During stage 1 we will kayak 1,400 miles from Seattle, Washington to Skagway, Alaska. The Pacific Northwest is home to a wide range of aquatic and terrestrial animals. We will be studying whales and other marine mammals, kelp forests, salmon, and many other species.
The Pacific Northwest is home to a variety of large land mammals including Grizzly Bears, and Black Bears. Above and below the surface we are sure to find plenty of things to learn about. Many of these large mammals need large undeveloped spaces to thrive and the roadless sections of British Columbia and Alaska provide the perfect habitat.
From Skagway, Alaska we will hike over the Chilkoot Pass in the footsteps of thousands of gold seekers who struggled across the pass to reach the Klondike. Many of artifacts remain from those early days, and we will follow their path all the way to Dawson City along the mighty Yukon River.
From Bennet Lake on the eastern side of the Chilkoot Pass we will canoe through a chain of lakes that form the headwaters of the Yukon River past White Horse and down the swift flowing Yukon River to Dawson City. 
From Dawson we will hike 100 miles through the mountains to the headwaters of the Blackstone River. The Blackstone flows into the Peel River, which flows in the McKenzie River, which will lead us to the Arctic Ocean. The rivers flowing through these rugged mountains as some of the most pristine wild rivers in North America, with hundreds of miles of flowing waterways between towns or roads.
After over 2,600 miles of paddling and hiking we hope to reach the Arctic Ocean before freeze up. We will spend the month of October,2010 training our dogs, and learning about native life in the Arctic. In November we will head south along the McKenzie River by dog team, crossing 1,800 miles of frozen wilderness. There are many remote native communities along our way and we are sure to learn a lot from the people we encounter.
When the ice melts in the Spring of 2011 we will transition from dogsled to canoe and paddle 2,300 miles along the historic travel and trade route pioneered by Alexander McKenzie, Samuel Hearne, and other Canadian Explorers in the 1700's. We will finish this stage of our journey in the fall of 2011 by completing the 8 1/2 mile Grand Portage which will lead us to the rock shore of Lake Superior.
After spending the winter giving presentations and making final preparations we will begin 4,800 mile kayak journey from Grand Portage, Minnesota to Key West, Florida. The first 2,200 miles will take us through the Great Lakes and out the Saint Lawrence Seaway. 
During the final stage of our journey we will kayak the length of the Atlantic Coast from the Saint Lawrence Seaway to Key West, Florida. We will be following the seasonal whale migration from the Bay of Fundy in Maine to the warm clear waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way we will visit cities large and small, and study a variety of ecosystems and environmental topics. We also plan to take side trips into the cyprus swamps and Everglades National Park looking for Alligators, birds, and other critters.
Expedition Blog Almost Home
Almost Home
Friday, 21 October 2011 17:05
Student Response Worksheet (Lower)
Student Response Worksheet (Upper)
This week we entered familiar territory. As we left Voyageurs National Park and entered the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA), Dave and I felt like we were already home. At Crane Lake, we met up with our friend Bryan Hansel. My mom drove him and his canoe up to meet us. It was a treat to have the chance to visit with her after months of being away from home.
Dave, Bryan and Fennel try to figure out how to get out of a bog.
After several days of paddling with Bryan, the weather turned cold and rainy. October had officially arrived. We paddled in to White Iron Lake near Ely, Minnesota. This really felt like a homecoming even though we had 150 miles left to paddle. Our good friends, Jason and Kate of Ely Outfitting Company, let us stay at their house for several days. Dave and I had a chance to see many of our friends in town. On the day we planned to leave, the wind was blowing over 30 miles per hour and rain was falling. The decision to stay an extra day was pretty easy.
As we left Ely, the weather was cold, but the wind had died down and the rain had stopped. We felt like we had the BWCA to ourselves. Dave, Bryan, and I have spent the past few days paddling through Basswood, Knife, and Saganaga Lakes. We were pleasantly surprised to see two other groups out paddling.
We have seen many loons. Their plumage has changed color and they no longer make their eerie call. They are most likely going to migrate very soon. We have seen beavers working to store food for the winter. There are also some birds that do not normally live in the area, but they are passing through on their way south. A couple days ago, we saw a large gaggle of snow snow geese flying overhead. Today, while we paddled up the Granite River, we saw a lone Tundra Swan.
Loons are gathering, getting ready to migrate.
We are now on Gunflint Lake. This is just a few days from where we plan to finish on Lake Superior. Dave and I are excited about having the end of this stage of the journey in sight. I also feel like we will finish our paddle just in time. The weather is cold. This morning, a layer of frost coated the tents and ice had formed near shore. The days continue to get shorter. The seasons are changing quickly and we are eager to head home.
Frost formed on the plants overnight and fog hovered over the water in the morning.
Fennel's Field Notes
This guy has joined our group. He paddles in a different canoe. I have gotten used to riding in our canoe while seeing Bryan paddle near us. He and Dave talk a lot. Sometimes Bryan howls at me. I whine back.
Recently we were on a portage. I carried my pack across, as usual. At the end of the portage, Dave and Amy were loading their canoe. Bryan put a couple packs in his canoe too. I happened to be standing near his canoe when he was ready to go.
I got sort of confused. Bryan told me that I could get into his canoe. This is different. I always ride in Dave and Amy's canoe, but they were farther away. I looked over to Dave and he told me it was okay. I climbed into Bryan's canoe.
He took off and there I was, sitting in a different canoe! It is a skinny canoe. I couldn't turn around and lie down like I do in Dave and Amy's canoe. I sat there while Bryan paddled, looking at Dave and Amy to make sure it was okay. This was kind of scarey.
Luckily the lake was small. I only had to sit still for a few minutes. Then Bryan pulled up to shore and I hopped out as quickly as I could. We hiked across the portage and at the next lake I made sure to stand next to Dave and Amy's canoe and whine.
Bryan holds up a piece of ice that had formed near shore.