Intro

Exposed Coast Kayak Expedition Training

If you dream of ocean swells, sea cliffs, outer coasts, islands and wilderness camping, make the dream come true - join us on our "Exposed Coast Kayak Expedition Training" in SE Alaska. Each year Kayak Academy ships a trailer load of one-person performance sea kayaks from Seattle to Sitka, AK for this 10 day trip - your kayak or one of our rental kayaks w/skeg can be waiting for you there. No driving or fighting overcrowded campsites; experience real wilderness sea kayaking just a few hours flight from Seattle.

Description

A hundred-plus years ago, Russian fur traders and Capt. Cook sailed this coast discovering the indigenous Tlingit paddling their dugout canoes here; now you can be among the first sea kayakers to explore the islands and capes on the outer coasts of the Rakof Islands and/or Biorka Island. (sketches above of Mt Edgecumbe and Kruzof I. outside Sitka are from one of Capt. Cook's voyages to Alaska) Click on the chart at right (NOAA Chart No. 17326) below and you'll see endless possibilities for playing in rocks, circumnavigating hundreds of islands and camping on beautiful beaches. George and Barb Gronseth and our K.A. students have had the privilege to explore these islands every year for two decades, and yet each trip reveals some new, exciting terrain to paddle and there's still more to explore.

Glacier Bay and Prince William Sound are major destinations for cruise ships because of their sheltered conditions and tidewater glaciers, but these inside waters are tame compared to paddling on the outer coast of Baranof Island. Sitka Sound and the island archipelagoes along the west coast of Baranof I. are a sea kayaker's paradise. We leave the cruise ships and flatwater behind on the first day of paddling. When more kayakers discover the west side of Baranof Island, it's going to be famous for its rock gardens, slot canyons, and sea cliffs (as well as fishing, birding, whale watching, and wilderness camping). Local rock garden attractions include: "Entrance Exam" (off Cape Burunof - the S. entrance to Sitka's Eastern Channel), "The Fun-House Rocks" & "Jaws" (two side-by-side features - be careful of "Jaws", they sometimes bite), "The Hallway" (which many have found is short for "Hallway of Doom"), and many more yet to be named play spots. The capes and cliffs on the outer coasts of the Rakof Islands and the Necker Islands archipelagos are spectacular to paddle along. Not every rock feature is working or safe to mess with on any given day, but no matter what the conditions, we can find something to thrill anyone. As a result of our experience and intimate knowledge of this area, when conditions are too extreme for one spot we know several others that will be really fun. When you know this place as we do, the choices are infinite.

If you've worked hard to develop your kayaking skills and feel ready for an advanced kayak trip (with coaching), reward yourself with the adventure of a lifetime on one of the last great wilderness coasts. If you have the skills, you can be among the six to eight lucky students to join George and Barb Gronseth for this amazing trip.

Note, this is no beginner "float n' bloat" guided tour; you'll paddle a one-person sea kayak with skeg (no rudder), set up your own tent, take turns leading the group and share in cooking dinners - that's why it's called an expedition, not a guided tour. All participants share in the cost, planning, and cooking of the food for the trip (that's part of the learning), and you will need to provide your own transportation to and from Sitka. For the last night, we will make no-host dinner reservations for the group at a favorite restaurant in Sitka.

Click the Play button on the video image at the right to see a short taste of some of the rock garden kayaking in Alaska.

We only offer this Alaska sea kayak trip once a year. Plan ahead - see the bottom of this page for prerequisites.

E-mail us at to verify your qualifications before making a reservation.

This Alaska kayak trip is a participatory advanced sea kayaking adventure ... eight days of self-supported kayak camping along the open coast of the Pacific Ocean in SE Alaska with George & Barb Gronseth. You'll be paddling one of the Kayak Academy's performance, one-person rental sea kayaks with skeg (rudder-free) or you may arrange to use your own kayak. We ship all the kayaks on one of our kayak trailers via barge from Seattle to Sitka. (If you prefer to use your own kayak, it must meet our safety standards and be delivered to us two weeks before the trip).

(Click the Play button on the video image at right for a taste of the beaches, fishing, and scenery)

This lesson/kayak trip starts with a team trip-planning, chart folding, food preparation, and safety meeting at our hotel the day you arrive. The next morning we launch from the hotel dock after breakfast and start paddling out of the protected water of Sitka Sound and round Cape Burunof - which marks the beginning of the exposed coast. You'll play in rock gardens, enjoy primitive camping, and see lots of bald eagles and sea otters -- typically all on the first day of paddling! The kayaking, camping, and wildlife get even better the further we go. There're puffins, harlequin ducks, loons, and lots of other wildlife to watch for including humpback whales, orca whales, brown bears, mink, and river otters. The camping is incredible, mosquitoes are minimal, and they're no ticks, no scorpions, no poisonous snakes or spiders, and no poison ivy or poison oak! We'll camp at some of the most beautiful beaches in all of Alaska, some with views of Mt. Edgecumbe's volcanic cone (3271') on Kruzof Island. In the middle of the trip, you can enjoy a soak at a hot spring with natural mineral water.

The rock gardens, slot canyons, and capes get progressively more challenging as we head south along the west side of Baranof Island and we choose between rounding the exposed outer coasts of the Taigud Islands, Biorka Island, the Rakof Islands, and/or Cape Aspid. From Sitka south to Cape Ommaney (at the south end of Baranof I.), Biorka Island and the Rakof Islands are among the most exposed capes and points on the Pacific Ocean side of North America. Rounding capes and circumnavigating these outer islands are to sea kayaking what summiting a mountain peak is to climbing. It will test your nerve and skill. Even our most experienced students usually say it's the biggest water they've ever kayaked in. It's an achievement you will always remember. Go with the Kayak Academy and you'll be one of the few sea kayaker's to ever paddle these outer coasts.

(Click the Play button on the video image at right for a taste of the Sitka area wildlife)

After rounding Cape Burunof, we'll paddle a loop around the Necker Islands and Rakof Islands -- these two island archipelagos form a partial barrier of the west coast of Baranof Island south of Sitka Sound. The area is like a combination of Barkley Sound, the Queen Charlotte Islands, the San Juan Islands, Cape Flattery, Trinidad Bay, and more all rolled into one destination that you can paddle through in a week, and there's hardly any other kayakers there! KA has the only permit for a guided kayak trip in this area. Along the way, you'll have opportunities to surf ocean swells, thread a loaded sea kayak through rock gardens and slot sea canyons, learn to navigate complex outer coasts and islands chains, and practice decision making as you take turns leading sections of the trip. You can fish for salmon (AK state fishing license required, licenses are available in Sitka) and rockfish from your kayak, and learn to forage for safe wild foods such as edible kelp, red huckleberries, and "chicken of the woods". You'll learn how to: stay warm and dry while camping in rain forest climates, use camping skills in a marine coastal environment, plan food for long expeditions, and pack efficiently so as to get everything you need for a week or longer trip into a sea kayak. In other words, you will be practicing the skills needed to plan and lead your own future wilderness expeditions. You'll also: practice chart reading and compass skills, on the water navigation, rescues, and rolls in loaded kayaks, and learn safety and etiquette for camping in bear country (we provide bear-resistant food barrels, Ursaks w/odor-proof liners, pulleys for hanging food, and bear-repellent pepper spray for each member of the group). Note there's no alligators or crocks, just brown bears and Stellar sea lions to be mindful of. We've never had bears in our camp and we take a number of precautions to minimize the risk, but we can view bears in lagoons and salmon streams while paddling.

This expedition is based out of the beautiful, historic town of Sitka, Alaska -- a gem worth the trip in itself. Sitka was once the capital for the Russian-America Company, and it's where the papers were signed when the U.S. bought Alaska. We recommend spending some extra days before or after the trip to check out the Aleut and Inuit kayaks at the Sheldon Jackson museum, take a self-guided walking tour of the Tlingit Totem Poles at the outdoor historical park, watch salmon running in Indian River, visit the Raptor Recovery Center, hang out at Old Harbor Books (a great bookstore specializing in Alaskan history and natural history), check out the native arts galleries in town, and take some day hikes such as Mt. Verstuvia (3354') behind town. Sitka is a world-renowned destination for charter fishing so you could stay an extra few days to go fishing and bring home a year's supply of fish.

We ship the kayaks by a barge on one of our kayak trailers so you won't have to make do with a clunky rental kayak. All the kayaks we rent for this trip have retractable skegs, front and rear bulkheads, adjustable backbands (not tall seat backs), and day hatches (with rubber hatches covers). If you bring us your kayak in time, we can ship it with our kayaks (barge leaves Seattle about two weeks before the trip and return about two weeks after). We can also send your paddles, tent, and sleeping bag in our trailer's gearbox to save you the expense and hassle of lugging it through airports - just UPS your gear to us a few weeks prior to the trip so we can get it on the barge.

This Alaskan kayak trip is made possible by our Special Use Permit for the Tongass National Forest and South Baranof Wilderness (we are the only outfitter with a Forest Service permit for kayak trips in this area), drysuits, the Kayak Academy's very own premium rudder-free rental sea kayaks (Choose from: Valley, P&H, Venture, and Wilderness Systems. Rental kayak reservations are "first-come-first-serve", so sign up early for best selection), and our staff of highly skilled, experienced instructors (George Gronseth: founder of the Kayak Academy; Barb Gronseth: founder of Issaquah Paddle Sports, ACA/BCU Sea Kayak instructor. George and Barb have been leading and co-teaching these trips since 2000.)

"I didn't think about work for the whole week", PB

"Every day had some great new experience", MF

The total cost for the expedition is only $2995.00 (plus $250 if you need to rent a kayak), which includes: permit fees, transportation within Sitka, lodging in Sitka the night before and after the paddling days and use of our: bear-repellent pepper spray, bear-resistant food box, Ursaks, group cook tarp, camp stoves and fuel. We will also give you your own waterproof navigation chart, tide tables, a waterproof logbook, and the Kayak Academy's "Guide to Expedition Planning". The cost of this course is comparable to that of guided tours in Alaska, which offer none of the training materials let alone the advanced kayak instruction by George Gronseth, or the use of one-person kayaks.

Prior trip experience alone is not enough to qualify for this training expedition, as a minimum, you'll need to have a reliable roll, prior low impact camping experience, and take at least one of the following courses: Surf Kayaking, Tidal Rapids Training, High Wind Kayak Training, River Kayaking Intro. The best preparation is the Kayak Academy's "Five Day Training Camp" plus one or more of the above intermediate courses, however, some upper-level BCU three - five-star kayakers or ACA Level 3-5 kayak instructors may qualify for equivalency for this expedition. If you start with the Kayak Academy's Five Day Training Camp, a beginner can meet these requirements within a year and an intermediate kayaker can generally meet all the prerequisite training in the same year they take the Five-Day Training Camp. So start preparing for this year's or next year's trip by signing up now for our Five Day Training Camp or intermediate courses (Kayak Surfing, River Kayaking, etc.).

Kayak Academy is operated under special use permit with the Tongass National Forest
Kayak Academy is an equal opportunity provider

Details

Registration and Confirmation:

Determine the date that fits your schedule. Read prerequisites, liability, and cancellation policy.

Place your reservation.

Look for an emailed invoice and call to make payment. You will have a limited time to pay before we reopen the spot.

Your spot is confirmed once you pay. 

Instructors: George and Barb Gronseth
Location: Begin and end in Sitka, Alaska (daily jet flights from Seattle, WA)
Duration: 10 days total (eight days on the water) The start date is the day you need to arrive in Sitka and meet for a team safety briefing, chart folding, and food prep. The kayaking starts after breakfast the next day.
Group Size: 8 students plus 2 instructors
Tuition: $4,950.00 ($100 Discount for sign-ups before December 15th CODE: SITKA2020). Special discounts for repeat team members ( CODE: SITKA33-shared room. SITKA26-single room. Fee includes: shipping your kayak or our rental kayak round trip from Seattle, US Forest Service Use Fees, transportation from airport to hotel, double occupancy hotel rooms before and after the paddling ($210 extra for single rooms), navigation chart, tide tables, and use of: bear pepper spray, bear-resistant food box, Ursak food bags, water bags, and group gear such as cooking tarp, cook-set, stoves and fuel, food hanging pulleys.
Kayak Rental: $250.00 for Roto-molded kayak (or we can ship your personal kayak with ours for no extra fee. If needed, you may rent a kayak from us to use back home in the NW while yours is in transit for special $200.00 rate)
(Kayak Rental Includes: Brit style sea kayak w/skeg, graphite paddle, spray-skirt, PFD, bilge pump, and paddle-float)

Please read our

As part of your trip planning and education about the USFS and wilderness preservation, we encourage you to read the following resources:

principles on the USDA Alaska Region website
principles on the USDA Alaska Region website



via Wilderness.net

Kayak Academy is operated under special use permit with the Tongass National Forest

Essential Eligibility Criteria:

 1 Follow instructions and effectively communicate independently or with assistance of a companion

2 Independently turn from face-down to face-up and remain floating face up while wearing a properly fitted life jacket

3 Get in / out of a kayak independently or with a reasonable amount of assistance

4 Independently get out and from under a capsized kayak

5 Remount or reenter the kayak following deep water capsize independently or with a reasonable amount of assistance

6 Be able to roll kayak up from capsized position

7 Be able to paddle one-person kayak twenty miles in a day

8 Have prior experience handling kayak in surf or whitewater river

9 Have prior experience tent camping and cooking on a camp stove

10 Be able to set up your own tent independently or with the assistance of a companion

Note: The USFS informs us that our web postings for this trip must include the following statement about nondiscrimination and how to file a complaint:

“In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, and reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible State or local Agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information is also available in languages other than English.

To file a complaint alleging discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at , or at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provided in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: [email protected].

Kayak Academy is an equal opportunity provider.”