TRU students accomplish paddling 'trip of a lifetime'

By Eric Zimmer

When Lorenzo Vogelgasang asked Rory Stavinga if he’d be interested in kayaking 1,100 kilometres from Vancouver Island to Alaska at the beginning of summer 2011, Stavinga says only one thought crossed his mind: “I have to do this.”

It was November 2010, and the two of them, along with Travis Young, were in their final year of the adventure guide program at Thompson Rivers University. The trio had already done a mini-expedition around the northern tip of Vancouver Island the previous summer with TRU professor Dave Freeze and now wanted to go out and do a trip of their own.

“Lorenzo came up with the idea to paddle to Alaska and it was the trip of a lifetime,” Stavinga says. “Everything just kind of worked out.”

For his part, Freeze supported the idea. “I’m a real advocate of doing what I call world-class projects,” Freeze says. "And paddling from Southern British Columbia up through the Alaska Panhandle is definitely a world- class route."

But a trip like this doesn’t just happen overnight. In total, it took about five months of preparation.

In an email response, Vogelgasang said that for a trip like this, planning is critical.

“We first talked about this trip in November, and then throughout the winter,” Stavinga says. “We got on it seriously in February, but it was closer to April that we really started getting on it. Things like organizing the gear, dehydrating food, stuff like that.”

During this time, they also looked to Freeze for feedback and advice. 

“They came to me with their original plan and I just said you need a way better plan. Let me see that better plan and I’ll back it,” he says.

However, Freeze says he never worried about their ability to pull the trip off.

“Those three in particular were good sea-kayaking students of mine. They all went through sea kayak guide programs here and became Level One and Two certified guides.  Rory in particular had a really solid set of boating skills from his whitewater background.”

But Freeze adds this didn't mean he expected them not to make mistakes.

“But I don’t believe they will make any mistakes that will be life threatening," he said. "The mistakes will cost them time and energy, but never is their life going to be in danger. So did I lie awake at night and worry about them during their trip? Never once. Did weeks go by where I didn’t even think about them? Yes. And then there were moments where I thought ‘I wonder where the heck they are and how it’s going?”

In the end, the trip consisted of 39 consecutive paddling days plus four days of commuting, for a total of 43 days from May into June. The trip itself saw them paddle from Port Hardy, Vancouver Island to Petersburg, Alaska, for a total distance of about 604 nautical miles or about 1,100 kilometres.

Stavinga says the route was definite up to a point.

“At the beginning, before we left, we Google-Earthed the route using points of reference that others who have done this trip would have marked - just to get an idea of things like campsites and stuff,” he says. “But generally, when we were out there, it was kind of on the fly.”

The three had a variety of challenges to overcome during the trip, with weather being one.

“At the beginning, it was kind of iffy.” Stavinga says. “As soon as we left Port Hardy, the winds were blowing and the seas actually rose up to seven meters way off shore. We got periods of rain for days straight. You felt it in everything. You’d hop in the tent and it would all be damp.”

He says that brought about another challenge.

“The most difficult part was probably finding a spot to sleep every night that wasn’t sheer rock or a mountainous cliff.”

All three agree that simply paddling for that long day after day was another big challenge.

Young says making it to the end and not giving up was a huge accomplishment.  

“Mentally, paddling for 18 to 20 kilometres a day for weeks on end gets tiresome,” Stavinga says. “I noticed my thoughts started to repeat themselves and I would just think about the most ridiculous things over and over again.”

Vogelgasang agrees.

“Being caught in your thoughts, day after day, not having an escape from your mind is tough,” he says.

Though they didn’t face any real life-threatening situations, Stavinga says the most nerve-wracking day he’s ever experienced on the water happened at a place called Cape Caution.

“There were five to seven-metre swells about 140 metres out from where we were on the beach.  We ended up staying on the beach thinking it would die down, but it didn’t and we had to go. I was the first to put in and the water was extremely big. It was the biggest wave I had ever been in - like a massive rolling speed bump that swallows you in and pops you out on top, then sends you back down again. Eventually though, we were able to get the hang of it and the rhythm of the swell. We’re lucky there was no wind-wave chop on top of the swell though. That’s where the real issues start.”

Vogelgasang echoed this sentiment. “Out there on your own, nature doesn’t give you a second chance.”

Young says that for him, Cape Caution is actually one of his favourite memories and that his scariest moment was “paddling into Meyers Chuck, [Alaska] trying to avoid surfing the breaking waves.”

Stavinga says that there were some triumphs as well.

“For me personally, my biggest triumph was overcoming the wall that comes with paddling 20 nautical miles, six to eight hours every day. Pushing through and realizing you’re still going. It only hurts for a bit and then it’s normal.”

Vogelgasang said what stays in his mind are things like “paddling shirtless in Alaska because of the heat, and watching amazing sunsets on empty beaches.”

All three say they would do a trip like this again.

“Not in the same location though,” Young says. “There are too many other places to paddle in the world.”

But Vogelgasang says he’d do the same trip and make it even longer.

“I will do it again in a few years. Next time I’ll go from Seattle (WA) to Anchorage (AK.)”

For now, the three have all gone their separate ways. Stavinga is finishing a degree in interdisciplinary studies at TRU, Young is currently studying at Capilano University in the Lower Mainland and Vogelgasang lives in Seattle with his girlfriend.

The trio say they will never forget this trip.

“Our last night camping was when it really hit us what we had done.” Stavinga says. “We walked along the beach where we were camping for about two-and-a-half hours, just talking about the trip and the nights and the jokes. That was the closing moment because we knew the next day we would be back in some form of civilization. It felt amazing knowing the next day would be our last in the kayak. I was happy when it was done.”