What God Gave man, Let women now have!-Angela

As females we do not have the necessary equipment to pee standing up. But as the technologically advanced society that we are, this is changing. Women now have access to the freshette, and the she pee. Another technique that Christine Hawes has perfected is peeing in a jar, while sitting in a sea kayak, on rough seas, in a drysuit (yes, she is a female). What enables her to do this with such ease is her perfect balance, placememnt of the jar, and a front zip on her drysuit and long underwear. It is a marvel to behold as she can pee in her kayak, in under a minuet, with no spills.

I have come to adopt this technique under duress (7 1/2 hours is the longest we have been in our boats without touching land). My technique is slightly different as I do not have a front pee zip, only a butt zip. So, I must lye on the back deck of my kayak to unzip my butt zip and pull down my pants. This is a most precarious position at best. Then I must squat in my kayak, position the jar underneath me and pee. This is not as precarious, but is still not fully controlled. I them must lye back on the back deck of my kayak to pull up my pants and do up my butt zip.

Generally I attempt this in calm waters with the help of my paddling companion. But on one particular day, I had other plans. Feeling confident in my balancing abilities, I began the process of peeing in the jar. I successfully unzipped, peed, and began to do up my zipper. Before I was a 1/4 done zipping, a swell caught me off balance and sploosh, cold water came rushing to greet me, all of me. All of me, in my drysuit, which was still open. As soon as my legs came out of my now upside down boat, I quickly finished zipping my butt zip. But too late, the damage was done and the legs of my drysuit were filled with water up to my waist. I began gasping the seisure like gasps of one suddenly and quickly thrown into cold water unexpectedly. I righted my kayak and began to attempt to get back in. But no matter how hard I tried, the water that filled the legs of my drysuit wouldn't allow me to get back in.

My paddling partner, now aware of the situation, paddled over and assisted me as I got back into my boat. I pumped out the water, emptied my drysuit legs of water (with the balancing aid of Christine) and we continued on our way.

Despite the fact that I laugh every time I recall the story, my ego is still bruised. So I have decided to use christines help EVERY time I have to Pee in a jar, in a dry suit, in a kayak, on the Pacific Ocean.

Soul Musings-Angela

I am sitting on a moss covered log that spans a tanin colored creek. Gazing out over the west coast of Canada, I marvel at how dreams can become reality. I sit in amazement at our beautiful coast, so rugged and unique.

All night long we listened to the wind howling through the trees and the surf crashing on the beach. We stalled our decision to make a large crossing to the outside coast. After a cup of hot chocolate, we decided to do the crossing. The peaceful beach soon became a flurry of activity as the tent came down, water bladders were filled, boats packed and launched.

A humpack whaled greeted us halfway through the 6 mile crossing. Rhinocerous aucklets, surf scoters, and loons escorted us on the outside of Calvert Island. It was spectacular. Swell after swell crashed into the cliff walls, boomers sent incredible spray into the air and turned the ocean into a wild whitewater arena.

I always feel better in a boat. Freedom is mine, my interaction with the world changes, gravity takes on a new meaning. I breathe a sigh of contemtment and revel in the ease with which my movement propels me through this unique element we call water.

What a marvellous way to live. To have no schedule, no demands. To have a body that is worked into shape and a mind that is juggling tides, current, weather and time. To have the time to watch as the world unfolds. I wish everyone could experience the world in this way. To meld themselves so closely to nature. To feel the cold detachment of a predator's eyes on you, to eat fish from the ocean, to sit next to hundred year old trees and feel the wisdom that is there.

Video Clips-Angela

Summary of Learning:

• Don't let Angela play with Bear Bangers at 6am
  
• Bear Bangers are really loud!
  
• Bear Bangers are really really loud…
  
• 25 Nautical Miles means you are going to hurt the next morning
  
• When you change your destination… remember to re-evaluate your route!
• When you and your paddling partner set off in different directions… call a guides meeting!
• Try to avoid the rocks... 6 in one day is a bit excessive
• When it seems like it is twice as far as you thought... consider re-measuring the distance
• When it becomes obvious that you aren't going to make slack tide... give up and lie in the sun
• If Angela carries the bananas... plan on making banana bread...
• Before heading into 'Civilization' remember to Simmer Down
• Chewable vitamins are bad for your teeth
• Chocolate before noon is not an addiction
• Chocolate before 7am might be an addiction but we don't care
• Chocolate chips are part if a healthy breakfast
• When the Vegetarian gets that look in her eyes... let her kill the fish...
• Massages don't always feel good
• It's okay to take the long way around...
• If you hear something that sounds like a Sea Lion dying... look for a kayak being dragged up the beach on pool noodles
• Remember not to be such a nutter when being video taped... (the rest of the time it is fine to be a nutter)

Various Pictures - Christine

Rain or shine

Morning tea and weather

Happy to be there

Sorry little fish... but you sure tasted goood!!!

Movie Star

Match made in heaven...

We don't like chocolate.... really...

Home....

Through My Own Eyes... - Christine

I took the ferry over to Alert Bay today. We have been in Port McNeil now for 4 days… a little longer than we had originally planned and anticipated… It was nice to just pass the time today. To not worry about re-supplying, to not worry about fixing kayaks, to not worry about organizing and preparing… that is all done. It was nice to just let go of it all and relish in the luxury of having 4 months to complete this journey. There is no need to worry about lost days due to uncontrollable events. So I took the ferry over to Alert Bay today and just let the misty coast engulf me in its history. I walked the boardwalks imagining life in the late 18 and early 1900’s. Gazing at the little coastal homes stilted above the water and nestled on the shores edge I imagined life through the 1900’s during the fishing glory days. I walked the streets and enjoyed the town as it is today, not abandoned, not left behind…. Actually it was quite bustling.  I visited the First Nations Cultural Center and let myself fall into that world for a couple of hours. It was remarkable and a total treat to experience not only the history on display but also the culture in action as a young woman shared her gift for the songs of her culture… Not a performance… she was simply using the space to practice and share with a fellow musician.

Now I am sitting in the comforts of a friend’s house, back in Port McNeil, preparing to set out again tomorrow and thinking of what words I can leave behind.

We have been gone for about three weeks now. There is a part of me that feels like I have nothing to say... because things are just the way they are supposed to be... which is great. Then there is a part of me that has so much to say, so much to express and this intense desire to somehow convey what it is like to be out here day after day... finally living the dream. Those of you that know me.... can probably guess I'm leaning towards the latter of the two...

I find it intriguing that I started this journey with a story from my childhood because I find myself continually feeling like a little kid again, constantly making links and correlations to being that young little being full of life and imagination. Those of us in the guiding industry, perhaps we never do grow up... we have found our own Never Never Land where we play games of Adventure, Make Believe, and sometimes even House. It feels surreal sometimes to be scavenging through the driftwood strewn beaches looking for the perfect logs to build the perfect 'fort' only now that we are grown ups we call it a 'shelter'. Sometimes when making dinner... I can't help but laugh because it reminds me so much of having Tea Parties and Easy Bake Ovens. When the sun is shining and the air is warm we are quick to strip the layers off, wandering the beach in our underwear like little sun babies. But why not?

Why not live in a world of total bliss and contentment without any inhibitions? The best part is that it isn't even Make Believe! How lucky are we to be living our lives exactly how we want to be, to be able to do only what we want to do in a day... how simple to only have to decide if we should paddle now or later, if we should have one wrap or two for lunch and if we should bake a dessert tonight or just eat more chocolate. Why not release the worries of the world and live today, just for today? Maybe it is selfish... and of course it isn't always that easy... there are many paddle strokes in a day to contemplate the world over... but those stolen childish moments of bliss sure feel good and I have no intentions of stopping them! In fact my intentions are to revel in them, to revel in those moments of bliss and happiness just as much as those moments of sorrow, frustration and sometimes even anger. This is a journey through my own eyes... it is everything that I want it to be... the experience is consuming.

We laugh. We laugh so much that it hurts. We are so deliriously goofy and silly that it makes the world (our world) a wonderfully fabulous place! We have had our moments of frustration and those times when we are a little off but they are so minute that they hardly leave a mark in the sand and they are nothing the first high tide can't wash away. It is no surprise that we travel so well together and that we laugh so freely, but it is a welcome confirmation to know that we were right.

Self-inflicted/provided entertainment is a daily occurrence. We have no shortage of stories to tell and things to laugh about. It is easy to be humble out here. It is easy to be humbled… It is a completely different experience to be out here with only ourselves to be accountable to… with no clients to be concerned about. I have learnt and experienced so much more in these three weeks simply because I had the freedom to try… The freedom to make a mistake (and thankfully the paddling partner to correct me when I am wrong!). We both make our mistakes and we are both better paddlers for it.

We have days where we talk endlessly, every paddle stroke is fueled by words. We have days where we hardly say a word at all, every paddle stroke is fueled by thoughts. Sometimes we experience the sounds around us, sometimes we push play and create our own soundtrack... individually singing along to our chosen mood (what a sound it must be to the outsider!). But whatever the day is…. We are always there… taking it in.

The scenery has been incredible, moving from the familiar setting of the Southern Gulf Islands into more and more remote areas of the coast. Slowly finding that ‘home’ no longer had to be a designated campsite and instead could be just about anywhere our hearts desired. The luxury being that we could paddle as far or as short as we wanted… sometimes resulting in home not revealing itself until 8, 9 or even 10pm. We have found small communities nestled in beautiful bays, turning the corner and finding just want you would imagine for an old coastal village… a horseshoe shaped community with a wooded church in the middle, a multi-functioning general store, wooden character homes and grassy, mossy rolling hills. I have fallen in love many times over with this coast… There is comfort in knowing there is so much space out here… I can’t say it is untouched, the forests tell that story… but there is space and it is beautiful. It feels good to breathe… It feels good to see it through my own eyes…

We are more than ready to expand our lungs again tomorrow… after the fiascos of Port McNeil we have decided that maybe we should avoid towns from now on… Paddling is easier… Oh, and looking at the bottom of your boat is also a bad idea… better to leave some things as ‘what you don’t know’!! All is well that ends well. 

VIDEO CLIPS