My trip is over, and it’s kind of hard to know how to feel. On one hand, I feel a huge sense of accomplishment. I made it around, 662 nautical miles in 35 total days (29 paddling days). That’s 762 miles the way they’re measured on land. A paddled against gale force headwinds on the inside and dodged reefs in confused and choppy 9 foot seas on the Pacific coast. I made it around Cape Scott and the Brooks Peninsula, two challenges that test for mariners in much larger boats than my 17.5-foot kayak. I made long crossings and transited areas without a safe landing for miles. My longest day in the boat was 10 hours without a break. The trip tested my planning, navigation and paddling skills; and I passed.
On the other hand, I finished the trip with mixed feelings. I’m happy to return to my wife, friends and family, to catch up on some of the routine I missed while I was gone, but I miss already miss the simplicity of my journey. I’m still in disbelief that it’s over. I feel as if I could wake up tomorrow and be back in my sleeping bag on a beach on Vancouver. After months of planning, it seems as if my trip was over in a flash. I’ve experienced this on shorter trips, but somehow, I thought a month long expedition would be different. I’m left asking, shouldn’t there be more?
On both hands, I had a great time and an unbelievable experience. I caught up with old friends and met some wonderful new people. I also spent days without seeing another soul. I experienced the diversity of wildlife, plants, weather and geology that the coast of Vancouver offers. I paddled through amazing vistas and past premier paddling destinations, any one of which could worthy of multi-week trips. One thing I know for sure, expedition paddling is addictive. I’m already thinking about my next trip.
In the next few weeks, I’ll post some of my thoughts as I rounded Vancouver along with some of the pictures I took along the way.