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 South Georgia Island Expedition
South Georgia Island Expedition
Wednesday, 26 September 2012 14:21
On October 15th an expedition team from Northwest Passage will start a week long adventure that will explore the history and animal life of South Georgia Island. The team will be posting daily updates on the Wilderness Classroom website. We hope that you will follow this amazing adventure, email their team questions and learn about one of the world's most remote places. If you have any questions please let us know.
South Georgia Island is a small island in the middle of the South Atlantic. It is more remote than the North or South Poles! Because of its location near the Antarctic Convergence (the meeting of warm and cold ocean currents), and also because of its remoteness, it is one of the best places on Earth to see a wide variety of Antarctic animals including a variety of penguins, seals, whales, birds and plant life. It also has a fascinating history. In 1916, after leaving the shipwrecked crew of the "Endurance" fighting for survival on Elephant Island off the coast of Antarctica, Ernest Shackleton, along with a handful of his crew set out on a "Hail Mary" attempt at rescue. Against all odds they successfully sailed their beaten down life boat, the "James Caird", to South Georgia Island, 1500 km away. Upon landfall they realized they were on the wrong side of the island - and if they had any chance of reaching help it lay in a daring overland crossing, with out maps, specialized equipment or sufficient food. The route was a mystery, as was their chance of survival. But they forged on, with only a compass to guide them and wood screws from the James Caird fastened to their ragged boots for traction. A restless 36 hours later they reached the Stromness whaling station, and when the officers of the station looked upon Shackleton, whose long matted hair and blubber-smoke-covered skin made him unrecognizable he simply said, "My name is Shackleton." We are very proud and excited to be guiding a small group of explorers on a re-creation of Shackleton's route across South Georgia Island. In addition to making the crossing, the team will be observing and photographing the amazing wildlife that call South Georgia home. We hope you will join them through daily updates at WildernessClassroom.com!
Map showing South Georgia Island and the South Sandwich Islands (c)wikimedia commons
Baby Elephant Seals on South Georgia Island (c) The Northwest Passage
Top Image: King Penguins on South Georgia Island (c) The Northwest Passage
