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 Welcome to Lake Winnipeg
Welcome to Lake Winnipeg
Sunday, 04 September 2011 07:24
Student Response Worksheet (Lower)
Student Response Worksheet (Upper)
Dave and I are in the middle of a 3 year journey across North America by canoe, kayak, and dogsled. Each night we set up our tent in a new location and we travel about 20 miles each day. Our goal is to explore North America's wildest places to learn about the plants, animals, and people living in these amazing places.
As students and teachers are returning to school, Dave and I are paddling our canoe through water the color of pea soup. We can only see shore to our left. To our right, it looks like an ocean, we see the distant horizon where water meets sky. The nights are getting cooler and the days are getting shorter. Welcome to September on Lake Winnipeg.
We are happy that you are joining us for this adventure. We are paddling along the east shore of the tenth largest freshwater lake in the world (by surface area). Lake Winnipeg is in Manitoba, Canada. Can you find Lake Winnipeg on a map? Although it covers a great area, it is a shallow lake. The average depth of the lake is 36 feet. It is about 300 miles long and 70 miles wide at its widest point.
It is surrounded by Boreal forest. The western shore is a bit more developed, with roads and several cities. The east side, where we are paddling, has no roads. There are a few small communities along this side. Most of the people living along the lake are Cree or Ojibwe First Nations.
I mentioned that the water was green. This is because of algae blooms. Lake Winnipeg has several major rivers pouring into it. These rivers run past farm land and several big cities. This means that there is a lot of phosphorous and nitrogen in the water. With all of these nutrients added to the water, the algae thrives. This is a big problem because the algae can produce toxins that are harmful to humans and animals and the algae decreases the amount of oxygen in the water which makes it hard for fish to live.
Seeing and smelling this green water is disappointing. We have heard of efforts to study it and improve the health of the lake. I hope that it can recover. We have still enjoyed viewing the forest from our canoe. We have spotted several black bears, otters, and beavers. Also, birds like pelicans and eagles are abundant. We look forward to sharing the adventure with you in the coming weeks.
Fore more information about Lake Winnipeg, check out these websites:
http://www.gov.mb.ca/waterstewardship/water_quality/lake_winnipeg/facts.html
http://www.lakewinnipegfoundation.org/lake-winnipeg/facts/
http://www.greatcanadianlakes.com/manitoba/lake_winnipeg
Happy Trails!
Amy
Fennel’s Field Notes
Bark. Bark. Hello. You may remember me from last winter. I was one of the lead dogs, pulling Dave and Amy's sled. I'm the one with the floppy ears. Well, Dave and Amy decided to take me canoeing with them because they like me so much. I have been writing my thoughts and observations in this section of the website every week.
It has been a good trip so far. I have eaten a lot of fish. I discovered an animal called a porcupine. I like riding in the canoe. I spend most of my time napping. Riding on Lake Winnipeg has been interesting. The ride is bouncy. The canoe bobs up and down on the waves.
I am still getting used to the waves when we are on shore. The other day I wanted to keep my feet dry and get a drink of water. I ran up to the edge of the water and started to drink, but it moved away! So I walked closer to the water and it moved closer to me, getting my feet wet!