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 What should we do about trash that we find?
What should we do about trash that we find?
Saturday, 22 September 2012 10:27
As we paddle, we encounter floating trash from time to time. Most often we see plastic bags, foam cups, plastic bottles and balloons. It can be disappointing to see these things out on the water and they can be harmful to animals. Sometimes we see things that are too big to fit in our kayaks (like a mini refrigerator) or things that are kind of gross and stinky, covered in barnacles or seaweed. What do you think we should do when we encounter trash floating in the ocean or washed up on beaches? Should we try to collect it or leave it alone? Should we list what we see in Daily Data? Maybe you can think of some other options for us. What should we do? What do you do if you see litter in your neighborhood?
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Answer from last week's Dave's Dilemma
Students has many good suggestions for last week's Dave's Dilemma about how to thank people who help us out along the way.
· Pick wildflowers or find special nature gifts for people – like maybe special or shiny rocks
· Give them Fennel’s autograph!!
· Make thank you cards – you could even do this on your computer
· Teach them something in return – like how to dogsled or how to kayak
· Make them a nature piece of artwork – like a snow sculpture or one out of rocks
· You can take pictures of the people and put them on the website as a way to say thanks,
· Send them a postcard from the next state as a thank you note
· If you find cool items on the beach like shells, you could give the items as gifts to thank people.
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