SEA KAYAK EXPEDITION
August 2006
Once again, the scouts in Troop 230 do things, and in August of 2006 we undertook a very exciting sea kayak expedition that was more incredible that we ever expected. Our troop started in Homer, and we headed out acrosss Katchemak Bay. A water taxi company took our group and gear across the open bay where we picked up kayaks and explored beaches, tide pools and viewed sea life on a 6 mile trip to our campsite at Kayak beach. All of the boys did great on this first day of paddling and the weather and seas cooperated to make it more enjoyable. Our next day was dubbed " The Epic Journey" as our group split to hike the incredible 8 mile/ 3100 ft elevation gain, Grace Ridge Trail starting from camp and the other group paddled 8 miles to begin the trail from the other end. Both groups enjoyed the sights of Tutka Bay and Sadie Cove and returned to camp over 9 hours later ready for a hot meal. Again the seas were cooperative for this incredible journey, but the next day 3-4 ft seas challenged a group of our scouts to the limit and we cancelled an evening paddle and enjoyed a campfire with skits and songs and usual scout humor. We saw seal, Sea Otter, Starfish, Jellyfish, lots of Eagles on this trip and even rarely seen Killer Whales. Some scouts fished, some swam in dry suits, some rested, all had a great time at campfires eating peach/wild blueberry cobbler and Smore's. Everyone paddled out in calm seas the last day, worked hard loading up and after some quick sightseeing in Homer came back safely to Eagle River ahead of schedule. E ach scout on the trip excelled in this high adventure environment and has the foundational skills for more exciting kayak trips in the future. Stay tuned for details, and the pictures. Here are a short sample of what we have so far:
