A few years ago, the folks of the NOLS Alumni Trips office were kicking around some ideas for future trips. We started talking about BIG trips because we love talking about the biggest expeditions we can dream of—it is in our DNA. As a sea kayaker myself, I immediately went to the two trips that were on my bucket list: the Inside Passage and the Sea of Cortez, both in NOLS’ operating areas and both incredible expeditions.
The Inside Passage is a storied ocean route from Washington State to Alaska along the Canadian coast. The route travels inside many barrier islands and the mainland, providing protection from the Pacific Ocean, hence the name.
The Sea of Cortez route is a journey down the east side of the Baja Peninsula. Chronicled in John Steinbeck’s The Log from the Sea of Cortez, this challenging warm-water expedition is a bucket list destination for long-distance paddlers.
We decided that the Inside Passage, at ~ three months, was the most ambitious and audacious trip we could undertake with other paddlers who weren’t already excellent boaters. We also realized that no other company is doing this trip. We were hooked on the idea, but honestly thought it was too big a trip, too expensive, required too much time commitment, and no one would sign up. But what the heck, let’s try!
Now, we find ourselves nine months out from the start of the first-ever NOLS Inside Passage Kayaking Expedition. Not only has the trip completely filled, we have a robust crew on the waitlist hoping to join. We are absolutely flattered and amazed at the trust and enthusiasm of our alumni.
So, now we are in the position of figuring out how the heck to make this thing happen! This is the fun part and this is what we are good at.
Step 1 - Get the right people in the right seats.
Long-time Expedition and Wilderness Medicine Instructor Steve Robitshek is a Senior Sea Kayak Instructor for all of NOLS’ course locations. He has taught all over the world for NOLS carrying packs, paddling boats, and walking on ice/snow. Steve has worked as an Administrator and Instructor at many of our locations running our gear shops, coordinating evacuations, program supervising, and many other roles. Icing on the cake? Steve paddled the Inside Passage a few years ago as a personal endeavor. Check.
We’ll have one more NOLS Sea Kayak Instructor along on the trip as well, building out this small group of 8 and providing additional expertise. We are in the process of identifying this person from a large group of highly qualified and excited Expedition Sea Kayak instructors.
Step 2 - Permits
This will likely be the hardest part of this entire endeavor. As a commercial outfitter, NOLS must secure permits in Washington, Canada, and Alaska. We will be negotiating a plethora of land management and First Nations processes across the entire route. This is perhaps the least fun part of the planning.
Step 3 - The route and overall plan
The Inside Passage is simply the longest and most remote expedition that a non-professional paddler can possibly imagine completing. We have decided that a South to North route will be best for us. Chasing nice weather is the idea.
With an expedition as long as this one, we can plan out the first 1-2 weeks in detail and then everything else is a sketch. Weather is the biggest variable, but other factors such as illness, currents, human endurance, potential injuries, and boat issues could happen at any time.
Starting out in the USA, paddlers will need to navigate tricky currents of the San Juan Islands before a major crossing to Vancouver Island. Paddling up the Strait of Georgia provides little weather protection initially before entering into the current-rich section of Johnstone Strait. Once through the strait, paddlers will have a large crossing back to the mainland and a few days of paddling that is fully exposed to western ocean swell. The first month of this trip provides ample opportunity for challenging conditions and learning.
With this in mind, part of our expedition plan will be to spend several days at the front end building skills and paddling together in Washington. This will provide folks an opportunity to practice group travel, rescue skills, navigate powerful currents, and get to know each other. We believe that this time will be instrumental in shaping the expedition and time well spent.
Once our gear is a bit wet and dirty, we’ll be ready to head out, spending somewhere around 80 days on the water paddling mostly north.
Step 4 - Gear
We love this part. It involves kayaks, paddles, PFDs, clothing choices, dry-clothing, food bags, tents, stoves, water purification, charts, and so much more. Building out an expedition gear set with NOLS is not all that different from wandering around your local REI and filling your shopping cart. We have started this process on paper and are starting to make decisions and round it all up.
Step 5 - Food
If you have never been to our NOLS Rocky Mountain rations room, you are missing an experience. NOLS uses software to build out a ration for our expeditions and then we put it all together using our ever-popular rations bags. This trip will ship dry food resupplies to a few pickup points along the way and pick up more fresh foods when possible in the coastal communities. We expect that the group will eat through somewhere around 1,500-2,000 pounds of food during this trip.
Step 5 - Go!
Sure, there are lots more details prior to dropping boats in the water next June, but we always need the reminder that launching this expedition is the goal and everything leads up to that moment.
