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LEON BRINGING ME MY MORNING MINT TEA!

WE SPENT AN HOUR WITH 6 HUMPBACKS ON OUR SECOND TO LAST DAY

I learn so much on these trips, both about myself, the world we live in and other cultures. On this trip particularly, I learned a lot about a culture that is still very much alive today, and connects us to the past of this region. The Haida people are doing a great job of educating people about the rich culture of their past and how they are bringing it forward into the future.

I really enjoyed our team, it was strong, competent, and considerate. Life on the water and at camp was fun! Justine always made us laugh, and she always pulled out treats to keep our spirits high. In camp, we had lot’s of time to explore and relax, do Yoga, and Shawna had time to paint in her journal.

SHWANA & LEON IN THE HOT SPRINGS

1,000 METRE PEAKS ON THE WEST COAST

These were the highlights of the trip for me:
As we were waiting for humpback whales to pass on a swelly day on the west coast – 5 curious sea lions stopped to play amoungst our boats for 20 minutes. Seeing puffins around Cape St. James, paddling into the house size swell as we rounded Cape Knox looking into the “green rooms” of some very large boomers. Seeing the haida kids after their SOLO rediscovery program, dinner with Susan and her clan at Rose harbor – what a fantastic place!, recovering from illness at Puffin Cove…

I’ve been dreaming of paddling around Haida Gwaii since I lived in Minnesota. Back then, I stored my kayak diagonal across the living room floor, and I drank many cups of coffee sitting in that kayak dreaming of trips. I picked up Joel Rodger’s book “The Hidden Coast” and read about Haida Gwaii, and was immediately drawn to this place.

Thanks to Justine and all of our sponsors for making this trip happen!

I read 2 books on this trip that I highly recommend – The Golden Spruce by John Valliant, and Raven’s Cry by Christie Harris.

SHAWNA TAKES SOME AIR ON THE WEST COAST

THE WOMAN HERSELF!

HAPPY FACES ARRIVING BACK IN QUEEN CHARLOTTE!

We have been back for a day now, and I have been in a bit of culture shock all day. The feeling is hard to describe. I’ll start by describing our first full day back in Queen Charlotte City.

We got up late this morning and Leon and I went straight to Queen Bs, a lovely little waterside coffee shop, where Leon got scolded for asking for a Grande – the woman behind the counter was nice about it all but she basically asked him to leave his Starbucks mentality at the door! Anyway, it is nice to have someone make you a cup of coffee in the morning (Leon has finally been given some relief, as he unfailingly brought me a steaming cup of coffee and Justine a cup of tea every morning of the trip!) Then we found Justine who had been trying unsuccessfully to get a flight down to Rose Harbor as she would have loved to get some airiel footage of the south coast of Moresby. From there, we all went to have a wander around in the galleries here in town. We decided to spend the rest of the day at the newly built and impressive Haida Cultural center and Museum in Skidegate. Since we don’t have a car, we have to rely on our thumbs and we hitched a ride from a man visiting from Prince George. The car noises are here intermingled with the sounds of calling eagles and curious ravens everywhere. I went to bed last night thinking this is the first night in about 28 that I could hear a car engine as I started to doze.


The museum was worth the visit, and we got a great tour from Jason who interpreted the 6 totem poles, the Haida War Canoes on display and the walk into history of artefacts and art from long ago. Tommorow night we will return and join in on a special Haida feast, and night of dancing performances!

The strange culture shock feeling started in the morning when I sat up from bed, and put my feet on the wooden floor of the Hostel we are staying in and I wandered down the hall to the indoor bathroom to brush my teeth. When we are not on an expedition, we are inside a lot, and this, after being outside a lot, feels a bit strange and takes some getting used to. I don’t so easily feel the wind, the rain, the sand between my toes, nor the salt on my face.

Having coffee in the shop and wandering around looking at beautiful art and books all tempting us to spend some money was fun, but I was again reminded at how different this day was to the last 30. Out there on the trip, we have nowhere to shop and the exploring we have to do everyday is into the forest or up and down some beautiful stretch of beach. If we find a cool shell or a stone or some scenery – we don’t have to buy them or ask if we can see them.

JUSTINE IN SWELL AND MIST ON THE WEST COAST

YOGA ON THE GORDON ISLANDS
In town, I do not check the weather report on the VHF, nor do I necessarily know what the tides are doing, and I easily loose track of the phase of the moon. I guess I don’t necessarily need this information to live or to travel here in town, so I get lazy again when I am not on a trip. I feel a bit out of touch with the natural world, and this makes me uneasy, and it is the expedition that has reminded me of this.
On the other hand, on a trip, I feel a bit out of touch with what is happening in the rest of the world and I find myself wondering what changes there have been as I guess I have got used to knowing so easily what the greater world is doing.

Today, I felt a bit caught between two worlds that strangely coexhist together. Life on an expedition makes me appreciative of all that we have at home or in town, and being out there makes me appreciate all the more the raging and complex beauty of the natural world.

The very coolest thing is that I feel like I can go between the two and enjoy both. Haida Gwaii has given us that. This place is magnificent, peaceful, and powerful. I will relish in our memories of this trip for the rest of my life.

JUSTINE FILMING LEON ROUNDING THE SOUTHERN TIP OF HAIDA GWAII

UNDERWATER URCHINS

Leon and Justine will write their comments over the next few days and we’ll post more photos!

SMILES ON THE LAST EVENING OUT

THE LAST SUPPER LAST NIGHT

We MADE IT!! Yeah! And what a fantastic trip in beautiful islands. This morning, we woke up to wonderful sunshine with clear views of the snow patches on the mountain tops. We could tell we were close to town because a steady stream of fishing boats started buzzing past us from about 7am, all heading for the west coast. Their engine noise mixed with the sound of 3 different eagles calling in the trees above. We ate well to the very end and our last breakfast was cheese and onion quesadillas, with the very last of the powered milk in Shawna & Leon’s coffee. We launched around 10am and for once we had wind and tide behind us for almost the whole journey. It was a pleasure to wizz through the ‘East Narrows’ at up to 9 knots having fought against 4 or 5 knots of current last time. At low tide it looked very different from last time when the channel was 5 or 6 times as wide. The sun shone all day and the wind pushed us along between tree-covered islands.
We paddled a touch over 14 nautical miles to arrive back at Queen Charlotte City in three and a half hours. That brings our total mileage for the whole trip to exactly 500.5 nautical miles!!! I think we can round it down to 500 without worrying too much about the extra half! Strictly speaking, we should paddle the last 3 miles to the Skidegate ferry terminal to complete the figure of eight but we’ll save that until the day we catch the ferry home. We were out for 30 days and I felt relaxed and happy for most of it. It’s very peaceful here surrounded by 1,000 metre high mountains with no traffic noise, no street lights, no construction.

SETTING OFF THIS MORNING

A FOLLOWING SEA UP THE EAST NARROWS

It’s 7pm now and I’m sitting in the ‘Premiere Lodge’ hostel now feeling refreshed and happy after a wonderful hot shower (my first wash for 10 days!), and a tasty hot meal in a restaurant (with a cold beer for Shawna and Leon & a margharitta for me!) That was a late lunch… it’s nearly time for dinner! I’ll write more tomorrow and post more photos from the last 18 days around Moresby. Shawna & Leon will also write their impressions of the trip in the next day or two.

Thank you very much to Mike DuPas for writing the blog updates and putting up the photos and maps. Mike told Leon yesterday that we couldn’t thank him because we hadn’t seen what he’d written.. well, we have now so thanks a lot for doing a great job! Thanks also to Kokatat for paying for rental of the sat phone so we could update this, and to Kokatat, the North Face, Snapdragon, Lendal, Werner, Seakayaking UK & Native sunglasses, for sponsoring us with great kit.

A few people have asked me if I’ll be making a DVD of this expedition – YES I will…. But it probably won’t be available for about a year.

9 KNOTS!!!

SHAWNA & LEON AT THE END!!