PADDLER 30
PADDLER 30
days second-guessing our decisions . What ’ s more , differing opinions about if the conditions were acceptable caused tensions .
We made it halfway after around 60 days . We took a planned break in Cambridge Bay and restocked our supplies . It was the end of August . We met other expeditions there – one group of hikers , another person canoeing and some sailors . They were all heading home . They warned us that the Arctic was no place to be in September , let alone October . But what choice did we have ? We still had half the distance to the end of the Northwest Passage .
TIME TICKING
We put our foot down with time ticking – we often did consecutive 40-mile days . Anything under 30 miles was now considered a short day .
Once , to reach a cabin before a storm arrived , we kayaked almost 40 miles overnight . The sky was absolutely clear . We saw countless shooting stars . We spotted a comet slowly moving across the sky , leaving a trail like a Christmas card . We saw the Northern Lights . We were so far north we looked south to see them . We arrived at the cabin just as the sun peeked over the horizon .
It was a special night , and it reminded me that even as we counted the days to the finish , it was essential to appreciate every moment of this unique adventure and cherish sharing it with West , Jeff , and Eileen .
The weather was becoming more hazardous and we spent six days in that cabin waiting out a storm . We anxiously counted those days , knowing that winter was coming . When the storm broke , we continued to push ourselves , ticking miles off .
With just a couple hundred miles to go , I felt so depleted that my body screamed out for food . Each time we covered over 30 miles , I had to dig deep to find reserves to keep moving . I was so hungry , but no amount of food seemed to sedate my famished body .
NAVIGATING
I ’ d been in charge of navigating for much of the journey . I felt quietly chuffed that I had saved us an accumulation of days by cleverly navigating . I kept us on track through thick fog too . But as my physical energy plummeted , so did my mental energy . Moreover , I often hated navigating and tried to look up and enjoy the last few days of the journey instead of staring at the GPS saying , “ Left , right ” every few seconds . The combination of mental depletion and taking in the surroundings meant my navigation skills were beginning to slip , and I found myself aiming for the wrong landmark on more than one occasion in the last 100 miles , probably to the frustration of my teammates .
With just 89 miles to go , it felt like the end was in sight . But we still had a 40-mile crossing . There was a dubious weather window we decided not to take . There was meant to be better weather in a couple of days . But the forecast changed .
My heart sank when it said there was no good weather for ten days . We only had a few days of food left . I felt we ’ d messed it up completely by not going for it when we had the chance . So close and yet so far .
This was my lowest moment . I felt gutted . I went up to a cliff top and watched the sunset . I could make out the far side of the crossing , silhouetted against the sinking sun . I took some deep breaths and calmed down . The value of this trip was not in the outcome but in the experience . This was a fantastic view that few people ever had the chance to see .
To my absolute relief , the weather forecast changed again and we made the crossing . It was a brutally hard day . By the end , we were all like zombies . Seeing the others suffer ironically helped me . I was worried I was the only one feeling this way and that they were cruising along uninhibited . But now that some of them seemed drunk with fatigue , I was given a boost . The communal nature of our condition spurred me on . We were in this together .
FINAL PUSH
The next day , we made it to within 16 miles of Cape Bathurst , which marked the end of the Northwest Passage . The final push beckoned .
It started dramatically . We launched in heavy surf . As I dragged our kayak towards the water with Eileen in it , one huge wave raced up the beach and caught hold of our kayak . It swept around and took my legs out from under me . I ended up face down in the water . After some panting to regain my breath , we launched again , this time without incident .
We kayaked towards Cape Bathurst . Just as the end was in sight , we entered the breakers . There was confusion . I aimed for the shore side of the breakers , where I thought it was shallow enough to avoid the surf . West and Jeff went behind the break zone and called us to follow . We turned late . We had to paddle back through the breaking waves to West and Jeff . As one wave broke over us , our bow went into the air , and half our kayak came out of the water , then slammed back down onto the surface . If we had flipped there , there was no helping us .
We were safe . We were behind the breakers . Having made it out of the danger zone , I assumed we would continue north until we found a piece of water that wasn ’ t breaking . But West decided to surf down the waves towards the cape . I told Eileen to turn back out . She was caught between two directions . Momentarily , we were side-on to the waves and again in a high degree of danger . Seeing West and Jeff begin to surf ; we turned back again . The confusion was costing us precious time and putting us in harm ’ s way .