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 We need to lighten our load! What are things we can do without? What should we keep?
We need to lighten our load! What are things we can do without? What should we keep?
Saturday, 01 October 2011 17:16
Next week our friend Bryan is joining us. He will paddle with us for the final 3 weeks through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. There are many portages in the Boundary Waters including the Grand Portage, which is over 8 miles long. At each portage we have to unload the canoe and carry all of our stuff over a trail to the next lake or river. We are trying to make a list of all the things we have to keep and a second list of things we could send home when Bryan meets us.
What are things that you think we definitely need to keep? Can you think of anything that we might be able to get rid of? One thing that we have been thinking about sending home is our second computer. Do you think we should send our second computer home or should we keep it?
Here is a list of things that we have:
2 laptop computers
satellite phone
2 cameras
food
saw
4 paddles (2 to use and 2 spares)
dogfood
Fennel
tent
2 sleeping bags
lightweight summer clothes
warm clothes
2 headlamps
rain jackets and pants
solar panel
sandals
boots
spray cover for the canoe
battery for charging the laptops
stove
tarp
Thanks for your suggestions about how we can keep warm. We had our first hard frost last night and it seems to be getting colder each night. We have been taking Mr. Speno’s classes advice and wearing lots of layers. We have also been making soup and drinking lots of warm drinks thanks to the suggestions we received by email from several classes. As it gets colder I am sure we will be putting more of your suggestions to use.
Keep Exploring!
Dave
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