We were so happy to land in Homer after 101 days from Adak. Photo by Michael Armstrong, Homer (Alaska) News
We did it! Sarah and I landed on Homer spit at 8.30pm after 101 days paddling along the Aleutian island chain and the Alaskan peninsula.
The stats – 1350 nautical miles which is 2,500 km or 1,550 statute miles. We paddled 64 of those days and had 37 days on land.
The important stuff – we had a great adventure with so many wonderful memories. New friends, new experiences and new possibilities
Amazing days off exploring like at Skiff Cove in the Islands of the 4 Mountains
I’ve recently arrived home to Wales with a inner warmth and calmness that always comes after a wonderful wilderness journey. Many of my muscles are a little tight after 101 days of paddling, camping & being on the go, but my face is relaxed and the corners of my lips are hooked up into a permanent faint smile. I have so many happy memories, from watching hundreds of mother otters swimming on their backs, clutching their babies close to their chests to jumping between the driftwood logs along a vast empty sandy beach as the last of the sun turns the sky pink. Some of the paddling was really committing and we didn’t always know how long it would take us to buck currents and reach land. Other days were calm and sunny bimbles along skyscraper cliffs, brimming full of nesting birds.
The highlights are too many to list, much of the joy was in the simple fact that every day brought new scenery and experiences and life was boiled down to the basic pleasures and necessities of food, safety, shelter and living in the now. A naked Sarah coming face to face with a curious brown bear while washing in a stream, bbqing fish in the embers of a driftwood fire, washing off the grime and sweat in the delicious heat of a hot spring, being woken up at 4am by 3 sea lions hauling their giant bulks ashore besides our tent….. these memories and more help make this one of the most special trips that I’ve made.
A few planes came to say hello
It’s satisfying to have completed a long journey through challenging waters. We don’t know of anyone else who has blazed the way before us so it was exciting (and at times a bit nerve wracking) to discover the conditions for ourselves, figuring things out along the way. While there are small communities dotted along our route, I felt happy that there is still such a large swathe of mostly untouched wilderness up in Alaska and lucky to have spent over 3 months weaving our way along her shores, watching her burst with life during the short summer season, and seeing the landscape turn from the treeless, rocky volcanoes of the Aleutians to the lush, green spruce-ladden slopes of Kodiak. I hope that the inaccessibility and lack of log-able trees helps keep this special wilderness wild in the future.
We experienced all kinds of weather including flat calm and blue everything.
We visited 8 of the 10 communities that are scattered along the Aleutians and the Alaskan peninsula. Twice we needed to cover 250 miles between villages. The research vessel, Tiglax, invited us on board for showers and breakfast as they passed us on their way to and from the western Aleutians. Closer to Homer, we spent 2 days recharging at both the amazing Hallo Bay Bear camp and the remote Blue Fox Bay Lodge. It was a privilege to meet so many wonderful, kind people who welcomed 2 tired and hungry travellers into their communities with open arms, good stories and some great food!
It might not look like it but these guys are playing. We had amazing bear viewing at Hallo Bay Bear Camp
There are short stretches of road in all the habitations but the only way in and out is by plane or boat so the people who live there chose to exist close to nature and appreciate being able to harvest much of their food from the land. Delights we sampled included sea lion soup, smoked salmon, baked halibut, reindeer bolognase and sea urchin eggs slurped straight from the shell. Ironically, the modern tool of facebook will allow me to continue to watch these new friends as they catch salmon, harvest berries and beachcomb for glass balls.
My new favourite snack – chocolate covered munchy seeds!
There were a few challenges to Sarah and my friendship having spent 24 hours in each others company for close to 4 months. I’ve been sea kayaking longer and we have different paces, and sometimes different ideas about how we should tackle a day’s paddle or a section of coastline. It’s a testament to Sarah’s positive attitude, sense of humour, forgiving nature and amazing strength of character that we emerge as even better friends and only ignored each other for a few hours during the entire trip. Sarah is one of the most incredible people I know, not only to have the stamina and motivation to paddle frequent 14 hour stints and keep going when the ocean tidal rips and winds threatened to overwhelm her but for her generosity of spirit in wanting to share the joy that she feels at being alive and to make the day of everyone that she meets just a little bit better.
Amazing volcanoes along the Aleutian Chain. This is Carlisle island
KIT AND SPONSORS
I’m grateful to our sponsors who enhanced the adventure. Most of the kit stood up well to extended time in a damp, windy environment. My three-piece Valley Etain that was bolted together kept my kit dry and I was really pleased with the way she handled in the waves. We both had Kokatat drysuits which kept the sea water and sweat away from our bodies. Sarah had the expedition suit with a hood, I prefer the meridian dry suit without a hood. Our Mitchell blades are a great mix of durable and lightweight. I’ve paddled thousands of miles with the same pair and despite bashing them on rocks more than a few times, they are still structurally sound. Flat Earth Sails were a welcome addition for both of us. When we could use them, it felt like the kayaks were a few kilos lighter and our speed typically picked up about a knot, even into a quartering wind. If we stopped paddling for a snack, the sails often still drove us along at 2 or 3 knots. I think the record high speed for having a wee off the back of the kayaks while under sail was about 4 knots!
We often cooked on fires. Pancakes was a day off treat.
The sturdy and room Hilleberg Tarra tent stood up to strong gusts without flinching and one 10mm pole survived Sarah falling onto the tent and totally squashing it (although it is a bit bent now!) Having a roomy vestibule each and pitching outer first are other great features. Icebreaker and Berghaus kept us warm and dry on land. Our hydrodown jackets are incredibly light and can cope with rain and my Mirgin La waterproof kept me dry while cooking in the rain on several occasions. Trek protein flapjacks and the pure fruit and nut of Nakd bars helped keep us healthy, while Mars helped with the chocolate fix. One of my favourite snacks is now chocolate covered Munchy seeds – yum yum. Fortunately we had different favourite snacks and I didn’t have to fight Sarah for the coconut and chocolate Trek bars which are clearly the best! We cooked with an optimus nova plus stove, pan set and kettle. I love the neoprene cover on the pan set which allowed us to keep one pan hot while cooking with the other. We only needed to boil pasta for a couple of minutes then let it continue cooking while we made up a sauce in the other pan.
Beautiful evening calm
Lifeventure heavy duty ziplock bags were a great addition to my kit, giving an extra layer of protection to my electronics. I had spare camera batteries in one bag in the hatch in front of me and it kept the batteries dry and quickly accessible. To be extra safe, we’d put things like the satellite phone into both one of these bags and an aquapac case. I also enjoyed Lifeventure’s thermal mug, which could be used as a flask or a cup.
Half the village of Nikolski came out to wave us goodbye
Ortlieb dry bags stood up well to a long trip. The aqua cam case is my firm favourite for carrying valuable electronics. I won’t go on a trip without one. We used Reed spraydecks, socks and emergency hatch covers. Sarah had to use an emergency hatch for 2 weeks when the sea claimed her day hatch and it worked remarkably well. I used Reed waterproof socks on land between my thermal socks and my trainers. They kept my feet dry when it was wet out or when crossing rivers. This was the first trip for ages where I had a fixed 70P Silva compass. Usually I take one that attaches with bungy cords. Since we had sails which increased the amount of ropes on the deck, I was glad not to have to worry about the compass.
Landing in the dark at Amukta island after 47 nautical miles
Thanks to Karel Visel for sending us weather forecasts twice a day. These helped keep us safe in this remote corner of the world.
We tried to avoid tidal races on windy days but didn’t always manage to.
I thoroughly enjoyed my 101 days in Alaska. Coming back to Kodiak where we saw dozens of fishing boats and heard gunshots was a bit of a culture shock. I realised just how lucky we were to see so much rarely visited wilderness. Entering civilisation wasn’t all bad – one of the fishing boats gave us a beer each and we enjoyed meeting some other people. Once we reached Homer, I was both savouring the last few hours of a fantastic journey and looking forward to a celebratory drink, a hot shower, a real bed and coming home.
This hug was 101 days in the making. Photo by Michael Armstrong, Homer (Alaska) News
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101 days in Alaska
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Hey Justine,
What a fantastic accomplishment! Thanks for bringing the action to us and letting us follow along. You are amazing!