We were up at 4 and to the dock by 4:30. A shorter night than what we are used to, but visiting Tim and Chris and taking a flight over the area was better than a good nights sleep. The first challenge of the morning was loading the kayaks. Getting the gear to the docks was easy. Getting the gear into the boats was a job for long armed people.
The distance to the water was over a foot. I had some challenges.
Don's long arms were necessary in getting the gear into our boats
With that task done we headed over towards Dry Strait. Knew it was going to be a good day when half way across a passage, a rainbow appeared in the sky.
A lot of water from the Stikine is pouring into this area and water has turned a brown color. It is interesting to see where the two waters mix. Now though most of the water is being influenced by the Stikine.
We point our boats toward Dry Strait and with the current with us are able to make it thru the strait without having to walk. When a paddle touches the ground though we pick up the pace. Great timing as we go through the strait the tide switches and now we have the current with us for 6 more hours.
We had thought that we would take two days to get to Petersburg , but with the conditions and daylight it is in our reach. We take a break along the way and admire the mountains. In mid July we will return here and work a 25 day course for NOLS. We look forward to returning here.
Don called his brother when we were in Wrangel and his father's condition is deteriorating. Don may fly back to Portland from Petersburg to help his brother and most likely see his Dad one last time.
We make it to Petersburg and are met by Glenn, a friend of ours who is working there this summer for NOLS. We sure appreciate his ability to do this. There are no courses in town so we can use the NOLS storage area as a staging area. Don calls his brother again and the decision is made for Don to fly back to Portland. He is able to get a ticket for the first of July.. I will stay here and organize our gear and be prepared for whatever our next move is. Once again we explode our gear. This time though we are inside and are not going to be effected by the rain. Don packs for his trip to Portland. We are thankful for the circumstances that has placed us here.
Nautical miles paddled 32