to catch up with us in Prince Rupert.

As it happens, we have arrived in Prince Rupert much earlier than expected and we will therefore continue and meet them closer to Ketchikan.

GETTING TO KNOW THE LOCALS

From Tony, Adi and Alan (who have temporarily split from the main team).

LOCATION

Place Shearwater/Bella Bella.

PLACES PAST

Fishernmans grill and bar, the shower block and local store.

DISTANCE COVERED SINCE LAST REPORT

INCIDENTS OF NOTE

The bad

• Adi's injury has not improved sufficiently to allow paddling on from
  Shearwater, despite several days away from his kayak. After difficult
  deliberation, the team has again split, with Alan, Tony and Adi remaining at
  Shearwater and the remainder paddling on to Prince Rupert via Klemtu. Adi
  will continue to Prince Rupert via ferry on the 17th July and Tony and Alan
  will travel independantly by kayak and regroup in Ketchikan Alaska.
  Reaching a decision on how the team moved on from Shearwater proved
  extremely difficult, with a number of options being explored and ultimately
  rejected. Balancing the expedition objectives against the aspirations of
  team members has exposed the importance of planning and preparation -
  agreeing 'what if' scenarios in particular.
• Alan's slowly decaying feet
• Report of a bear on the prowl
• The team splitting again
• Tony slightly ahead in the flatulence league

The good

• The help and support of the Shearwater Bella Bella community.
• Blagging a stove, frying pan, fresh salmon and mangoes, all within 10
  minutes.
• Peace and quiet
• The barmaids in the fishermans

Things learned of use to other paddlers

• Go lightweight!!
• The effects of a beneficial tide are cancelled out by even moderate headwinds in open water - stick close to the coast where possible and avoid long open crossings in these conditions
• Being decisive about campsites saves a lot of time - stopping early at a good campsite is better than stopping late at a bad one. The extra miles gained one day are lost in lifting and carrying time the next morning.

THANKS

• Big shout out for - Steve Prior/OPS Ltd for v generous financial support
  that has enabled the expedition to keep moving and provided medical
  assistance.
• David Knott of Seattle for his ongoing help and support during our stay in
  Shearwater - nothing is to much trouble for this guy
• Ernie and Meena for the loan of a stove while we wait for spares for ours.