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 Updates
Updates
Against the current
Friday, 03 September 2010 14:32
8-31-10
Paddled 33 miles
It is the last day of August and we made it to the Mackenzie River. It feels good to be ahead of schedule. We had been hoping to get to Fort McPherson by September 3. Nope. We were there on August 29 and 30. We had looked forward to the stop in Fort McPherson, because we had sent ourselves food, warm clothes, and the wood stove. We are ready for fall.
The weather has been interesting today: sunny and clear first thing this morning, but a thick fog rolled in while we were having breakfast. A chilly, but light north wind was blowing as we paddled the last 17 miles of the Peel River. We savored our last paddle strokes that were with the current. We had one last floating lunch to commemorate that. The sun came out sometime after lunch.
The turn to paddling upstream made us a bit nervous, but today was good. We managed to paddle about 16 miles. It wasn't quite as hard as we had imagined. A light tailwind helped. Just enough to warrant using the sail. I'm really glad Dave decided to get that thing. We also have stabilizers, another item sent general delivery to Fort McPherson. They are two adjustable outriggers, attached to the gunnels, running across the middle of the boat. The stabilizers weren't entirely necessary today, but it was nice to try them out in the one foot chop mid-channel.
About an hour before we landed for the evening, the sky clouded over again, threatening rain. We set up camp around 8 pm in a spot where the river tapered down a bit. This spot is also close enough to a stream, so we can get some non-silty water. Dave made a tasty potato, cheese, and ham TVP soup for dinner. Larabars and almond butter for dessert.
After dinner Dave went into the tent to get the wood stove going while I did the dishes. I'm glad that I stayed outside for those few extra minutes, because I saw the most brilliant, clear, colorful rainbow I have ever seen. It arched across the river, reaching the opposite bank that was lit by the golden light of sunset. I walked down the beach to take a photo of the tent and canoe perfectly framed.
I am tempted to imagine that the rainbows are some sort of sign, encouraging us on our journey. After all, this is the third rainbow we've been camped under within 10 days! Then the analytical thought process kicks in and I remind myself that I know the science behind rainbows. The rainbow sightings just mean that we have experienced quite a bit of precipitation in the evenings. Perfect conditions for the sun's rays to be refracted by raindrops. Although I know how they are formed, I still enjoy seeing them and experience that same sense of wonder I did as a kid.
