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.
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Expedition Updates Planning and Logistics Whitewater Canoeing Out East
Expedition Updates Planning and Logistics Whitewater Canoeing Out East
Whitewater Canoeing Out East
Friday, 23 October 2009 14:05
Dave and I have logged thousands of miles in a canoe. Most of those miles have been on flatwater lakes and rivers. While planning the North American Odyssey, we realized that the second stage would go much smoother if we could paddle through some of the class II and III rapids that we will encounter on the Peel, Blackstone, and Yukon Rivers. As skim ice is forming on the rivers near our hometown (Grand Marais, MN), we set out to hone our whitewater canoeing skills in southeastern U.S.
On our way out to North Carolina, we couldn’t resist the pull of the New River in West Virginia. In Fayetteville we heard stories about how crazy the class IV and V of the lower New—and then opted to paddle the upper New, from Hinton to Thurmond. Seeing as how we were in an open boat, the class II and III water of the upper New was more our style. All in all, we spent about four days on the river. Our warm-up was near McCreery, camping at Army Camp.
We spent half a day trying to figure out a shuttle and were thwarted at every turn. We couldn’t find anyone willing to run the shuttle even if we paid them. We couldn’t rent a bike because there was some sort of army bike event going on and the only bike shop had rented out all of their bikes. Then, while drowning our sorrows at a Chinese buffet in Beckley and resorting to look up taxi fares, Dave came up with an ingenious idea. Amtrack! The train runs right along the river and stops in Hinton and Thurmond.
I stayed at the boat launch in Hinton, inflating float bags, packing camping gear, etc. Dave drove up to Thurmond, parked the car and hopped on the train. The train ride was less than an hour. Then we were on the New River for three glorious days! The rapids were pretty straightforward. We played around as much as possible—practicing ferrying, eddy turns, and of course—surfing.
Expert whitewater paddler, Patrick Sherwin joined us for a week on several North Carolina rivers. He gave us some great advice—which will be invaluable during the second stage of the North American Odyssey. We paddled the French Broad and the Tuckasegee a couple of times.
We had some chilly/rainy weather, which really doesn’t matter when you’re dressed for immersion. Dave and I were sporting our Palm drysuits most of the time. Our last paddle on the French Broad was glorious and sunny. We all foolishly left the drysuits in the car and headed down river. Just above the Ledges park, Patrick was trying to pull some crazy surfing stunt and he went for a swim. Dave wanted to get in on the excitement, so he and Patrick headed back to surf on that same hole. I elected to stay dry and catch the whole event on video—from shore. I know what you’re thinking, but someone had to do it, right? Plus, who would toss the throw-bag if they got in trouble?
Dave and Patrick also swam—putting our MTI Adventurewear PFDs to the test. But on their second attempt, they pulled off some snazzy surf moves. It was riveting to watch—they had to brace so hard on the downstream side to avoid getting their upstream gunnel caught that they actually took on water over the downstream gunnel! Stay tuned for video footage of their playtime.
All in all our paddling practice out East was great. The flow was a bit low, our canoe is all scrapped up, and we had some chilly days, but we relished our time on every river that we paddled. Thank you Patrick and thank you North Carolina and West Virginia for having so darn much class II and III whitewater fun!
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