PADDLER 31
taught us how to count the seconds between each to get a hint of how wild it is out there . We also spoke about observing the weather . What is the trend ? Are the conditions going up or down ? Wind , swell ? How are the mountains affecting the weather ?
We took photos with the Arctic Circle marker . Then we had a walk to the internet point . On the way , Chris and I spoke about love , emotions , and spirituality ! The beautiful discussion gave me so much that I will take with me .
When we got reception , we checked the weather forecast . When we returned , Lukas made tortillas : cosy atmosphere and many laughs . We are a family out here , living in the moment in nature , caring for each other .
DAY 5
I felt strong gusts when I woke up in the tent ; I don ’ t think we are kayaking today either , I thought . Now you have a picture of what our days in camp look like . This one was kind of the same as usual . One difference was that I was tired and slightly sick and spent many hours in the sleeping bag . So the guys had a walk up to the internet point to look at the forecast and plan .
When they came back , they were super excited . Tomorrow we would get a 24-hour weather window before the next storm hit . That ’ s what we need to be able to make the exposed move and make it around the point . Oscar predicted it was going to be flat around the point . This was , of course , something we wanted to be sure of . Because we don ’ t want to take the risk that the forecast is wrong , the storm comes earlier , and then we are stuck on the north side without a way out .
Oscar ’ s friend in South America is a pilot and super good with the weather . Oscar asked if he could check if we were right about the weather window , and the pilot sent his information . He said it would be a super calm day on Tuesday because two massive lowpressure systems meet , and they even each other for 24 hours .
So cool ! Everything works out . This is what Oscar was saying to us all the days in camp . We must be patient and speak to nature to get the needed window . Also , what happened this day is that Chris saw some signs . First , we saw a rainbow , and then Chris met a dog . The owner said the dog ’ s name was Lucky ! Signs from the universe . The ocean was already calming down , promising us that tomorrow would be a good day .
DAY 6
The big move day , Summit day ! We woke up early , at 06:00 . Pink sky , so beautiful sunrise . And so calm . The wind had gone to sleep . Looking out into the bay , the waves were only whispering . The conditions were perfect . It was the right choice to wait for this day to have the conditions to our benefit – seamanship . We had breakfast , took down camp , packed the kayaks and were ready to move at 10.30 . It was so easy to pack the kayaks now when we had gone through three days of food . We had a last check on the map and did some planning , went through what we would do if we got separated , etc .
Out in the ocean , it felt so good to be out in the kayak again . We were flying , with the current with us , our speed was around five knots ! Later at one point , we were kayaking against the current and we were barely moving forwards . We had to read the water and see where it was most beneficial to be . We had probably been in the main current first , then went closer to land and got a back eddie against us . But
PADDLER 31