Juneau Rest and Relaxation

Our lovely few restful days camped at Louisa Point, Auke Bay about 24km north of Juneau are almost at an end, just a similar few restful days on the ferry to Homer to look forward to now! 

First day ashore is of course washing day, very sensibly launderettes here always seem to have showers so the washing of both bodies and clothes is very convenient for smelly kayakers. 

The next day, scrubbed and clean, we headed into Juneau, where downtown was identical to Ketchikan with streets full trippery gift shops catering to the cruise ship passengers. There were two big ones berthed that morning, four later in the day! 

We escaped to the Juneau City Museum where a really interesting history of gold mining, fishing, Alaskan Statehood and capital city location unfolded. 

We were then whisked away by Rory and Jan, friends of Doug and Martina our hosts in Petersburg, for a walk along the Perseverance Trail. 

The trail originated as a wagon road by miners in the early days, the surrounding hillsides littered with mine shafts, old machinery and derelict buildings. It felt good to stretch our legs on what was in places a steep climb and even better to chat to two like minded and knowledgable locals about everything from the local plants to clear fell forestry practises and associated politics. Alaska and Tasmania have a lot in common. 

Rory and Jan's hospitality extended to beer, wine and fantastic homemade pizza at their house that evening. 

The chat of course continued, ranging from their Feathercaft kayak adventures, volunteer trail building and a five week cycle tour on their Bike Fridays around Tasmania last summer.

Thank you again Rory and Jan for your company and hospitality.

The blisters on our hands have long turned into callouses and a week or so off the water will allow little wounds to heal. Lynne's fine but for some unknown reason I got a blistered rash on the backs of my fingers up to the first knuckle. With wet hands every day and being knocked about stuffing things into dry bags numerous times a day etc, they weren't healing.

After about 3 weeks and over 900km paddled we are well and truly paddling fit and ready for the next stage - The Kenai Coast. 

It's very easy looking at a map and casually saying "Let's paddle that bit" especially if, as in the case of the Kenai Peninsular, the coastline is convoluted with many offshore islands offering shelter and possible landing spots. 

As this coastline was our Plan B we had not researched it to anywhere the same degree as the last few weeks or The Lost Coast, our original plan. No problem though, what else is there to do sitting in the launderette or in our tent out of the rain with a smart phone and an internet connection!

Within a couple of days, we had downloaded the relevant charts, a great guide book for cruising sailors and kayakers, joined the Alaskan sea

kayaking email list and made contact with local kayakers who have paddled the coast and offered a heap more useful info. 

With all that information the simple wish of "Let's paddle that bit" has evolved into trepidation and anticipation. Trepidation, as of course things are never as simple as a quick look at a map. The coast is rugged, remote and has a couple of long sections with no landing places, a couple of tricky headlands to get around, has wild weather at times and a new hazard for us - strong katabatic winds coming off the glaciers in the afternoons.

Anticipation, as of course all the above is just how we like it. 

We are really looking forward to the few days on the ferry to continue the R&R but it's also the perfect opportunity to spread out the maps, read through and collate all the information we've found so we are ready to hit the water again next Sunday.