Back home again. Seems amazing how the miles that were so hard-fought on the water go by so fast when you're driving back. We have it pretty easy here in the 21st century, eh?I wanted to conclude this story by wrapping up a few loose ends. First I want to make sure I say thanks to Kokatat and Werner Paddles, two of the finest kayaking related organizations out there. The paddle that I used was ideal for the trip, or any other trip for that matter. Light and strong, which is all you can ask from a quality stick. The dry suit, PFD and other paddling gear from Kokatat were absolutely flawless. Comfortable and easy, like I like it.
If I had it to do differently I would probably take a warmer sleeping bag. The one I had was good and it's not like I was overly cold during the nights, but I wore most of my clothes to bed too. It would have been better to have gone with a 10-15 degree bag, and I could probably have gone even thicker than that. Also, although I do like the thermette for its water-boiling capabilities using kindling, it was time consuming and difficult to get enough dry wood most of the places I camped. I had a stove with me as well, and I used it more than I thought I would. Which is ok, but the end result would have been that I would have burned through my fuel way too soon, had I continued.
I might have benefitted from taking better camp shoes or boots along too, although it was not a major shortcoming. I bought a phone card in Nanaimo to use to make calls home, the Vox America card. It worked great, but I bought $20 worth of time, and that was about 450 minutes. I don't care how homesick you might become, that's just way too much time. I could have bought a $5 card and still had time remaining. Also, if you buy one of these, realize that they are only good for a month... it's in the fine print.
In addition to all this, I really want to thank all the people who wrote me along the way, some of whom I may never meet. Getting a little howyadoin' from those of you who wrote really meant a lot as I paddled. Also to Jim and Marilyn Critchley in Sayward, for giving me a place to stay while I waited for my ride, thanks a lot!
This will be the last entry here on the blog. I'm going to post the trip, with a bunch more photos, on the Azimuth web site, so go to the Flag Expeditions page and check it out when you get the chance if you'd like to view some more images. Thanks for reading along, take care and I wish you all the best in your next adventure.
