1996 – Gates of the Arctic Ski Trip

This has to go down as one of the best trips we ever took.  It started innocently enough, some Alaska Airline travel credits from a cancelled trip (not even sure to where) that would expire in a short time.  The first idea was to fly to somewhere in Alaska where we could see the Northern Lights.  That idea slowly morphed into a full-blow ski trip across the Gates of the Arctic National Park.

The trip involved flying to Anaktuvuk Pass, a native Alaska community north of the Arctic Circle. From there we’d ski about 120 miles, up the Anaktuvuk River, over Ernie Pass, down the Koyukuk River, turn right over Delay & Glacier Passes and out to Wiseman and the haul road that goes to the north slope.  There was even scheduled flights from Fairbanks to Anaktuvuk Pass and Coldfoot (just down the road from Wiseman).  We expected the trip to last about 2 weeks

We had done cold weather camping on Denali and skiing with sleds in Yellowstone but this trip was committing as we didn’t expect to see many, if any, other people along the way.  We did take flares along with us in case we thought we needed to wave down a passing airplane.

One quandary was whether to take a firearm in case of a hungry brown bear along our route.  When Marcia asked a NPS ranger for the park that question, his response was that the bears “would be the least of our problems.”

Despite those ominous words, everything about the trip clicked well.  The scenery was spectacular, the weather about as good as we could ask for, and the route not too difficult to follow.  We saw three sets of people along the way: a group of local hunters on ATV’s on day 2; a group of skiers going the reverse of our route on day 5; and, a two miners on snow machines on day 8.  When we reached Wiseman at the the haul road, Marcia knocked on the door of a cabin that had smoke coming from its chimney and we were invited in for hot tea and able to get a ride the 8 or so miles to Coldfoot which had a motel and an air strip for the flight back to Fairbanks.

Skiing along the big open valley bottoms, in sun, at a temperature in the low teens with no wind was magical.  It was utterly quiet except for noise of my skis, sled and breathing.  The solitude was so complete it is difficult to describe.

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1995 – Queen Charlottes Kayak Trip

This 2 week trip to the Queen Charlotte Islands (now called Haida Gwaii) was the longest, both in distance and duration, kayak trip we did.  It also planted the seed in Marcia’s and my head about exploring that long coast between Puget Sound and SE Alaska.  There were six people (3 couples) on the trip, Marcia and myself, Craig and Sharon Rowley, and Debbie Wolf and John Wick.  We paddled 2 double (Marcia & I, Debbie & John) and 2 single kayaks (Sharon & Craig).

Logistically, it was complex as to get to the put-in point at Raspberry Cove near the south tip of Moresby Island we had to:

1. Drive 2 vehicles with 4 kayaks to the Tswwassen BC Ferry Terminal
2. Ferry across to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island
3. Drive Nanaimo to the Port Hardy BC Ferry Terminal
4. Ferry 1 vehicle with 4 kayaks to Prince Rupert (1 vehicle was left in a parking lot and 4 of us walked aboard the ferry)
5. Ferry to Skidegate on Graham Island
6. Ferry to Alliford Bay on Moresby Island
7. Drive to Moresby Camp landing (the 4 “footsies” rode in the van of our water taxi service)
8. Water taxi with kayaks and gear a in large Zodiac (i.e., rigid hull inflatable boat) to Raspberry Cove.

This positioning took 2-1/2 days.  It was pouring down rain when the water taxi dropped us in the afternoon of day 3.  It was then we began to learn the art of erecting tarps over tents and the cook area.

It turned out that the day we landed was the wettest day of our trip.  While overcast and occasionally rainy for the first week, the weather improved and we were in sunshine by the end.

The kayaking was not terribly challenging with only a few long (>3 miles) crossings.  Otherwise it was mostly near shore paddling.  Our take-out/pick-up spot was on Hot Springs Island in Juan Perez Sound after about 10 days of paddling.  The trip home was pretty much the reverse of the trip up.

The trip’s high points were the First Nation ruins at Tanu and Ninstints, the camping in old grow forest (the towering trees and thick moss gives it the feel of a cathedral) and the scenic soak pool on Hot Springs Island.

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1994 New Zealand

While attending the sea kayak symposium at Port Townsend with our friends Craig & Sharon Rowley, we sat in on a presentation by Mark Hutson about kayaking in the Bay of Islands in New Zealand.  That lead us down the path of putting together a five week trip (at least for Marcia and I) that crammed lots of activities across a good chunk of New Zealand.  The Rowley’s opted for a slightly shorter 3-1/2 week trip.

Our trip started right after Christmas (1993) and heading as fast as 3 connecting flights allow to Christchurch on the south island.  The Rowley’s would join us about 10 days later. 

While on our own, we did some touristing in Christchurch which we loved but then headed with our backpacking gear to the north end of the south island to do the Heaphy Track, a 48 mile walk that cuts across the NW corner of the south island.  The first day was fine but during the second day, the rain fell heavily.  While we had a tent, I recollect that we stayed in a hut the second night.

The weather was a bit drier the third day and we reached the Heaphy Hut along the Tasman Sea.  We (or at least Kurt) learned the hard way the ferocity of sand flies.  The fourth day brought us to the track’s end (or beginning depend on your direction).  A shuttle took us to a lovely lodge in Karamea.   A bus ride took us to Westport where rains returned in earnest.  We spent two nights at a hostel in Westport than took the train back to Christchurch. 

While waiting for the arrival of the Rowley’s, we did a day trip up to Kaikoura where we went on a whale watching trip.  These are sperm whales which feed on the squids living in the underwater canyon that is close off the shore of the Kaikoura peninsula.

Once the Rowley’s arrived, a car was rented and the “adventure” of driving on the left side of the road began.  We headed to Dunedin, south of Christchurch.  We traveled up the Otago Peninsula and stopped at the Royal Albatross Centre.  While there we saw both Royal Albatrosses and the Little Blue Penguins.  The penguins were viewed from quite a distance as they returned from their day of fishing and trudged slowly up a sandy hill side to their burrows.

We next drove to Queenstown where we spent several days doing touristy type things.  It included a visit to the Walter Peak Farm, a day trip to Milford Sound, a jet boat ride up the Dart River and, for Marcia and I (Craig & Sharon opting out), a tandem parasail ride.

Upon our return to Christchurch we flew to Auckland on the north island.  We again rented a car and began a tour of some of the sights on the north island.  Along the way we car camped a couple of nights at a beach on the Coromandel Peninsula before heading to Rotorua and its thermal hot springs.  From there we continued on to the Waitomo for a black water rafting trip.

It was now time to return to Auckland and take a bus up to Paihia in the Bay of Islands where we would start our sea kayak trip.  There were six clients on the trip, one less experienced than the four of us (the Rowleys, Marcia and I) and one more experienced.  Accompanying Mark was his significant other, a kayaking friend and the friend’s daughter.  All were very experienced.

The trip was lovely and the weather generally quite nice.  Most of our previous sea kayaking experience had been in protected waters so it was a new experience to be more (but not totally) to ocean swells and surf.  We had some surf landings and the opportunity to take empty kayaks out after camp was established and work on our surfing.  We visited sea caves and paddled in the swells near shore.  It is a thrilling experience to feel your kayak go up and down as the swell builds underneath, before it (the wave and hopefully not you) crashes on to the nearby rocky shore.  After about a week of paddling (distance uncertain), we took out at Matauri Bay about 20 miles (as the crow flies) from our put in.

We spent a couple of nights in Auckland at the after the kayak trip but it is a large city and we were ready to head back by that time.  All in all, the New Zealand trip was a joy and I would gladly visit again.

1993 – West Buttress

Marcia organized this climb with 2 other woman, Billie Butterfield and Gayle MacCleary, who had attempted to climb Mt McKinley but failed.  Since everybody knew each other, had considerable climbing experience and all of the necessary gear, the organization was pretty minimal.

The flew onto the glacier in early June and hoped to summit near the solstice.  Their health was good and the weather the usual mixture of good and bad.  They did have to spend several days at the 17,000 high camp waiting for the weather.  Despite some grumbling and noises about turning back, Marcia squashed those thoughts and kept everybody inline until the weather window showed up.  On summit day, everybody made it without drama or injury.

The descent went quickly and they had no wait at the airstrip.  Billie and Marcia went out first followed later by Gayle on the last flight of the day.

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