Denis Dwyer
Denis Dwyer
Sea Kayaking the Inside Passage
By Denis Dwyer
Every summer a handful of adventurous explorers set out to paddle the 1,300 mile (2,080 kilometer) Inside Passage from Washington to Alaska. Most start from one of the cities along the coast like Seattle WA, Bellingham WA, or Vancouver BC, with Skagway Alaska in their sights. The favored method of transportation is by sea kayak although some set out in canoes and for those that like to travel backwards, row boats. A few head out in groups of two or three but some like me prefer the added challenge of paddling solo.
Unlike land routes like the Appalachian Trail, the Inside Passage is a loosely defined route that winds its way through hundreds of channels and islands. There are no white blazes marking the way and campsites and shelters have not been established at convenient intervals. Contact with civilization is infrequent once a paddler passes Powell River BC on the mainland side of the Strait of Georgia or, if they are following the Vancouver Island coastline, Campbell River. Once past these towns the only other contacts that a paddler has with civilization are at Shearwater and Prince Rupert in British Columbia, and at Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, Juneau, Haines, and Skagway, Alaska. The towns are one to two weeks apart so paddlers get to re-supply a few times during the eighty or so days that it takes to complete the route. Most send food packages to a few of the towns along the route with their favorite dehydrated meals and other essential items that may be hard to purchase locally.
Inside Passage paddlers will need some specialized equipment and be practiced in rescue techniques in order to safely complete the route. GPS or Global Positioning System receivers, PLB’s or Personal Locator Beacons, EPIRB’s or Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons, VHF or Very High Frequency radio receiver / transmitters, and Cell Phones are all necessary equipment. Every paddler has to be able to recover from a roll-over and have more than one method of getting back into their boat while in the water.
The water along the route is very cold even in the middle of the summer and paddlers must take precautions in case they find themselves out of their boat and in the water. Just wearing a life preserver is not enough. Without a wet or dry suit, a paddler in the water will become unable to rescue themselves and become incapacitated within minutes. It rains almost daily along the coast so paddlers will need a good wet or dry suit anyway just to stay comfortable while paddling.
One of the major factors that any Inside Passage paddler has to take into consideration is the tides and currents that they will encounter every day. Tides in British Columbia and Alaska can have a 20 foot (6 meter) or more range and there are two high and two low tides every day. The water flowing through channels can cause very strong currents as it attempts to attain its high and low points every six hours. Paddlers need to know how to interpret charts so that they can tell what direction a current will be flowing at various times throughout the day.
The Inside Passage is home to a handful of predators that paddlers have to be aware of. Both Black and Brown Bears (Grizzly Bears), cause the most sleepless nights. They are common throughout all of the wilderness areas that the route passes through and must be dealt with. Paddlers must educate themselves on how to camp in bear country and what they should do when they encounter a bear while on-shore. Besides bears, campers need to keep a lookout for Cougars and Wolves which can be found throughout the Inside Passage wilderness. While on the water, paddlers are generally safe from predators, but it is still possible to be accidently hit by a whale or sea lion that does not know that a human in a kayak is nearby.
One of the most frequent questions that I get asked is why I paddle alone. Paddling alone may be a bit more dangerous than paddling with a partner or group but I find it much more rewarding. I can get started in the morning and stop in the evening whenever I want. I do not have to ask anyone else’s opinion as to whether they think a particular beach would make a good place to camp or if the weather is too bad for paddling.
If I am the fastest paddler in a group I have to wait for the slowest to catch up repeatedly throughout the day. If I am the slowest, I cannot travel at my own pace and constantly feel the pressure to keep up with everyone else. If I am the more advanced paddler in a group I may not want to have to sit out a day on shore because less experienced paddlers are fearful of venturing out on to the water. If I am the less experienced paddler, I do not want to be intimidated into going out onto the water when conditions are, in my opinion, too rough for paddling. Paddling in a group might work for a trip lasting a few days, but in my opinion, trying to paddle in a group for three months would be very difficult.
If you get the urge to paddle the Inside Passage read everything that you can find on the subject and spend as much time as you can paddling and camping to hone your skills. You should practice planning and then paddling a few short routes along the northwest coast to get a feel for the skills and equipment that are necessary for this type of journey.
I have kayaked the Inside Passage solo twice, once in 2008 and again in 2012. My latest book, “Alone in the Passage: An Explorers Guide to Sea Kayaking the Inside Passage” encompasses everything that paddler needs to know to successfully complete this incredible adventure. For more information on sea kayaking the Inside Passage visit my web site at:
https://sites.google.com/site/seakayakingtheinsidepassage/
By Denis Dwyer
Every summer a handful of adventurous explorers set out to paddle the 1,300 mile (2,080 kilometer) Inside Passage from Washington to Alaska. Most start from one of the cities along the coast like Seattle WA, Bellingham WA, or Vancouver BC, with Skagway Alaska in their sights. The favored method of transportation is by sea kayak although some set out in canoes and for those that like to travel backwards, row boats. A few head out in groups of two or three but some like me prefer the added challenge of paddling solo.
Unlike land routes like the Appalachian Trail, the Inside Passage is a loosely defined route that winds its way through hundreds of channels and islands. There are no white blazes marking the way and campsites and shelters have not been established at convenient intervals. Contact with civilization is infrequent once a paddler passes Powell River BC on the mainland side of the Strait of Georgia or, if they are following the Vancouver Island coastline, Campbell River. Once past these towns the only other contacts that a paddler has with civilization are at Shearwater and Prince Rupert in British Columbia, and at Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, Juneau, Haines, and Skagway, Alaska. The towns are one to two weeks apart so paddlers get to re-supply a few times during the eighty or so days that it takes to complete the route. Most send food packages to a few of the towns along the route with their favorite dehydrated meals and other essential items that may be hard to purchase locally.
Inside Passage paddlers will need some specialized equipment and be practiced in rescue techniques in order to safely complete the route. GPS or Global Positioning System receivers, PLB’s or Personal Locator Beacons, EPIRB’s or Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons, VHF or Very High Frequency radio receiver / transmitters, and Cell Phones are all necessary equipment. Every paddler has to be able to recover from a roll-over and have more than one method of getting back into their boat while in the water.
The water along the route is very cold even in the middle of the summer and paddlers must take precautions in case they find themselves out of their boat and in the water. Just wearing a life preserver is not enough. Without a wet or dry suit, a paddler in the water will become unable to rescue themselves and become incapacitated within minutes. It rains almost daily along the coast so paddlers will need a good wet or dry suit anyway just to stay comfortable while paddling.
One of the major factors that any Inside Passage paddler has to take into consideration is the tides and currents that they will encounter every day. Tides in British Columbia and Alaska can have a 20 foot (6 meter) or more range and there are two high and two low tides every day. The water flowing through channels can cause very strong currents as it attempts to attain its high and low points every six hours. Paddlers need to know how to interpret charts so that they can tell what direction a current will be flowing at various times throughout the day.
The Inside Passage is home to a handful of predators that paddlers have to be aware of. Both Black and Brown Bears (Grizzly Bears), cause the most sleepless nights. They are common throughout all of the wilderness areas that the route passes through and must be dealt with. Paddlers must educate themselves on how to camp in bear country and what they should do when they encounter a bear while on-shore. Besides bears, campers need to keep a lookout for Cougars and Wolves which can be found throughout the Inside Passage wilderness. While on the water, paddlers are generally safe from predators, but it is still possible to be accidently hit by a whale or sea lion that does not know that a human in a kayak is nearby.
One of the most frequent questions that I get asked is why I paddle alone. Paddling alone may be a bit more dangerous than paddling with a partner or group but I find it much more rewarding. I can get started in the morning and stop in the evening whenever I want. I do not have to ask anyone else’s opinion as to whether they think a particular beach would make a good place to camp or if the weather is too bad for paddling.
If I am the fastest paddler in a group I have to wait for the slowest to catch up repeatedly throughout the day. If I am the slowest, I cannot travel at my own pace and constantly feel the pressure to keep up with everyone else. If I am the more advanced paddler in a group I may not want to have to sit out a day on shore because less experienced paddlers are fearful of venturing out on to the water. If I am the less experienced paddler, I do not want to be intimidated into going out onto the water when conditions are, in my opinion, too rough for paddling. Paddling in a group might work for a trip lasting a few days, but in my opinion, trying to paddle in a group for three months would be very difficult.
If you get the urge to paddle the Inside Passage read everything that you can find on the subject and spend as much time as you can paddling and camping to hone your skills. You should practice planning and then paddling a few short routes along the northwest coast to get a feel for the skills and equipment that are necessary for this type of journey.
I have kayaked the Inside Passage solo twice, once in 2008 and again in 2012. My latest book, “Alone in the Passage: An Explorers Guide to Sea Kayaking the Inside Passage” encompasses everything that paddler needs to know to successfully complete this incredible adventure. For more information on sea kayaking the Inside Passage visit my web site at:
https://sites.google.com/site/seakayakingtheinsidepassage/
