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 Wilderness Classroom Presentation at Lincoln Park REI
Expedition Updates Planning and Logistics Wilderness Classroom Presentation at Lincoln Park REI
Wilderness Classroom Presentation at Lincoln Park REI
Tuesday, 01 December 2009 18:18 Last Updated on Tuesday, 01 December 2009 18:20
CHICAGO – Have you ever wanted to kayak among the orcas and sea otters of the Inside Passage or maybe dogsled the frozen Mackenzie River? The Wilderness Classroom Organization, a local nonprofit that seeks to instill a lifelong appreciation of the natural world, will celebrate the launch of its next adventure, the North American Odyssey. This FREE and open-to-the-public event will take place at REI Lincoln Park, 1466 North Halsted Street, on Wednesday, December 2 from 7:00-8:15 p.m.
The Wilderness Classroom Organization (WCO) is a non-profit organization that strives to improve students' core academic skills and appreciation for the environment by introducing students and learners of all ages to the wonders of exploration and wilderness travel through live, web-based expeditions and school assemblies. On December 2 from 7:00-8:15 p.m., WCO and REI Lincoln Park will host an event to launch its next academic adventure, the North American Odyssey. This FREE event will offer the public an opportunity to take in the sights and sounds of the extended journey and, for the more adventurous at heart, a chance to join this odyssey of a lifetime for a few weeks!
WCO has chosen to traverse the waterways of North America for its next academic adventure, the North American Odyssey. Beginning on Earth Day (April 22) 2010, WCO founder Dave Freeman and adventurist Amy Voytilla, together with teachers and students throughout the Chicagoland area, will navigate over 11,000 miles of North America’s lakes, rivers, and coastlines by canoe, kayak, and dogsled in three years.
The journey begins by kayak on the Pacific Coast studying temperate rainforests and marine life of the Pacific Northwest. After kayaking 1,400 miles from Seattle, Washington to Skagway, Alaska, the team will progress over the Klondike Gold Rush history-studded mountains, to the home of Inuit people along the Arctic Ocean where polar bears roam. From the Arctic Ocean they will dogsled and canoe south through central Canada, kayak across the Great Lakes, then follow the annual whale migration past the salt marshes and sea turtles of the Atlantic Coast, finishing the adventure in the mangroves and coral reefs of the Florida Keys.
Through daily online communication via satellite, email, online polls, and live chats, students will learn alongside Freeman, Voytilla and the rest of the explorers as they study America’s wildest places and waterways. The website’s Animal Info, Mystery Photos, Video Clips, Notes from the Trail, Podcasts, and a Photo Gallery will be updated regularly. Standards-aligned lesson plans will help teachers seamlessly integrate the online expeditions with their existing curriculum. Team members will also conduct school assemblies to meet with students and teachers in person throughout the North American Odyssey.
The Wilderness Classroom Organization started with a simple idea: to improve students' core academic skills and appreciation for the environment by introducing elementary and middle school students to the wonders of exploration and wilderness travel. Eight years and ten expeditions later, the Wilderness Classroom is a 501(c)3 that reaches over 1,600 teachers and 60,000 students around the globe. Its mission has never changed in seeking to instill a lifelong appreciation of the natural world while improving basic skills like reading, critical thinking, and communication by highlighting the joy of discovery.
Recognizing that there are numerous worthwhile non-profit organizations operating without the benefit of publicity support - and in commemoration of its tenth anniversary in 2009 - The Silverman Group, a well-respected Chicago-centric publicity firm specializing in arts and leisure clientele, is proud to present its AtTENtion Project, whereby the firm provides expert publicity counsel at no charge to ten Chicago non-profit organizations for month-long projects beginning in March. The Wilderness Classroom Organization is one of the inaugural partners of The AtTENtion Project.
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