South OZ Adventurers - Adventure, Travel, Expeditions


The Summer Solstice

1:47am. June 22nd 2005. The high tide is ebbing. Our kayaks are packed, there is a slight breeze traveling directly for us. Beyond the lights of the marina in front of us there is a 14Nm passage, with shear walls and cascading waterfalls. Glaciers hang between the mountains that rise 4000-5000 ft directly out of the water. The locals describe it as a 'committing paddle with not many outs'. The 25ft tide taunts us as we have only ever paddled in a maximum tide half of that height. There is a lightness in the sky that you would expect of this night, the longest day of the year.

Excited. Nervous. Prepared. Focused. Curious. That familiar feeling of pulling your drytop on and your PFD over you head is coming back to me. It feels right. A last update of the weather confirms that our departure is set.

2:08am. We launch our boats for the first time, packed with our lives for the next 3 months. With a gentle rock of the hips, I feel the boat move in the water, feel the edges and how the might react with this weight and the waters that we can expect as we travel down Lynn Canal. The first paddle strokes feels good, it's nice to be back on water, an environment I enjoy and am familiar with. Lachie is behind me, his jacket and PFD reflecting in the lights from the marina.

We paddle away from the town of Skagway. The solitude closes around us, the peaks silhouetted with the nights sky. I inhale the nights' air and smile. This is what it's all about. The uncertainty of this area, the Alaskan cultures and the landscapes that lay ahead. It's intriguing and alive. It's about to become our lifestyle. We will know it from a different perspective at the end of 3 months and see it for how it presents to us each day.

The mornings paddle travels south down Lynn Canal towards Haines. A distance of 17Nm takes us about 5 hours. At different points I poke the nose of my kayak into the fresh waterfalls streaming from the mountains into the ocean. This is something of a new experience. Bald eagles nested in the trees along the canal.

The hours rolled on, the light at this latitude never really faded. As the early morning progressed, so did the cruiseliners towards Skagway. Yet another 4000 or so people would land in the town for the day. We were pleased to be traveling in the opposite direction towards Haines, a community that restricts that type of tourism onslaught. The wakes created by the vessels washed us around and rebounded from the walls. We decided to avoid the shipping channels whenever possible. Although the cruiseliners, for me are not my chosen mode of travel, there is still something majestic about them against a backdrop of snow capped mountains in a narrow channel.

A little tired from lack of sleep, the anticipation of the next 3 months, the relief of setting off on the expedition smoothly, we arrived in Haines. A quick scout through the marina presented us with another eye opener of a dock, rising 30 plus foot out of the water. From our view it blew our minds. A local directed us out of town towards a state park camp ground to set up our tents and crash for the day. A fun experience on our first day of paddling, it settled my mind and allowed me to breathe in some fresh air!