On July 16th I left Maine for Anchorage Alaska to meet up with Nige Robinson, http://www.seakayakguides.co.uk/ and Dave Larkin, http://ljmu.ac.uk/ECL/122496.htm who were doing an intercontinental journey of epic proportions!. This whole journey was instigated by Mr. Robinson back last winter and came together pretty much as planned. For folks who have done expeditions, you can appreciate the anxieties of the part of the trip you have the least control over which I find to be everything before and after you are actually on the water. Fortunately, some long time friends who had moved to Anchorage a few years ago made it a breeze, and we are extremely thankful for their help.

July 17th was spent doing the last minute shop, repacking and coming up with a general plan. Since Nige and Dave were in the UK, and I was in Maine, we had yet to sit down and figure what each of our goals for the trip were. We certainly had a general idea, and it only took some tweaking to set a plan which was to paddle from Seward to Homer a distance of approximately 200 miles. With a few weather days built in, it seemed a reasonable plan for the 20 days we had before we had to be back to Anchorage.

The 18th was a spectacular day to begin a journey. Resurrection Bay presented us with our first real view of snow capped peaks and a beautiful blue sky. The plan was to be on the water by 1420ADT to ride the ebb south out the Bay. A bit late getting on the water, but it certainly was a good feeling to be underway only a little later than planned.

The first few days are always a bit of sorting, adjusting and figuring the system especially since we had never been on an expedition together. The first night in the tent is always the best sleep!

Seward seems to be the destination of many of the folks looking to experience the Kenai Fjords. There are plenty of tour boats and cruise ships, both large and small, that sail these waters. The East side of the Aialak Peninsula has some spectacular campsites, 200ft flower pots to play amongst and was our first siting of whales and a particularly inquisitive Stellar sea lion.

It took us a couple of days to get away from the tour boats, but once we were down around the south end of the Harris Peninsula, we were truly feeling the wilderness surrounding us. Coincidentally, it’s also where the weather took a turn for the worst.

Of the entire trip, I would say the most exposed part was the area on the southeast part of the Aliga Point and around the bottom of Granite Cape on Granite Island. Whether it was the low cloud cover, strong winds or large swells meeting up with the reflected waves off the 2000 ft cliffs, it was definitely a day to put all the hours in a boat to the test. It was interesting to have Force 4 winds from the southeast on one side of a narrow island become Force 5-6 northerlies on the other side. Taz Basin presented us with the most challenging and maybe the most beautiful campsite of the entire trip. Unfortunately, the weather also prevented a trip out to the Chiswell Islands to the Southeast to see the large Stellar sea lion population. 

As we got more remote, I think we all were developing an appreciation for how big everything was. A crossing of a bay where it seemed as though you could reach out and touch the other side became 4-5 miles. A headland visible in the distance was 15 miles. The sighting of a sail boat in Mac Arthur pass was a disappointment when you realized there had been no signs of people for the last three days. All the time, we were working our way towards a place called Gore Point and what could be the most crux point of the journey.

Gore Point is where the water flowing in and out of Cook Inlet first starts to affect you as you paddle towards Homer. Information on current flow is not readily available, but local information relates it to the flow through Chugach Pass. There has been at least one kayak rescue by the Coast Guard, http://www.seakayakermag.com/2010/Jun10/goldfarb.htm, so it was an area that we wanted to time our passage in fair weather and slack current. Our senses were that the slack would coincide with the time of high tide despite the local info we received, and our timing was based on this. To our relief, “sea sense” and fair weather prevailed, and on July 24th we had an uneventful passage at Gore Point. The weather on the 25th was beautiful and we declared it a day of rest. The sun dried our gear, the waterfall cleaned our bodies and our spirits were rejuvenated by a day at the beach!

Coming around Gore Point meant that travel along the coast was best accomplished with a flooding tide. It also meant that we could slow our pace a bit and do some exploring of the Islands and Bays of the Katchemack Bay State Wilderness Area. It also is the point where we started seeing signs of civilization as boats and seaplanes come down from Homer bringing tourists. It is also the point where we were able to get our first forecast from Kodiak Island with a report of deteriorating conditions in the next 36 hours On the 26th, we got on the current escalator and paddled towards the Chugach Pass. Meandering through mile long rock gardens, wildlife and beautiful campsites in Quiktulig Bay and Chugach Bay were the theme for the next two days bringing us to the entrance of Chugach Pass. As can be expected, the current speeds significantly as it is squeezed between the Peninsula and the Chugach Islands. The crossing back from Perl Island was particularly “sporty” as the seas approached 5-6 ft and the winds were gusting to a strong Force 6. We passed through the Pass cruising downwind and current doing 8kts and found ourselves in the protection of Chrome Bay as the weather deteriorated further. That night the winds built further, and we had heavy rain that continued through most the following morning. Fortunately, Chrome Bay has a Wilderness Camp that isn’t really operating, and we made use of the shelter of an open Yurt.

The forecast from Kodiak Island on the morning of the 30th was calling for winds to be SE 15-25 with gusts to 30. After being in Chrome Bay for 30 hours, we were getting a bit antsy to get back on the water. Our thoughts were to start out around Claim Point towards Point Adam on the last of the ebb at 1630. As we left the protection of Chrome Bay, I remember asking Nige, “you ever leave on a trip at this time of day”. As it turned out, the wind never materialized, and we were treated to an amazing ride on the current up into Cook Inlet with the sun setting over the snow capped Alaska range. By the time the sun was on the horizon, we had traveled approximately 22 miles averaging just under 5kts riding the current into Cook Inlet. A nice evening paddle!

Our first campsite in Cook Inlet was also the first time we camped along side a salmon river. There  were no signs of bear activity, but further investigation up the river the next morning was a bit eye opening. As it turned out, the only bear we saw was on the way back to Anchorage.

That morning was also the first introduction back to civilization as the charter boats out of Homer were like ants crawling over the entire inlet looking for the elusive Halibut and Salmon. We got on the water and headed for what the Boys hoped would be their first “American breakfast” at the first town we’d seen since leaving Seward 15 days earlier, Seldovia. Unfortunately, we got to town after they stopped serving breakfast, and the Boys had to settle for a big lunch!

Because lunch took a bit longer than it probably should have, we had a proper slog to the campsite for the night in Tutka Bay within the Katchemack Bay State Park. We also encountered the first kayakers we had seen since we left Seward about 200 miles ago. The next morning afforded us the first view of Homer and between lunch the day before and the sight of the final destination only 10 miles across the Bay, I have to admit that in my mind the “expedition was complete”. I would have been happy to head across at that point. Luckily, Dave used some “psychology of expeditioning” on us, and we stayed out one last day exploring Glacier Spit and the hand operated tram across the Grewingk Creek. The last morning was a spectacular sunrise as we crossed over to Homer riding the ebb out of the Bay putting us on the beach at Homer and completing our journey 16 days after we started.

As with any adventure, it takes a period of reflection to really appreciate the magnitude of what’s been accomplished. Important things that I’ve taken away from the trip:

1. 1.It can’t be overemphasized the importance of doing expeditions with friends, or folks who will become friends. I’ve done trips before where there is a lack of “personality” in the trip. It’s all about the business of getting the thing done. It becomes something that you are working to accomplish rather than enjoy! Most important on this trip we all had fun!!
   

2. 2.As kayakers and kayak coaches, I think we are in danger of making things more complicated than they are. It was refreshing to know that we could do a trip of this magnitude using a chart, compass, watch and some common sense.
   

3. 3.Rely on what you know! If you truly understand the sea, you should be able to take that understanding anywhere in the world and figure out how things work. The water/land interface is pretty much the same with only some subtle differences to identify.
   

4. 4.Proper preparation and planning make for a successful expedition.
   

We have to thank:

Tony and Laura Mullin of Anchorage for all the logistic help and opening their house and lives to us.

Tom and Laura Pogson, www.alaskakayakschool.com for help with logistics, local information and a fantastic “first meal” when we got to Homer.

The folks at P&H Custom Kayaks, www.phseakayaks.com, Jamie Klein, Brian Day and Jim Hagar for getting me a Cetus HV for the journey. This is, without a doubt, the best boat for a trip of this magnitude.

Suz Hutchinson and Lisa Kincaid of Kokatat, www.kokatat.com for helping us stay warm and dry both on and off the water.

Danny Mongo, www.wernerpaddles.com and the folks at Werner Paddles for helping get Cyprus paddles to Anchorage for me.

I’ll be posting pictures as soon as I figure out how to do that. If you are thinking of doing a trip to the Kenai, be sure to contact me. I’ll give you as much help as I can.