Oh A' Kayaking We Will Go!

Friday was a fun-filled evening!  Someone had the brain buster idea to go kayaking to see if we could see any bears....  the adventurers were Jared, Matthias, Travis and myself.

Our mission was a kayak trip down the Situk (pronounced "seatuck") River; bear biologist Matthias and I were on kayaks while Jared and Travis would be travelling via pack raft.  A pack raft is a small inflatable raft that is compact enough to fit into a backpack to make crossing in creeks that are too deep to cross by foot.

In the excitement of going on the trip we forgot 2 key factors:  how long it would take us and how far we were going!

We didn't get to our landing spot until 6 PM....  Jared and Travis had a terrible time going anywhere in the pack rafts....  paddling 100% of the time got them nowhere!  They looked like they were in bumper boats or something!  I would paddle 2 strokes and they would have to paddle 20 strokes to keep up with me!

Well 13.5 miles and 6 hours later we made it to the mouth of the river; cold, wet, but still laughing our heads off!

We didn't see any bears --> what with Travis singing and me laughing at the boys not getting anywhere.  They literally could have packed a kiddy pool and brought the oars and had the same outcome!

I had a moment of perfect harmony with where I was; in the moment it was just so calming and exciting all at the same time (hard to explain)!  I'd be paddling down the river and see a juvenile bald eagle float by; hear a splash from under the water and see a bunch of salmon swimming up the river to spawn; hear a loud "quack" and see a momma duck with at least 10 ducklings swimming away from us... boy can they swim fast!

Bald eagle

Sea otter tracks

I realized that I got to this point because of my parents and my brother ENJOYING our time outside!  We'd all hike a trail in the fall off of 6 mile and Farmington or take bikes and ride around Mackinaw Island or watch my mom and my brother, Nickie, play tennis or spend hours outside a pond fishing and catching frogs or turtles or sitting on the beach at the cottage with my aunties and uncles or picking tomatoes and green beans out of my grandmother's garden or take a boat for a spin with my dad.  But it's that total enjoyment of being outside that has made me such an avid outdoorsmen; NO ELECTRONICS!!!!!!!!  My senses while I'm outside are on full blast.  I hear the flap of a bats wings; I smell the brackish river water; I see a group of salmon swim by; I can feel the breeze moving by kayak; I can taste the fresh, clean glacier water on my tongue.  IT IS JUST SO AMAZING!

LOVING THIS TRIP!