Time To Recap and Get On With This Thing Called Life

So we have told you what happened but this is our humble attempt to lay out what it all means.

 

On a snowy dark evening over 2 years ago my adventurous brother Russell and I were chatting on Skype. He pitched the idea of this adventure to me much like he had pitched dozens of adventures before and since. This one stuck though.

 

Why did it stick? I think it had the right mix of a lot of things. Russ and I had become closer during the years following high school and were pretty well suited as a team to tackle something big. I was coming towards the end of my undergrad degree and needed a big distraction from the academic world. I have always done well at school but I desperately need to mix it with outdoor adventure to satiate my restlessness. Our mode of transport would be kayaks and this was something we had both been doing virtually since birth. There were many reasons I suppose, but when you really boil it down it just seemed right.

 

After time flew by and the preparations were made, we suddenly found ourselves stepping onto the Victoria Clipper. When I sat down in my seat things really started to sink in. All the bad thoughts started racing through my head and everything in between disaster and death had me pretty petrified. There was a large swell of momentum behind us though and next thing we knew we were in Belem Brazil up to our necks in the biggest challenge of our lives.

 

Very long story far too short, we faced just about everything the world could throw at us over the next 8 months. I am pretty sure you could get a good sense of those things from browsing photos and reading some past blog posts. I'll move right along to what those challenges did to us.

 

What seems like 3 years, but is actually just 3 short weeks ago, Russ and I pulled onto shore in Florida after a trip that has changed us forever. While I know that we have changed the real question is in what ways and to what extent. Unfortunately I have no “aha!” moments to report. Perhaps that's a good thing though and I set out on this trip with a lot of skills already in their infancy. What I do have to report is a growth, deepening, and increased understanding of these skills. Patience, perseverance, calm, “riding by the seat of my pants...ability”, work-ethic, teamwork, friendship, to name just a few.

 

I suppose a few thank yous are in order. Thank you for all the help along the journey to all the people who heaped it upon us. Thank you to our sponsors, Russ has you covered below. Thank you to our parents because there is few things harder than letting your kids (and only two kids) do something this dangerous and supporting them wholeheartedly along the way. Thank you to my brother. Without you this wouldn't have happened and as much as I don't often give you credit for it you are a huge inspiration. And a good friend.

 

Looking to the future I am really enjoying settling back down on the West Coast. This summer I will be living and working in Victoria. Getting out there as much as possible will have to be balanced with earning money for law school this Fall. In August I will head out across the country to Toronto to attend U of T. This is going to be a big change but one I am really looking forward to. I have had a big physical challenge recently, now its time to stretch my mind.

 

Ultimately, this trip is fading fast and it already seems like it happened a lifetime ago. But I don't think this is a bad thing. It's as if the trip is integrating into me and the wild experiences are slowly getting digested into who I am. They are becoming part of me. And I think I am better for it. That seems like as good a reason as any to get out there.

 

Cheers

 

Graham

 

 

It's now been three weeks since we took our last strokes in the Atlantic that pulled us onto Juno Beach and the warm reception that followed. We've been back in BC for over two weeks and are finally starting to settle in. That means we have had the time to reflect a little on the trip as a whole, how we've been changed, and what it all means.

 

When I thought up the trip idea for my class project at Thompson Rivers University I simply looked at a map and realized you can connect the dots all the way across the Caribbean. That became my “Dream Expedition” project which soon turned out to be the initial trip plan for Henry Kayak. When I initially told Graham about the trip I admit I was a little caught up in the moment and hadn't seriously considered what I was proposing. Nonetheless we both went along with it, made a sponsorship proposal, and then all of a sudden we had a website, a trip bank account, and gear that companies had given us in expectation for us to actually do the thing.

 

On our flight down to Brazil I kept asking myself why I was doing this ridiculously long kayak trip but just couldn't figure it out. Throughout the ensuing three or four months I constantly pondered the question (especially during those horrible nights on the mud flats). I didn't know why I was there, all I knew was that it felt right.

 

I think the expedition wasn't an expedition at all, it was just life. An “expedition” or “trip” is typically something you do that is a break from or abnormal from your normal life. Our journey was all we knew for 8 and a half months. Everyday we would wake up and regardless of if we were paddling that day or not our thoughts were constantly on the idea of moving and getting to the next place. That's what has made transitioning back into normal life a little difficult. Being stationary isn't what's weird, it's the not having to plan where we're going next and constantly looking ahead. I think that's the driving force on what has spurred some of my plans for the spring.

 

Last week Graham and I went and watched the Reel Paddling Film Festival at Ocean River. One of the videos was about some guys in Ontario that went on a 30 day canoe trip. Near the end of the film one of the fellows says a thing that really describes how I've felt for the last while. He says something along the lines of, “Something I've learned from this trip is that there is never going to be that 'Aha!' moment where I understand everything. All that's going to happen is I'm going to get a little bit stronger everyday [obviously physically but more importantly mentally] and then I'm going to go to sleep and do it all over again the next day.” That is exactly what happened to myself and I think Graham as well on the trip. The days just starting rolling by and unknowingly we grew and developed in ways that couldn't have been achieved elsewhere.

 

Like I said before, even despite the really crappy situations we sometime found ourselves in, the trip just felt right. I've now come to realize that it all happened at exactly the right time in my life. I didn't (and still don't) have any serious commitments, needed an adventure, needed to get the travel bug out of my system, wanted to make a name for myself, and really wanted to see if we could actually pull it off. I think the reason I did the trip all comes down to the fact that it was the correct next step in my life, and I think that step took me to a whole new chapter.

 

Now for some thanks. Obviously this trip could not have been possible if it weren't for the generosity, kindness, and support from so many people.

First and foremost our parents. Our mother stood by as the constant word of reason and “hole-poker” when we were in the planning stages. Mostly out of her worry she questioned every possible hole in the plan and also in our decision to actually do the trip. She was a great reality check. Initially our dad was the supportive “gung-ho” parent who almost tricked himself that he was coming along with us. He was super helpful in the planning stages and in figuring out gear. As our departure date neared the reality dawned on him and he slowly became the worrisome figure you'd expect from a parent. On the trip both our mum and dad were our ground control arranging packages of replacement gear to get to us, sending weather updates, and insisting on more frequent emails.

Then there was the rest of our family, all our friends from home and those whom we met along the way. The support we saw was unbelievable. From people donating money, promoting us, to letting us stay on their boat, we saw it all. It's crazy what people will do for you when you're doing something out of the ordinary.

Half of our trip budget was covered by sponsorship meaning we seriously could not have done the trip without them. Current Designs Kayaks gave us two incredible boats. We beat the living hell out them but they still somehow got us all the way to Florida. With only having to do a couple minor repairs Current Designs Nomad GTS' were definitely the right choice of kayak to bring. Werner Paddles hooked us up big time with carbon fibre Kalliste bent shafts and fibre glass Camanos as spares. On average we each took about 28,000 strokes a day and were on the water for about 180 days. That's a lot of wear and tear. Truly bomb proof paddles. Kokatat Watersports Wear gave us hats, Maximus Prime PFDs with hydration packs, and Anorak paddling jackets. Our hats kept us from getting fried from the sun, our PFDs kept us safe, hydration packs kept us alive in the Amazonian heat, and our jackets kept us warm while paddling through the night. InReach Canada was amazing. Our InReach SE was probably the most bomber piece of gear we had with us. Thankfully we never had to use the SOS function but from the Mapshare and text messages we could send it proved to be an absolutely vital piece of technology. Along with our parents, Ocean River Sports was our ground control. They set us up with a gear allowance at the start of the trip and whenever we needed replacement gear ORS had it and Gordie and shipping wizard got it to us. MapTown Calgary gave us a free Garmin GPS and when that one fried in the South American heat they unhesitatingly sent us a new one. Incredible. Trailhead Kingston is an outdoor store in Ontario that supported us not only with financial support at the start of the trip but also helped pay for our arrival party in Florida. Sea to Summit gave us a mixed bag of goodies before the trip that was super helpful, The Edge Food Energy gave us dozens upon dozens of energy bars, Solar Joos gave us two great solar chargers, Coast Mountain Culture Magazine helped promote us and Nikki Rekman Sales worked out all our sponsorships with Werner and Kokatat. THANK YOU ALL.

Lastly, there's the guy that kept me company on this whole thing, my brother Graham. I couldn't before the trip and still can't think of a better person to have done it with. Sure I hated his guts at times and sure we had some tempered arguments but when it really boils down to it, we rocked it. Together.

 

Moving forward now, I am back living and working at Mt. Washington on ski patrol. I think it's a good place for me at the moment to transition into real life. It's also a serious breeding ground for adventurous ideas. This May myself and four other patrollers have plans to access and climb Mt. Waddington fully human powered. Then this June I hope to break the Vancouver Island human powered circumnavigation record. 1000 kilometers in 15 days.

 

So as you can see one adventure has come to an end, but I truly hope and believe it wasn't 'the adventure of my lifetime', because there are certainly many more to come.

 

For the wild

 

Russell