Alrighty! BIG thanks to CanoeKev for getting these going. I'm honoring him with a password on this segment. Part 3 will be up a little bit later today.

Here ya go for part 2 - enjoy. The segment is 29:52 in length.

The password is

C@n03K3v

case sensitive.

Paddling To, Through and Around Alaska - part 2

Bob, you've got one set of Kahuna's on you is all I can say!

Bob, thanks again!

quote bbrown6057: "Bob, you've got one set of Kahuna's on you is all I can say!"

I was thinking the same thing!

Agreed! Am loving these.

quote bapabear: "Agreed! Am loving these."

+1. Thanks

That scene of the waves crashing on the rocks is a perspective I have never experienced. Powerful.
The cabin was too sweet.
If this was shown to any group of average people they would think it was planned and produced by a Hollywood company.

Thank you.

Watched the first 2 last night, such a cool trip! Can't wait to see the rest

Am beginning to get a grasp of what those pre-trip 'naysayers' comments were all about. Some rough & tough encounters with water already..... unpredictability of elements like the strong currents traveling wrong directions at times.

BeaV,

With regard to the unlocked cabin, do you think it was unlocked for the very situation you found yourself in? What are the standards and customs in that part of the country?

Very beautiful setting.

quote JimmyJustice: "BeaV,
With regard to the unlocked cabin, do you think it was unlocked for the very situation you found yourself in? What are the standards and customs in that part of the country?"

Yes, the cabin was left open, dry wood and kindling, and fresh water in the copper tea pot on the stove for a situation such as mine. I can't speak for the custom in remote Canada but I know from my previous experience in Alaska, it is the norm to leave remote cabins open and stocked for the needs of someone else. In return, the cabin user should replace what was used or if not possible do something else in gratitude.

I had traveled almost 60 miles that day along the coast and had never seen a single sign of humans- it still amazes me that I came upon this place in the pitch black, off my google map, gps without batteries, navigation headlamp without batteries, and a powerful storm bearing down on me! If the cabin had been locked, I would not have entered- I could have just stayed in my tent for the day. But it was sure nice to have the warmth and comforts of that cabin!

I did what I could in return for use of their cabin including writing a note to them explaining why this stranger burned some of their wood. They wrote back to me that this cabin was theirs but it was the Lord who provided this location/sanctuary for mariner's safety. Funny they mentioned this, cuz I already knew that it wasn't my skills that brought me to this cove. I was not the first to find protection here they said.

They also gave me permission to use their cabin anytime. :)

Very cool, thanks all.

I am thoroughly enjoying this! Thanks Jerry for posting and BeaV... what can I say other than WOW!

Enjoying this thoroughly. On to Part 3...

BeaV,

No portaging, just load up the canoe and find nice places to camp, a piece of cake.
Just kidding, I've done allot of canoe tripping but I'll now think of this trip when I'm caught on lakes like Saganaga and Gabamichigami, where I've been caught fighting big waves taking on water, and will know it could be much worse. I do not understand how you paddled at night, I've done it on calm waters in moonlight and found it very uncomfortable, unable to discern anything on the shoreline to find a place to camp, and slept in the canoe. Why you would choose to go in the dark under those conditions is beyond me. You are a canoeist hero. Thanks for these videos.

When I paddle at night I'm always careful and worried about hitting rocks. I can't imagine paddling along the shoreline with those waves and rocks around me, much less at night. Beav has superpowers!

quote Dbldppr1250: "When I paddle at night I'm always careful and worried about hitting rocks. I can't imagine paddling along the shoreline with those waves and rocks around me, much less at night. Beav has superpowers!"

i think that the bible tucked into the bow of the canoe is the most essential piece of gear that beav brought on this trip.

I love the description of tidal rapids and whirlpools. We have them in Maine on the East coast. Tidal range 12-24 feet with constrictions that make whirlpools. My favorite close to home area has areas with currents with cross currents. Boy do you have to stay loose in order not to capsize.

Did you time your speed ever? One of our reversing falls runs at 18 mph and has slack of ten minutes. Its a very puckering experience. Did you get boils that provide no paddle support?

Sounds like you had significant tidal delays and also the current slack doesn't coincide with high or low slack tide. Lots a water up there so it must take a lot of time to stop and reverse the flow due to inertia.

At home on the ocean we use tide tables and also current tables. I doubt you had the luxury of so much info that being a remote to the max area.

Sea Lions? They let you get pretty close. They are scary to me. Saw some..not that many in Glacier Bay and they were't friendly looking

Did your Miniworks ever fail you during the trip? I like mine.. Or liked until I got the MSR gravity filter!

quote OldGuystilltripping: "Why you would choose to go in the dark under those conditions is beyond me."

I pushed it under night conditions the same reason as pushing it under poor weather, heavy winds/seas, big open water crossings, and when I thought I was exhausted. I had a small window of opportunity to make it to the Bering Sea before winter storms and freezeup would end my trip. Every hour of every day I felt that pressure to keep making progress. It was like a race against mother nature. I knew what the ground rules were for this race, but she kept throwing new rules and obstacles at me asking me "what are you going to do now, BeaV?"

So it was a race up the Inside Passage and the Chilkoot Trail to reach the Yukon River at ice out. Then it was a race to reach the Bering Sea (the side trip to my cabin was precious time lost). Once on the Bering Sea it was a race to get off the Bering Sea ASAP.

So I guess that was my mentality- push the/my limits now for a better chance later. Risk assessment they call it.

quote yellowcanoe: "I love the description of tidal rapids and whirlpools. We have them in Maine on the East coast. Tidal range 12-24 feet with constrictions that make whirlpools. My favorite close to home area has areas with currents with cross currents. Boy do you have to stay loose in order not to capsize."

Similar tidal range on the passage, 12 feet near Washington and over twice that by the time I got to Skagway. Tidal induced currents, crosscurrents, eddies, boils, whirlpools, and standing waves- I just referred to this junk as "freaky water". And unlike a white-water river where these features are fixed, the freaky tidal water features change continually as the tide cycle progresses.

I did not have the luxury of charts or tide books. My gps did give some local tidal information as I progressed, but the problem was I had no maps with names of places or features so when the gps said "Elgin Island low tide -0.5' at 7:00 am" I didn't know where the heck that was at. I quickly learned just to pay attention to what was happening and keeping mental notes on when the next high or low tide would be. If the current was too strong to paddle against, I'd scoot over to the edge of shore and paddle inches from shore where the current is least. I tried to time my paddling through narrow constrictions in the passages to slack current time, if possible.

Miniworks- worked great on the passage where I had clear water streams to filter from. I sent it home from Skagway cuz it would be useless on the Yukon River. Most of the trip I just boiled my drinking water.

Awesome! Watched firmest two parts tonight, can't wait to watch the rest. Thanks a million for sharing. As the song says, "time flies, make a statement, take a stand... come along and you'll see what its like to be free"

Jim

Such an incredible adventure. Thank you for making it available for me to enjoy vicariously. Please keep them available for a while as I am metering my intake to one episode a day...we will see how long that holds true. Great music, photography and editing. New meaning to shelter in a storm.
Mac

As I wait for the posting of segment 12, I am rerunning some of the oldies but goodies. On second viewing, I discover things missed first time around and get to look at that wonderful country again. It sure would be a dream to paddle that water but I think it will stay just a dream.

I'm late to the game here but watched 1 and 2 tonight. Holy moly Beav, this is incredible. What beauty and those sea lions.... wow. And then to stumble into that dock in the dark before the storm... Damn, someone or some thing had your back then.

Can't wait to see the rest. Thanks to you and the tech crew (Jerry?) for making this so great.