Part 3 is up!

This segment's password is honoring the cool song "Come Along" which permeates so appropriately thru the entire video. (No, I didn't write it - wish I had)

This segment is 36:26

Password:

C0m3@l0ng

NOTE the 2nd and 7th figure are zeros.

enjoy!

Paddling To, Through and Around Alaska Part 3- The Inside Passage (cont)

First, thanks to BeaV for letting us view this, and to Jerry for making it happen and giving me the opportunity to help. Great stuff.

Now my pressing question for BeaV: Did you eat those clams and mussels that you roasted?? In our part of the country people pay good money for that kind of food!

Copy & paste is the best way to put in the password...IMHO

saw the first 2, can't access this one?

quote bwcasolo: "saw the first 2, can't access this one?"

What are you using as the 6th character? A lower case L? A number 1? Just a guess.

quote inspector13: "

quote bwcasolo: "saw the first 2, can't access this one?"

What are you using as the 6th character? A lower case L? A number 1? Just a guess. "

yes, lower case "L"

thks, using a 1. awesome!

my first question is-what did all that gear weigh? and what was the canoe? wow, what a haul.

I was able to access but it cut off on me. #2 did the same thing. BeaV, the spot where you were about to enter Alaska was gorgeous. Did battling the wind, currents, and all ever take away from the beauty and vastness of where you were? I loved the song and how it was timed in with the video - very nice. So, how did you set up your tarp with no trees and I was wondering if you attach the paddle to your wrist or the craft somehow especially when out in the open areas that you had to cross?

I'm loving this. Thanks to Bob, Jerry and CanoeKev for letting this Missouri boy watch this. I'm only 3 episodes in and all I can say is WOW. Bob's got the fortitude of a griz, the stamina 10x more than an iron man athlete, and is smarter than Confucius. That rock oven is genius! Can't wait til the next episode. My only question is why not make this into a movie? Holy crap what a feat this is!

quote CanoeKev: "Now my pressing question for BeaV: Did you eat those clams and mussels that you roasted?? In our part of the country people pay good money for that kind of food!"

Oh, that's what those things were, huh? I ate some of it but not knowing what these things were, hesitated eating too much of them. I knew what crabs were so I did eat crabs when I'd get a chance to get them. A canoe paddle makes in excellent crab crushing weapon.

quote bwcasolo: "my first question is-what did all that gear weigh? and what was the canoe? wow, what a haul."

My gear weight on this part of the trip was 280 pounds or less depending on the amount of food supply left. The good thing about the heavy load was it made the Kruger Sea Wind very stable in heavy seas. The bad thing is when plowing through big waves that try to stop my forward progress, it takes a lot of power to get the boat moving again. Just like it is when you start paddling from a standstill. It gets frustrating when this happens over and over again.

quote bapabear: "I was able to access but it cut off on me. #2 did the same thing. BeaV, the spot where you were about to enter Alaska was gorgeous. Did battling the wind, currents, and all ever take away from the beauty and vastness of where you were? I loved the song and how it was timed in with the video - very nice. So, how did you set up your tarp with no trees and I was wondering if you attach the paddle to your wrist or the craft somehow especially when out in the open areas that you had to cross?"

Battling difficult conditions didn't take away from the beauty but it gets ignored, I suppose, when your mind is concentrating on making it through dangerous conditions.

Tarp setup under beach conditions- used paddles and driftwood for supports and tiedowns to canoe and stakes. But this gets tricky when solo, wind is blowing, and it's cold and raining. Seconds count when your on the edge of hypothermia. Daytime temps along the Inside Passage were generally between 30-50 degrees. This doesn't sound cold but throw in steady rain and wind- gets a bit nippy especially when I'd go to shore to make camp.

Paddle leash- no I never did. I had a spare double blade paddle on the bow so I never worried about being "up a creek without a paddle".

Another great episode. Thanks again.

quote KevinL: "Another great episode. Thanks again. "

Ditto! I've paddled a Seawind and owned a Monarch. But I can't imagine paddling one 40+ miles a day on a millpond, let alone in those conditions? WOW!

Thanks to everyone who helped make these videos for us to watch, special thanks to Bob for sharing with us. The rock oven was really something, I really liked how you showed us your gear and how it was packed. Except for your electronic gear the gear you used is pretty muchly used by the rest of us. I never realized how the tides and the currents would effect your paddling. FRED

Once again, I am enamored by your trip. The packing was so well-planned. Kudos to all of you responsible for making this happen! Bob, all I can say is WOW!

Bob-

This may have been covered sometime earlier. . .?, but how many calories per day did you consume and how much weight did you lose over the trip?

quote FOG51: "I never realized how the tides and the currents would effect your paddling. FRED"

Yes the tides really complicate travel in a small craft. I had learned before the trip that there are 2 low and 2 high tides per day and the maximum tidal current happens about half way between the high and the low. Seemed simple enough- ya right!

The day before the Adventure starts, I'm sitting in a paddle shop with an expert local sea kayaker. Leon is giving me pointers on what to expect paddling the Inside Passage. I told him that Canadian Customs at the last minute requires me to go 10 miles out of my way to check in over on Vancouver Island. So Leon says lets look at me maps and find the best way to get there from here. He goes to his map file cabinet and pulls out a huge "Chart" and pulls out a tide book. It takes about an hour to figure out what time I should launch and how the tide and associated currents will affect my journey for only a half days paddle. With his local knowledge and the Chart and the tide book, he makes comments like "don't be here at this time" or "you gotta be here and cross this spot by this time" and "this is a major shipping channel so you have to cross perpendicular to the ships movements and hope there's not a ship coming around this point cuz by the time you see him your in trouble". I'm thinking to myself "oh oh, I don't have any Charts, tide book, local knowledge, or expertise- I'm in for trouble!"

I won't go into all the details of what the tides do but it takes a lot of rethinking for a Minnesotan to understand that shorelines are not fixed, oceans can turn into whitewater rivers, and rivers can flow in 2 directions (upstream and downstream can be at the same location at different times).

quote boonie: "Bob-This may have been covered sometime earlier. . .?, but how many calories per day did you consume and how much weight did you lose over the trip?"

The answer is "I don't know" to both questions. Pretrip as I was preparing prepackaged meals I just figured that I needed to make bigger meals than normal. So that's what I did. And I also tried to put extra fat on my body beforehand. So one day on the Passage when I had the chance to do laundry in that stream and take a GI bath, I grabbed my camera and took a photo of myself without my shirt on (that's the picture in this episode). I was shocked at what I saw in the photo- all my body fat was gone and it was only 3 weeks into the Adventure. I made adjustments to my food intake after this and thankfully, I was entering Alaska with more opportunities to restock my inadequate food supplies. Maybe someone else with some knowledge can help answer how many calories a guy burns pushing hard 12 hours per day.

You'll have to watch the rest of the episodes to see how things turned out:) One thing you'll notice throughout every episode- I craved food always!!!

It was that picture - and your minimal body fat after only three weeks - that prompted me to ask ;). I was wondering if you were going to complete the trip without starving to death :). Besides, you seemed pretty damn hungry when you were windbound :). I'm guessing you really pigged out in Skagway...?

I know from running marathons and talking to tri-athletes and endurance athletes that it takes a lot to fuel that kind of continuous expenditure of energy, although I can't give you a real good number. And I've read about what polar explorers eat - pounds of butter and cups of olive oil, etc. Even on my 7-10 day trips, I'll burn some belly fat and have a craving for ice cream, hamburgers and fries when I get out.

My wife and I watched the first segment together because she just happened to be sitting in the living room with me and started looking on. She is not a paddler but she has been fascinated, as have I. What you have here (the film) has a broad appeal and she has watched all the segments so far.

It is fascinating and instructive on many levels. Having some of the back story makes it more compelling.

quote Thwarted: "My wife and I watched the first segment together because she just happened to be sitting in the living room with me and started looking on. She is not a paddler but she has been fascinated, as have I. What you have here (the film) has a broad appeal and she has watched all the segments so far.

It is fascinating and instructive on many levels. Having some of the back story makes it more compelling."

My wife and daughter did the same. My daughter heard the Vicci Martinez song cranked up and had to come see what the heck her dad was doing. :-) I have the whole set and watched all 9 hours one Saturday. They got sucked into the adventure. The quality of the editing, the story, the scenery makes for a very entertaining video even for non paddlers.

quote boonie:I'm guessing you really pigged out in Skagway...? "

Typical day in Skagway: Go to restaurant for breakfast, order 2 of their biggest menu meals. Then order 3rd breakfast, usually a giant sized cinnamon roll(the cinnamon roll was only used to hold all the butter I caked on them).

Go to grocery store for treats for snacking on during the day when not in restaurants.

Lunch at a restaurant.

Afternoon snacks and a stop at the ice cream shop.

Supper or two at restaurants with dark beers, of course.

One honor I earned while in Skagway: I hold the record for eating the most pizza at one sitting at the Red Onion Saloon. When I ordered the "bad ass" pizza from the menu the owners and patrons gave me that look of "this guy's not from around here". The waitress says to me "that's usually enough for a family". I said to her, "that should be enough then". :)

BeaV, What kind of video camera did you use, and how did you mount it on the canoe when it's behind as your paddling, PS I'm really enjoying the videos thanks for sharing them

Thanks Again BeaV and Jerry. I really like the idea of the Bannock inside the shells on a rock oven. I'm glad we got to see the setup in your canoe. I was wondering how you could film so long until you showed the solar panel.

A question for you BeaV, I remember you said you had a GPS with you. Did you take maps with or did you have the pictures you showed to navigate with?

quote mcsweem: "BeaV, What kind of video camera did you use, and how did you mount it on the canoe when it's behind as your paddling, PS I'm really enjoying the videos thanks for sharing them "

I used 2 point and shoots, a waterproof Panasonic Lumix and a Sony DSC-RX100. Both shoot in high definition but the Sony took much better quality especially when the camera was moving. No surprise as the Sony is twice as expensive and is a higher end P&S. The strength of the Panasonic was it's ruggedness and waterproofness.

The footage from the rear of the boat was done by using a tripod free standing in the canoe same as shots in front of me. I didn't have any mounting system on the deck of the boat so when things got nasty and I had to put the spray skirt on, filming was not possible. I missed a lot of interesting things due to this limitation but at least I can claim I was never afraid cuz there's no film showing fear in my eyes :)

quote Savage Voyageur: "A question for you BeaV, I remember you said you had a GPS with you. Did you take maps with or did you have the pictures you showed to navigate with? "

I used google earth maps that I printed in color and laminated to make waterproof. The gps was used more for telling time and checking my paddling speed than for navigation. Many maps are outdated for Alaska's ever changing rivers and shoreline. One time, for some reason, I relied on the gps map instead of the google satellite map and that mistake almost cost me my life- I'll save that story for later when it occurred.

quote BeaV: "

quote Savage Voyageur: "A question for you BeaV, I remember you said you had a GPS with you. Did you take maps with or did you have the pictures you showed to navigate with? "

I used google earth maps that I printed in color and laminated to make waterproof. The gps was used more for telling time and checking my paddling speed than for navigation. Many maps are outdated for Alaska's ever changing rivers and shoreline. One time, for some reason, I relied on the gps map instead of the google satellite map and that mistake almost cost me my life- I'll save that story for later when it occurred."

Beav, I use MDNR maps of lakes and color/laminate them; however, I ind that if they get wet the lamination doesn't cut it. Do you have that problem, or maybe you use a higher quality lamination process? Thanks for any info.

Outstanding. It has been a treat to watch and read the follow up Q&A. Funny how so many of us ask the same questions and your answers so simple and straight forward. I am also thankful there have been on spoiler alerts thus far. I said it before and will again and again...thank you for sharing.

quote Dbldppr1250: "Beav, I use MDNR maps of lakes and color/laminate them; however, I ind that if they get wet the lamination doesn't cut it. Do you have that problem, or maybe you use a higher quality lamination process? Thanks for any info."

In the past I did have some problems with lamination failing but I think I learned a few tricks because for this trip I didn't have any problems. My maps spent up to a month sitting in water in the bottom of the canoe without failing. My laminator was nothing special and the laminate was purchased at Office Depot. Here's the tricks I learned:

-Make sure the laminator is really warmed up good before starting.

-Leave at least 1/4 inch laminate on laminate around the border of your paper map.

-Cut the corners off your maps at least 1/2 inch forming a chamfer. This allows more laminate on laminate contact on the corners.

Watch for closeups of my maps in the videos to see what I mean.

quote BeaV: "

quote Dbldppr1250: "Beav, I use MDNR maps of lakes and color/laminate them; however, I ind that if they get wet the lamination doesn't cut it. Do you have that problem, or maybe you use a higher quality lamination process? Thanks for any info."

In the past I did have some problems with lamination failing but I think I learned a few tricks because for this trip I didn't have any problems. My maps spent up to a month sitting in water in the bottom of the canoe without failing. My laminator was nothing special and the laminate was purchased at Office Depot. Here's the tricks I learned:


-Make sure the laminator is really warmed up good before starting.


-Leave at least 1/4 inch laminate on laminate around the border of your paper map.


-Cut the corners off your maps at least 1/2 inch forming a chamfer. This allows more laminate on laminate contact on the corners.


Watch for closeups of my maps in the videos to see what I mean."

Thanks for the advice!

Watched again this morning. I loved the raw emotion BeaV showed after making the wind crossing into Alaska. The determination to not give up was impressive.

The pic with his shirt off was startling. Not a lot of fat reserves for so early in the trip.

I really enjoyed the packing of the gear into the canoe. The ziplock with the battery pack could have been improved on but we all live and learn. A pelican case with water proof cord access is something I read about when making a DIY depth finder for AA batts for fishing.

Looking forward to more episodes in the saga.