2. Getting
Ready

We spent a lot of time reading and rereading the packing section of the
website.  We’ve done a lot of backpacking and bike touring, so
we
were
familiar with all the basics of camping in rain. We also once owned a
canoe, so we had a little experience with being on the water. Still,
we’d never paddled in freezing Alaskan waters and had never packed a
kayak. Using the packing guidelines proved slightly challenging since
we didn’t have a total sense of how to handle the cold, the
wet,
and the limited cargo space. We didn’t know exactly what clothing we
needed, how much we could carry, etc. If possible though, we wanted to
buy any special gear before leaving the Lower 48 where prices are much
cheaper. We made another call to Wendy and got further clarification,
but still felt a bit unsteady. It seemed we’d have at least as much
cargo space as cycling, and could use existing sporting clothes, but
how many layers of clothes would we need,
and just how big is a “bear-can” (the bearproof canisters into which
we’d need to cram all of our food)? We just made our best guesses and
figured we could get final clarification at the pre-trip meeting the
night before we left.

We arrived in Seward a few days before the trip, so we dropped by
KAW’s office to let them know we’d made it. Once
again,
Wendy was manning the desk, and was as enthusiastic as ever. We found
out that her husband Dave would be our guide (we hadn’t been
contacted but weren’t too surprised since we were on the
road)
and that another couple would be joining us so the rate would be
reduced
and
we would get a refund. She then answered many of our questions as best
she could, though some things she had to leave up to personal
preference. In that limbo of not knowing our preference because we had
never done it, we just had to make conservative guesses. We decided to
spend our refund buying warmer hand and foot coverings
(neoprene paddle mittens called pogies and some waterproof
socks), and
to wait
until after we had seen our “bear-cans” to buy our food.

We walked away from the pre-trip meeting a little more nervous than
we’d started. Dave is a pretty serious guy, and the weather
was
not looking good. Yet, it was his opinion that if we were willing to be
wet, would could still have a safe and wonderful trip. He did his best
to share his strategies and we were
fully confident that if we left him with the flexibility to do what he
thought best, we would be safe. Clearly he wasn’t about to
take 5
novices into rough waters we couldn’t handle. Bear-cans in
hand,
we
set off to the 24-hour grocery.

3. Heading Out

The next morning, after loading up at the shop and shuttling down to
the launch, we loaded our mountain of gear into the water taxi. Dave
gave us the weather update, and confirmed his plan to start in Abra Cove on the leeward side of
Aialik Bay away from the storm, and then
base-camp there until the weather gave us an opening to move.

With fog down to the water for the whole choppy 2-hour water taxi ride,
we began to wonder if we should have taken a rain-check. Our schedule
really
didn’t leave much option, and Dave kept confirming that it
was
going to work out, so we took comfort in the calm waters as we
approached our protected beach. We unloaded, pitched tents and sat for
lunch just as a bear swam across the cove. We joked about
“Alaskan beavers” as we finished up, and then Dave
suited
us up to take our first paddle. After just a few minutes instruction on
how to hold the paddle and keep from tipping, he loaded up the first
team.

We were using fiberglass tandems, which we had repeatedly read were
very difficult to tip unless you do something stupid, so trying to stay
smart, we got helped into our boat and pushed adrift. While F struggled
to master the rudder pedals in the back, I tried to focus on the
3L’s of paddling- Long, Low and Loose. Achieving something
more
like the 3S’s – Sloppy, Spastic and Splashy, we
wobbled
around to face the back of the small cove, where the fog had lifted
enough to reveal an impressive 100ft wall of waterfalls. We evened
ourselves out and tried to stay upright as I oggled both the view ahead
and the amazing aquatic gardens below filled with jellies, anemones and
sea
stars competing for space with kelp, coral and colorful rocks. Still
within view of our tents, we knew this would be a great trip.