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 Backcountry Uses for Medicinal and Edible Plants of the Yukon
Backcountry Uses for Medicinal and Edible Plants of the Yukon
Wednesday, 17 November 2010 14:17
by Konrad Taube
From paddling down the Yukon to hiking up mountains at Hootalinqua, we are immersed in and surrounded by nature. We are stunned not only by how magnificent and transcendental nature is, but by how we are able to respectfully use the natural world to aide us on our adventure. From food to medicinal uses, simple methods of helping oneself are around each river bend, requiring only one's eye and basic knowledge of their surroundings in order to tap into nature's potential.
Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and rose hips grow wild in the Yukon and around the Yukon river. Containing Vitamins A, B1, B2, C, Calcium, Potassium, and Iron, these wild, treats are major preventers of malnourishment and are also delicious. The phenomenal qualities of these plants can be eaten raw or prepared into tea form, and all one is required to do is go out and search for nature's bounty. 
Blood poisoning, nausea, and diarrhea – these are some of the many conditions that can injure an unlucky adventurer; luckily, nature has remedies to help cure these ailments. The powerful wormwood plant is made into a tea and consumed to help combat blood poisoning, caused by infected cuts. Change of diet, contaminated water, or spoiled food are frequent causes of diarrhea. The wormwood plant's bark can be eaten to remedy this sickness. Nausea, often caused by food, water, or seasickness, can be cured by drinking raspberry leaf tea. Each of these sicknesses can be very serious in a camp setting, due to their tendencies to be fatiguing or dehydrating, and the proper use of these three plants can be potentially life saving.
While we love and enjoy nature, we must also respect and revere it. Delicious and nutritious plants can be found consistently, but by eating a poisonous plant thought to be a beneficial one, one's sense of security can be completely inverted. Knowing one's surroundings and properly educating oneself about the wild edibles prior to one's wilderness venture is essential to maintaining a safe and pleasant trip into the wild.
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