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 The Majestic Black Bear
The Majestic Black Bear
Wednesday, 17 November 2010 14:18
by Maureen Hanzel
“Is that black spot moving” Melissa questioned as she peered across the river from our cozy camp site. That black spot was moving. There is was a black bear in search of food at dusk. It was only a few hours earlier that I realized that we were in a perfect spot for bears. Black bears enjoy eating summer blueberries within the white spruce forests of the Yukon Territory; similar to the area of our campsite. 
While they are the least studied large mammal in the Yukon there numbers exceed the grizzly bear at roughly 10,000 black bears and between 6,000 and 7,000 grizzly bears. Beyond being larger in numbers black bears are a smaller, less aggressive bears than grizzlies, but every precaution should be made when traveling in a known black bear area. Carrying “bear spray”, a large can of pepper spray, on your person at all times is important. Measures should be taken when setting up camp like designating a separate food preparation site downwind of your tents: This is important, because bears follow their noses and it would be better if they hit the food before you. At night make sure to hang your food and other smelly items at least 10 feet off the ground and six feet away from any trees to prevent bears from reaching it. 
Black bears are curious animals which generally leads to some amount of human interaction, but generally they avoid people. The perception of black bears has changed over time from being respected as great spirits by the Yukon natives to being hunted when firearms were developed. Today things are turning around and people are being more bear conscientious by including garbage incinerators at some large campsites and using bear prevention measures. Although it was a treat to experience a bear sighting, I would rather the bear stay a safe distance and busy in the bushes in the search for delicious blueberries across the river.
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