Hey all, I am one half of a two man team that is going to the Prince William Sound in June 09. We plan to do a 45 day, unsupported kayak paddle circumnavigating the majority of the sound. I will be new to the logistics side of planning a trip like this, so I am hoping to get some input on the best way to get our boats up to the region(2 17’ Prijon Kodiaks) from the eastern US. Every airline that I know of, even those that are kayak friendly, won’t touch anything over 12 feet. Also I hope to get some input on any ideas for food. Right now we are planning on taking one serving a day of freeze dried meals and supplementing the rest with food from the area, ie. fish, small game, etc. We are both adept to living in the wilderness, this is our longest but not first attempt at extended excursions in to the wild. Any info would be great, any insight into the region, the typical amount of boat traffic, gear suggestions to take with us, anything at all would be awesome. We have a website, www.aske2009.org, which goes into more detail than I did here. Thanks for the help.
Ben
PWS Expedition Logistics
Alaska Airlines will transport a kayak in their 737 Combi aircraft. They fly from Sea-Tac to Juneau to Cordova and on to Anchorage daily. There is nothing large enough flying into Valdez for a kayak. The cost is not cheap. If you want to bring your own kayak try marine transportation companies such as Alaska Marine Lines. I’ve had three kayaks shipped from Seattle to Juneau with no damage and at reasonable costs. Getting the kayaks to Seattle is probably a greater challenge; I used a ground transportation company ( road and rail) also at reasonable costs.
An alternative is to fly to Anchorage and arrange to rent kayaks for a start from Whittier. There are a couple of places on the Kenai that will rent boats to competent paddlers.
I’m not sure why you want 45 days in PWS. You could do two or three laps in that amount of time from Cordova to Whittier. Being the provincial that I am, I would suggest a trip from Ketchikan to Haines and back in that amount of time. The scenery is as nice, there are fewer people and far more options. Take a look at any of the Southeast Alaska trip reports on this web-site ( a few are mine) for some good ideas. You can take a ferry with your kayaks from Bellingham WA and back for the price of flying to Anchorage or Cordova.
E-mail me if you are interested in some suggestions for gear and food. First thought, don’t bring a tent.
cheers,
Ready when you are!
I’m going out on Lake Michigan for a stretch after Thanksgivving to burn off some turkey.
It’s supposed to snow, but that just motivates me in that old pioneer spirit to give it my best.
Love rough weather and conditions for a challenge.
Miss that type of a survival challenge since I left the service.
The PWS deal is a go for me if your really planning this trip I’d like to work with you two Ben’s on making a go of it.
Volcano worries?
I wonder if that volcano Redoubt will ruin the travel plans Ben?
Can’t wait
I can’t wait to see some photos and read your travelogue. Please email me when you get back.
-James
http://www.adventurecanoe.com/
Using SPOT
looks like these guys are using the spot location… so cool.
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0HYX6ZHsRTIhMB654IA339ctINo6Skrzk
Check their website for progress. I hope they start posting photos soon. http://www.aske2009.org
-James
http://www.adventurecanoe.com