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 Gear Review: North Water Reflective Deck Line Covers
Gear Review: North Water Reflective Deck Line Covers
Tuesday, 28 August 2012 13:53
As Dave and I paddle down the East Coast, we are shifting gears from paddling in remote wilderness to paddling in areas that see more boat traffic. While we don't plan to do much night paddling, I'm sure that we will have our fair share of early, pre-sunrise mornings in order to take advantage of calmer conditions. With that in mind, part of our preparation involves making sure that we will be visible to larger boats in low light/no light conditions.
North Water's Reflective Deck Line Covers certainly help in making us more visible on the water. They make two nice, wide, reflective stripes near our bows. They were easy to add: just a matter of untying the deck line and sliding the covers on in the desired position.
Dave chose to place his close to his bow and I have mine positioned slightly further back. When considering where to put them on your boat, consider where they will do the most good. Also consider spacing of your deck fittings and how well deck line will hold the deck line covers in place. For example, Dave's seem to get twisted when his bow is repeatedly splashed, exposing the dark backing instead of the reflective surface. Mine lie flat, held tight against the deck of the kayak.
If we do find ourselves paddling in the dark, we will take a few more precautions as well. We will certainly each have a light on. We have also added reflective tape to both sides of our paddle blades. Our MTI Adventurewear PFDs have reflective trim and safety whistles in the pockets. We will meet all the necessary requirements of the US and Canadian Coast Guard. (Bryan Hansel wrote a useful article about signaling devices required by the US Coast Guard on Paddling Light.) Most importantly, we will be aware of where we are paddling in the dark– avoiding high traffic areas or spots that are tricky to navigate.
To learn more about the North Water Reflective Deck Line Covers: http://northwater.com/html/products/sea_kayak/SKsubdirectory/Reflective-DeckLine-Covers.html
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