HKDay0261-0276: Shuyak (Kodiak, Alaska) Kayak Expedition to clear marine debris

Alaska adventure

Shuyak day 1
-Flew in a float plane for the first time
-saw the out going group with nothing but relief on their faces as the plane came
-pitched tents
-had briefing and discussed plans for next 2 weeks
-wore drysuit first time. Awesome equipment (kokatat goretex, snapdragon etc)
-did my first eskimo roll in alaska!
-explored nearby islands on a kayak saw lots of seals, otters, eagles jellyfish and Salmon!!!
-awesome dinner in the log cabin
-ranger station is a log cabin made of wood logs really sturdy and pretty!!!

Day 2
Woke up at 9 am today and had breakfast and prepared takeout lunch and dinner when coming back since we intend to come back late.

Started 1pm finished 9plus. Super tired and learned alot about trash picking and also on packing of rations/water.

Had dinner at about 10 plus. Very nice dinner. Counting my blessings. Saw a nice rainbow too!

Day 3
Thought alot on things last night: why am i doing all these? About life, career, love, family etc.

Had a bagel with almond butter, banana and milo for breakfast.

Picked up quite a bit of trash and managed to video otters, seagulls and jelly fish (man-o-war)!!!

Dinner was awesome tacos with black beans!!!

Day 4
Rained all night and could heard the rain pelting on the tent. Thought a bear went pass as i heard some animal noises.

Had bagel with canadian ham and cream cheese for breakfast and lunch.

Had a quick trek near the ranger cabin at big bay before we paddled to the next campsite to recce the sacks available and also to tow back 5 boats.

We then checked out an area to short cut the paddle time with help of the tidal heights for the trip tomorrow. There were lots of seals in the area and were following us! Managed to video that down!

Evening was pizza! Tasted really good! When i went to brush my teeth, saw many seagulls in the bay.

I realised by now this place is actually so quiet, you can hear the ringing of the silence all the time even with the animals’ noises. This silence is deafening. Having withdrawal symptoms from not having internet and disconnected from the rest of the world. Maybe this is necessary for me to think back, reflect and how best to move forward.

Of course i miss my family, my wife and all the people very close to my heart.

Rain is still pelting on my tent tonight while typing this blog entry. Good night world.

Day 5
Pretty cold morning today and cleared the trash. Used the bear hang for the first time and it was quite interesting to see how it was done!

Had potatoes and harsh brown with bacon for breakfast! Wondered how did Matt made the harsh brown from scratch: just using potatoes!

Set off early today for trash picking and had a portage to shorten kayaking time by an hour! Cleared lots of trash and a huge metal container as big as 2-3 super sacks!

Finished about 7 and had an all rice, black beans dinner with tortillas that tastes really great!

Every night i dream about life back in Singapore: work, family, love… Maybe it is a result of the reflections before sleeping.

Missing her a lot…

Day 6

Started the day with breakfast of oat meal and milo! Today shall pack lunch with some meat! If not sure go low morale.

Havent bathed nor shaved for almost a week now! Hahaha. Saw my reflection in the window, wow have a little goatee and moustache.

Cleaned the area today and we completed the entire section. Going to possibly clean Eagle cape tomorrow.

Really nice team mates and totally enjoying their sharing and company!

Missing her. Thought about career too and i think i have sorted things out. =)

Day 7

Had oatmeal with milo and pancakes (thanks Matt) in the morning. Going to be a long day in beaches today.

Sorted out my thoughts on business. Lets see if this can work out!

Cleared the area around the lagoon and brought all the trash back to big bay by paddling! Pretty tiring!

Prepared dinner for the team, macaroni and cheese with salmon and mushroom. Quite a filling meal!!!

Going to wake up early tomorrow since today is cloudless with chance if Northern lights!

Day 8 Rest day sunday

Woke up at 330am, no northen lights, just orange sky and went back to bed.

Had baked biscuits today thanks to Matt! Also had the usual oatmeal fix for breakfast! One week here and I realised the air is so clean i have totally no need to clean/dig my nose!

Had a hike up to eagle cape with Matt, Dick and Jerry on this super windy day. Lunch back at the ranger station and had the leftover Marconi salmon with cheese and tuna wraps.

Read some books and laze by the porch and hammock. Wow. So disconnected with the rest of the world feels like this.

Had a nap back in tent and reviewed the photos and videos. Looks really awesome. Cant wait to go back to Singapore to kick ass and get things done!

Had casserole for dinner prepared by John and it was awesome!!! Managed to cut my nails today too.

Day 9

Changed into a new set of inner layer for the second week. Yes wore same layer for a week! Slept in a clean set of long johns every night though. Had awesome biscuits and potatoes in beef stew for breakfast. Cant complain!

Finally went to Eagle cape today for the cleaning and the waters were pretty exciting to paddle. Cleared trash and particularly some floats stuck between cracks of a sea cliff.

Dinner was cooking all the leftovers! Awesome with good variety to choose from! Tom offered a souvenir to pick up at anchorage. Hope my flight schedule allows for me to go get it!

Day 10

Woke up at 4 am today and i finally saw the northern lights and awesome stars in the milky way!!! Thanks for waking me up Jerry!

Breakfast was usual oatmeal with milo. Going to clean the lagoon today! Should be good! Managed timo clear half the lagoon and am planning to take the northern lights again tonight!

Dinner prepared by Tom and Matt and enchilada which was super awesome mexican food!

Day 11 – Wish upon a shooting star
Woke up at 4am today to see the northern lights. Saw shooting stars too! Thought alot on things after that in my sleeping bag especially on how to take care of the parents and not let them worry.

Breakfast was BOOM! Today we have EGGS!!! I had 2 sunny side up in tortillas! Going to clear the first day lagoon at elephant cove and realised we cleared the wrong side of the beach today.

Dinner was a quick fix of leftovers and tasty bite pack where you can just boil the packet and food is ready in a minute!

Not going for northern lights tonight as the string winds are howling outside and it really getting colder!

Day 12

3 more days to going back to civilisation! Excited but also kinda missing this place already. But the thought of a hot shower surely is very tempting.

Finished the lagoon to skiff passage and came back a bit earlier! Tasted the sardines here for the first time before dinner. Discovered a propane gas leak luckily got it fixed!

Made spaghetti and garlic naan for dinner. Very tasty!

Winds are howling pretty strongly outside the tent and i gets colder. Gona keep myself warm in the tent in my sleeping bag.

Day 13 – first real capsize in Alaska

Had a really good sleep and strange dreams of the city life every night. Breakfast was swiss miss classic hot chocolate with 2 packets of instant oatmeal. Packed my lunch: tortilla with cheese and salami easy to prepare and convenient to eat.

Paddled across to the opposite of big bay to transport the camp equipment and unused sacks and bags back to base and went to elephant cove lagoon in the afternoon. We played abit in the fast moving waters that was coming in with the tide and i capsized and panicked! Haha! The buddies saved my life. Realised also the rescue technique here in US is pretty different from in Singapore and we also used different boats.

After picking up a tonne of nets and trash we actually picked up part of an airplane fuselage! We came back to base and Tom prepared enchiladas! Love it! Discussed a little about tomorrow’s paddle but am glad that we actually cleared our areas for the week!

Looking forward to going back to civilisation on Sunday morning!

Day 14
Rained quite a bit last night and could hear the pelting of the rain on my tent the whole night. Strange dreams as usual.

Breakfast was pancakes from Jerry and Bacon prepared by Tom! Super awesome to have hot pancakes in maple syrup and butter coupled with bacon and a nice hot cup of swiss miss hot chocolate!

Had macaroni and cheese for lunch and packed up to prepare for tomorrow’s return to Kodiak. Ate some left over enchiladas before dinner and had an awesome time talking with one another on various topics.

Dinner was pizza made of pita by John and it is awesome. Then talking again.

Day 15 – flight delayed

It rained the entire night and even in the morning. Had hot chocolate and cereal today, finished the oatmeal. Looking forward to getting back to Kodiak and then back home.

Visibility was really bad and the plane was supposed to fly at 9am and reach Shuyak at 10am but it has been delayed to 2pm and now its 4pm still waiting. =p

In the end, the plane is not coming. So we had spaghetti for dinner and I read a bit of fiction books and slept in the log cabin tonight.

Day 16

Slept in the log cabin last night and i am not used to it! I actually prefer a tent and sleeping bag! Went to Sandra’s place to have a 40 minutes shower! and then walked to Walmart for some last minute shopping before heading to the airport. Was pleasantly surprised when I saw a KFC! They have 3 flavours here: Original, Crispy and Grilled! Tried all 3, still prefer crispy (sometimes original).

Then bought lotsa M&Ms before heading to the airport and flew to Anchorage (to go Seattle, Houston, Moscow then Singapore)! Had McDonalds, Fillet O Fish again but not as good as the one in Kodiak.