This website documents a number of trips we have done above the 50th parallel (in Canada and Alaska) with our children starting when our youngest was 1 yr-old. Each year since 2002, we have done one or two 4-14 day canoe or sea-kayak trips above the 50th parallel. This website documents those trips and will hopefully help others who are looking for similar types of adventures.
6/19/2012 4:26:08 AM - 003006755853 Thank you Eli, great source of info!
10/24/2010 2:24:36 AM - fb:613954548 Great site Eli! What a resource for paddlers!
About us
My husband and I were avid climbers and trekkers before we had kids and did many multi-week wilderness trips each year. After having kids, we wanted to continue exploring the wilds but traveling on foot was not feasible both because of trying to carry stuff and also because a young child cannot travel very far on foot. My husband and I had whitewater canoed years before and we decided to take up canoeing again with our young kids. We stayed on lake trips until our youngest was six and stayed away from sea-kayaking until our youngest was 5 and better able to handle our cold waters. Though even then, we stuck to sheltered trips with no long crossings.
Note, my husband and I have extensive experience in the outdoors and have been doing multi-week wilderness trips since our youth. We are also experienced paddlers. At one time, we did a lot of whitewater and were fairly comfortable on class III with our closed deck whitewater canoe. However that was years ago, and we haven't done much whitewater since then. Today I wouldn't want to get on anything harder than class II, and with my kids, I wouldn't want to be on anything harder than class I or easy class II. My husband and I also do marathon canoeing. We paddle throughout the summer before our trips, so we are not doing these trips off the couch. So, just keep our experience and training in mind when you read my descriptions of how hard something was. Also keep in mind the ages of our kids when we did the trips. If you don't have young kids along, your experience would be very different. My husband and I can travel at least twice as fast and far on our own. When our kids were young, we planned for no more than 3 hours in the boat during a day and we broke this into 2-3 sessions. As our youngest got older (7+), we were able to paddle for longer stretches.
To do list
Here are some trips we have planned.
Atlin Lake in northern BC NW Vancouver Island by kayak Queen Charlotte Islands by kayak Quebec Missouri River, WY Green River, Utah