Solo adventure kayaking presents some challenges that aren’t
present when traveling with a team.
- Some are obvious like having no shared gear which means more weight and more space required for you to deal with.
- It means that at least twice each day you have to solo carry your 60+ pound boat and 130+ pounds of gear between the tide line and camp. On a three-week trip that is 5,250 pounds carried. You have to trust me that if you have a partner it is easier to carry ½ that amount of weight twice than it is to carry it alone once.
- It means that you make all of the critical decisions as there are no “more experienced” partners to rely upon,
- It also means that if you are like me and sometimes awkward and lacking self-confidence around strangers you have no other confident, smiling face to buffer and smooth your interactions with said strangers. No one to send ahead to pave the way, as it were.
For this final reason, in part, my ferry ride from Port
Hardy to Klemtu was an interesting and uncomfortable exercise in international
relations.
Passengers with kayaks are the first allowed to board the
Northern Expedition in Port Hardy as we have to move our boats from the ramp to
the far end of the ferry. I happened to
be the only traveler with a kayak so I was the very first to board. As the first walk-on I made my way to an
upper deck and my favorite seating area on the starboard side just outside of
the Aurora Lounge. Being first in gave
me my pick of seats so I chose a high-backed seat front and center to a set of
tall windows. Soon others filed in and a
tall European man asked me if the seats were taken.
“Only this one that I’m sitting in” I responded with
a smile.
