We have made it down the Lynn Canal and across the bar to Juneau. We will be cleaning up a few things and resupplying tomorrow before heading onward. The July Alaskan rain has finally arrived, just as we were told. 50s, low ceiling, and showers moving about the land. It is beautiful watching the mists swirl around the mountains, hearing the rain fall on the water all around you. The first part of trip was not like this at all.
When we left Haines it was well into 80s each day. The weather report on the VHF mentioned the possibility of record-breaking temperatures and floods from all the snowmelt in the mountains. We were in our thin neoprene tops and bottoms for paddling, and found ourselves dunking in the cold ocean at each break just to get some relief. We both managed to get a small bit of sunburn (nothing too bad) despite wide-brimmed hats, long sleeves, and a shade tarp at camp. It felt more like being on the river in Texas than in the northern wet climates!
Despite the discomfort, the heat did provide us with a few days of eerily calm waters as we made our way south. Visibility was lowered with the haze everywhere, though not enough to cause navigation issues. We made a couple longer crossings and the water was still for miles around us, mirroring the mountains and the mist. Paddling those seas was a rare treat in what is usually a windy place each afternoon.
Paddling was easy for most of this section, though managing the heavy boats when launching and landing can be difficult. With only two people. and each boat weighing well over 200 pounds when fully loading, it can be not just difficult but unsafe to try lifting and carrying them more than a few feet. Luckily there has been plenty of driftwood around to make some slides to launch and land from. (see the video below)
We have been taking it slow for this first section, paddling lower mileage days and enjoying time in camp. We wanted to allow our bodies the chance to adjust to the physical rigors of the expedition before really pushing in mileage or conditions. So far this has worked out well, especially with the heat wave. We have enjoyed having the time to stretch and relax and find some shade in the afternoon, but now we both feel ready to take on the next section of the trip, upping the mileage we paddle each day.
Our biggest challenge so far was coming to Juneau today. When we woke up the wind was 27 knots gusting 32 at the Juneau airport, which shares the alluvial plains with the Mendenhall Bar (both are made of all the material that has washed down from the glaciers over time). The bar goes dry at below most high tides, so today we only had a window of four hours to make it across before getting stranded on the sands. The winds had dropped considerably by the time we were crossing the bar, but we were still paddling with whitecaps and catpaws all around us, with some gusts halting our progress.
In order to conserve energy we had one paddler in front and the other following with their bow just inches behind the other’s stern, allowing for the paddler in the rear to draft and have an easier time. We made our way like this, slowly crawling the twelve nautical miles to Juneau with a stiff headwind all the way. It felt so good to get into the harbor and turn to have the wind at our backs for 100 yards. Today we got a glimpse of what we can do as a team; it bodes well for the rest of this journey.
