Long-term kayaking trip

**payne** · 05-01-2014, 07:46 PM

Originally Posted by Wildthang

Be sure and take a Stainless Steel big bore pistol ( 44 mag minimum ), just so we won't have to worry so much! Have a great trip my brother!

We will only carry bear sprays.
The two persons I contacted which have done this trip before told me they only had that as well.
I don't think bears will be a problem at all. And anyways, none of us has a gun-carrying license.

**1stimestar** · 05-02-2014, 03:13 AM

Yea, hand guns through Canada isn't going to happen. Much more proven safety with bear spray up here.

**crashdive123** · 05-02-2014, 05:57 AM

Have a great trip. Looking forward to seeing pics of your adventure.

**1stimestar** · 12-08-2014, 09:36 PM

Originally Posted by payne

Wish me good luck!
See you around.

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

Payne, it's about time you checked in according to your 3 month time line.

**Tokwan** · 12-08-2014, 10:01 PM

Bear in mind that from underneath, a kayak looks like a seal...and I would highly recommend you bring a spare packable emergency raft (preferred round shaped so that it does not like food for sharks and orcas.
A survival kit suitable for you and the trip is highly needed, especially that keep you out of the elements and alsi give you warmth and fire.
I think its a little to short to plan ..you might need more time to plan.

**1stimestar** · 12-09-2014, 02:52 AM

Sorry Tok, this is a zombie thread I brought back from the dead as we are expecting to hear back from him anytime now.

**TXyakr** · 12-10-2014, 07:17 PM

Two of my cousins live on Vancouver Island, they told me bears and orcs do not normally prey on critters in bright red. Perhaps there was a very rare occurance, I hope not. Might mistake him for a giant Sockeye but my cousins prefer to fish for Coho so I hope the preditors are also descriminating. Dark humor, shame on me. Most likely he is just having the time of his life and very busy catching up once he returned. ;-)

**payne** · 12-27-2016, 03:05 AM

Hello everyone! Long time no see, right?

I had completely forgotten about keeping you guys up to date on that adventure of mine.

Well, as some of you guys might have guessed, I survived.

The thing did not turn out as well as intended, unfortunately: my partner ended up getting tired of paddling, and basically announced me, one month in, that he wasn't very happy doing this. He then proceeded to tell me that he was however fine with finishing the trip with me if that was what I wanted, but that he would much rather terminate it early. That left me slightly sour, since so much preparation had gone into it, and I was absolutely blown out of my mind thinking any mentally healthy human being paddling through this region of this Earth could not be in permanent awe and amazement at the scenery that unfolded before our eyes every minute.
Anyhow, knowing it is not very fun to be confined with someone that isn't happy about being somewhere, and also thinking about how I could use some extra cash for my hitching trip down South, we veered around after passing Juneau, and went back to Haines, instead of going further South. Extremely early abortion of the project, very sadly.

But hey! Life is life. And I did get a construction contract for the Whitehorse Airport which paid quite well, so all in all... better see the bright side!

Some pictures, as promised;

We first hitchhiked through Alaska. I wanted to go check out the Arctic Ocean. We passed the Brooks Range (northern-most mountain range in the world?), before I decided I had had enough of the flat scenery that would extend from the mountains all the way to the coast, for hours on end. The trucker was surprised, and left us in the very definition of a "Middle Of Nowhere":
Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.
At that point, we had to wait 6 hours before another truck passed, headed South. It was such an enormously open terrain that we could hear and see the trucks driving toward us 15 minutes before they would pass by. Absolutely mind blowing. And also, very f*cking buggy.
We slept ON the road, waiting for a ride, since there was no other terrain available (everywhere around was water-flooded plain).

Hitchhiking with the kayak from the Yukon over to the Alaskan Coast, in Skagway, was much easier than we would have thought.
Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

First day on the water, after waiting for a good weather window to finally leave Skagway:
Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

Gems like this awaited us on the way:
Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.
Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.
Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

Juneau's Mendenhall Glacier was not a disappointment at all:
Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.
Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

And that hike was quite amazing too, in Juneau:
Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.
We had left the kayak hidden at the northern end of Juneau and would hitchhike in town for food and entertainment. We ended up staying there a few days, squatting different places and stealth camping around the downtown area.

A tidal glacier proved to be a hassle to reach due to the very shallow terrain:
Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

On the way back to Haines, as we were resting on a shore waiting out a storm to die down, some boat came up to us trying to communicate. We had no idea what he wanted to say, but he looked very intent about it, so we hopped back into the kayak and checked it out: he wanted to give us a ride to Haine's Marina. We accepted, glad not to have to paddle for a few hours to finally be back in civilization.
Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

We squatted the forest close to the town for over a week, doing hike missions to bring food back. We eventually heard of a Solstice Party happening close to where we were camping and invited us over. We played some music, drank a bunch, and had good fun celebrating this very special day for the Alaskan people.
Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

Thanks to Alaska for this beautiful adventure. And also for making me discover BLUEGRASS music!

And sorry to y'all for letting you hang like this for such a long time. I wonder if anyone thought something bad had happened to me.

I could probably write for hours about my adventures. Especially the whole hitchhiking trip down to South America, that followed this kayaking trip, but that's kind of too much (we're talking about thousands of pictures to go through). You'll just have to believe my words: it was amazing.
If anyone is interested in following me on FaceBook, you can PM me asking for my profile: I will gladly link it to you. It'll save us all some time as I tend to upload all my pictures of there. I've also written down some hitching stories on Reddit.
(Not trying to promote myself... I just genuinely know that some of you olde' folks might be interested in checking it out.

)

**crashdive123** · 12-27-2016, 07:09 AM

Glad you checked in with us. Yes, some thought that disaster may have befallen your trip. Glad it didn't. Stunning pictures.

**kyratshooter** · 12-27-2016, 11:00 AM

Yea, we can understand you not checking in with us but how about the folks back home?

I hope you are letting your Mother know you are OK more than you are us!

That picture you took in the ice cave deserves more attention than the forum can give.

Perhaps a submission to National Geographic

**hunter63** · 12-27-2016, 11:56 AM

It is good to see your pics'.....and hear the story...(hint, hint, book,movie, TV)...would eat that daylights out of what on now....

Kyrat....You haven't checked out NatGeo lately have you?.....
Latest issue was completely on "The Gender Revolution"??????????

I would send that rag back, ....but don't want to pay postage, and the pages are to slippery to use for TP..... when ink get wet, it runs...so use as large table coaster is limited as well.
.

**kyratshooter** · 12-27-2016, 12:07 PM

Originally Posted by hunter63

Kyrat....You haven't checked out NatGeo lately have you?.....
Latest issue was completely on "The Gender Revolution"??????????
.

I should have known. NG had made its primary duty social evolution so strongly that I canceled my subscription and the one for the school I taught in back in 2000.

Perhaps Payne could get in touch with Colombia, North Slope or Cabellas as a product test agent?

**hunter63** · 12-27-2016, 12:14 PM

Originally Posted by kyratshooter

..........
Perhaps Payne could get in touch with Colombia, North Slope or Cabellas as a product test agent?

.......or use the content for use as a professional blogger.

BTW....I will no longer continue my subscription to NatGeo that I have had since 1968......Enough is enough.

**1stimestar** · 01-15-2017, 10:36 PM

Nice photos. You should have given me a ring when going through Fairbanks. Yes, we take Solstice very seriously, and in fact, our blue grass lol.
https://www.facebook.com/georganne.hurthampton