Tip to Tip via Kayak: Paddling the Length of Alaska's Panhandle

Toward Wrangell

2009-07-12T13:49:00.003-08:00

Raindrops.

Kayaker and cut, Wrangell Island.

Sunny respite from raindrops: all the gear is out to dry.

Our summer solstice campsite.

Another cut reminds us that we are closing in on the city and borough of Wrangell, Alaska.

Deer Island

2009-07-12T13:16:00.004-08:00

Deer Island has an exquisite cluster of islets along its western shore.

This rock was so alluring we decided to live here. Or at least to live here during lunch.

Beckoned by the grey: here we peel off from Deer Island and aim for Zimovia, between Etolin and Wrangell Islands.

Ernest Sound

2009-07-06T14:30:00.009-08:00

North of Meyers Chuck we encountered mysterious orange ocean-haze. We asked each other, what is a red tide? Is this a red tide? The orange got on our kayaks, our paddles, our boots, the shoreline, everything. Needless to say, we ate no shellfish.

Some of the slowest paddling possible took place on this piece of water. Innocent though it looks, it is possesed by a siren-like countercurrent that nearly held us at a stand-still. The island in the background is also touched: even at this distance the air was still shaking with the grunts and barking and groaning burps of sea lions hauled out on the granite.

A spritely tide whisked us in and among these islets which dot the shore of Deer Island. It was a welcome change from the invisible current bogging us down a few days earlier.

This is how a clearcut looks after it has had time to green up. Even though the greenery makes for a bit of a jungle right now, trees of uniform height will grow and will eventually block the sun from reaching the understory. Little vegetation of any nutritional value to deer, for example, will survive. Decades from now, when this patch looks again like a forest to those of us out on the water, wildlife will still be forced to avoid the area.

A surprise encounter: this floating building tucked into a cove on Deer Island is used by Crossings, an organization that launches troubled teens on month-long canoe trips in Southeast Alaska.

Ketchikan To Meyers Chuck

2009-07-06T13:47:00.008-08:00

Southeast Exposure's big red barn from which kayak tours are guided. We had the luck to be welcomed to Ketchikan by the folks running this operation. Their hospitality kept us safely out of trouble while preparing food and gear for the next leg of the trip.

Two boats, two damp and chilly paddlers, and one blue tarp beneath which to celebrate a joyful crossing of Behm Canal.

A most fantastic food hang on the Cleveland Peninsula by Mr. Behnke. The sand on this beach bore the marks of plate-sized bear tracks criss-crossed with a floral pattern of deer prints.

The last sky we slept under before discovering Meyers Chuck, a bit of an eerie fairytale envisioned, built, and inhabited by a handful of backcountry homemakers.

Revilla Circumnav. Continued

2009-06-11T10:29:00.009-08:00

Sunsets sinking in empty, cloudless skies the previous weeks renewed our appreciation for clouds and the orb's nighttime adieu to the sky.

Post-nap: Christopher and his devil's club halo.

Corinna and the beloved New Zealand Macpac tent.

An eerie visit to the privately-owned Bell Island Hot Springs: this place was so recently abandoned that although buildings and boats are in shambles, books remain on the shelves and clothes hang in the guest house closets. The pipe system has fallen to pieces, so the hot springs no longer even feed into the pool.

Christopher passing the teardrop islands of Naha Bay.

Beginning Revillagigedo

2009-06-11T09:58:00.010-08:00

We open with sunlight in Ketchikan (soon diminishing to rain) and an itch to leave town. We here point southeast.

Christopher and New Eddystone Rock set the stage for Misty Fjords.

Walker Bay and severe clear.

Christopher, Corinna, and our Revilla circumnavigation mascot, Captain S. Foster.

Ralph, our retired atomic physicist and provider of all things seafoody, hands Scott a camera. Soon thereafter Ralph hands off three lively dungeoness crabs which scramble about in the hulls of our boats until supper.

Float Plan - Indefinitely Subject to Change

2009-05-19T16:27:00.005-08:00

Our expedition begins with a trip from Juneau to Ketchikan on the Alaska Marine Highway's M/V Taku.
Scheduled departure from Juneau: 7:45 a.m. Saturday, May 23.
Scheduled arrival in Ketchikan: 6:00 a.m. Sunday, May 24.

Revillagigedo Circumnavigation
Projected Route: We intend to paddle southeast from Ketchikan, dabble in Misty Fjords, visit the Bell Island hotsprings, and complete a ring around the island of Revilla.
Anticipated time on the water: 18-20 days.
Expected day of return to Ketchikan: June 12.

Ketchikan to Wrangell
Projected Route: Past the Cleveland Peninsula, into Ernest Sound, up Eastern Passage.
Anticipated time on the water: 8-10 days.
Expected day of arrival in Wrangell: June 23.

Wrangell to Petersburg
Projected Route: Through Dry Straight, visiting Thomas Bay (just north of Petersburg), then into town.
Anticipated time on the water: 4-6 days.
Expected day of arrival in Petersburg: June 30.

Petersburg to Kake
Projected Route: South through the Wrangell Narrows, then through Rocky Pass to Kake.
Anticipated time on the water: 8-9 days.
Expected day of arrival in Kake: July 10.

Kake to Juneau
Projected Route: Crossing Fredrick Sound from the east side of Kupreanof to the mainland, heading north, taking a sidetrip into Tracy or Endicott Arm, either crossing Taku Inlet OR possibly crossing to Admiralty Island a bit before Taku then crossing back from Admiralty to south Douglas, then heading up Gastineau Channel to Juneau.
Anticipated time on the water: 15 days.
Expected day of arrival in Juneau: July 22.

Juneau to the Beardsleys?
To Gustavus?
To Pelican?
Elsewhere?