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 Lubec, Maine
Lubec, Maine
Tuesday, 28 August 2012 05:40
We were on the water early. . . 5:30 am, to catch the optimal currents and lighter wind. This meant launching when it was still dark out. Our first few paddle strokes reminded us why we love paddling at this time of day – waves of light glimmered in the water where we dipped our paddles and trailed behind our boats. Our movements in the water were exciting the bioluminescent (also called phosphorescent) plankton. We set a heading for one of the lights we saw in the distance. Eventually the sun rose in a glorious reddish orange over the water. We worked our way past Deer Island and the largest whirlpool in the western hemisphere (we didn't get close enough to see it). Hundreds of gulls fished in the eddies of tidal current. Several seals poked their heads out of the water. At one point we paused to watch porpoises surfacing – one only 10 feet away from my bow. We hugged the shore of Campobello Island, watching several Bald Eagles fishing. Eventually we crossed over to the town of Lubec, Maine. Dave and I were happy to clear customs for the last time, since we'll be in the U.S. from here on out!
Distance traveled: 15 miles
Animals:
7 porpoises
10 seals
4 Bald Eagles
100+ Herring Gulls
12 Great Black-Backed Gulls
8 Common Terns
1 Great Blue Heron
More information about the whirlpool: http://bayoffundy.com/about/old-sow-whirlpool/
More information about Campobello: http://www.campobello.com/history.html
More information about the town of Lubec: http://www.visitlubecmaine.com/about.php
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