David Payne's Notes
July 7-July 13

July 7

Life of Reilly today. At least for the morning. My crew doesn't pull until the second shift, so I have skulked off to Toucan, which has a 110 volt outlet, and am sitting at a table in its salon typing my notes from yesterday. Toucan is owned by Blaine and Hennie Hagedorn. he is a semi-retired grocer from Gibsons, friend of Edís, who got involved in the project because they thought it would be fun to combine an opportunity to cruise the coast while helping out. They have also been participating in all the ceremonies, and generally just lending a helping hand (place to crash, venue for food preparation, etc.). I spoke with them briefly yesterday and they indicated that they are only beginning to understand the importance of the event.

Yesterday was a pretty easy day, the rain and wind never did let up, and I had hoped to get caught up with my notes. Didnít. First a power failure, so I waited awhile, and then wandered over to the fireball where a circle had convened. The pullers were cooking up a night of entertainment as thanks for the villagers. Pick-up basketball was also arranged with the village kids for anyone who wanted to play. I went in and warmed up with them, but decided not to play (sandals are not great for B-ball). There looked to be a some pretty good players there, a fact which was confirmed to me by John Toogood, who with a couple of the constables plus Roy and Matt played about 2 hours of pretty fast pick-up.

Then wandered down to Toucan, and set up to write. Began to nod off over my computer. Hennie volunteered the V-berth for a snooze. I don't remember my head even hitting the pillow, and slept for an hour and a half. Like all the other paddlers I an suffering from sleep deprivation. Fortunately the muscle aches are mostly gone. Several of us are sporting bandages on our fingers as a result of hot spots (blisters) from their paddles. And there hasn't been enough sun for the past few days for it to be a threat. All the bug bites from the Skeena are beginning to clear up, with no new ones being added. Pullers attitudes, and senses of humour continue to be remarkably excellent. All have tried to grab a few winks of sleep when they could.

I have decided not to spend another night on the back of the seiner. Margaret Hill, and elder, and her husband Wesley, have beds going begging at their house. Besides, I cannot tolerate the thought of being woken up by Hill and Klassen again.

The talent show was superb, but long. We have some pretty talented people in the group - musicians (guitars and penny whistle) . The hall was packed with villagers.

I have retained a copy of the agenda. Of note:

Sgt. Lioshitzes drill squad. Hilarious to kids and adults; also good for villagers to see RCMP making fun of themselves.

Vision Quest singers singing Lu Am Gordu Ahwul Neesum led by Roy- "Happy to See You" - to villagers in their own language. Some time ago Roy had been captured by the melody of this song, whose words in his language had been lost. With his sister Patricia they wrote the appropriate words, and this song has become another of our anthems, along with Ho Ni No, and we are all slowly learning it from use.

Georgeís song, accompanied himself on guitar, back-up vocals by his family, "my home town" a gift to Kincatla. which he composed while in jail. This man makes magic with his guitar. He received a standing ovation. It was a complex, bluesy piece the power of which completely belied the shy and apparently cowed man who had sat in the sweat with us the week before.

Various paddler introductions where individual paddler were called to the mike and asked to tell how/why they got involved with Journeys ë97.

As a finally William drummed and sang, an we all got up and danced, with him directing - explaining the meaning of the songs and showing us the steps. Actually pretty easy do, or at least attempt, nobody seemed self-conscious, and many of the villagers, particularly young people joined us.

We presented a paddle to the village at the close of the ceremonies signed by all our pullers. In his closing remarks the Chief Councilor indicated that the new school would be completed in January, and the paddle would be hung in a prominent place to remind the villagers, particularly the youth of Vision Quest, and the need to remain addiction free for the restoration of their persons and their culture.

Other notes:

kids, kids kids - all ages, running around for the most part unchecked throughout the ceremony, in spite of the hour. This culture is in constant contact with the kids. Where the adults go, the kids go.

sense of time - this is not a society that places a premium on time. Scheduling largely irrelevant. Things happen when they happen. If a celebration goes into the we hours of the morning, like last night, so be it, there is lots of time. Similarly, if a speech is long (which the elders to really well here, and I have noticed that a couple of our speakers have contracted this bug.

Got to bed around 1am. Show had started at 8:30. Scheduled for 7:30. Had my own room and bed in the basement of Hills. We awoke this morning to coffee, bacon and eggs, and toasted home made bread. Got 6 hours of sleep last night.

July 8

Boats got away almost on time. about 9:30. As they pulled away from the beach it started to rain. And by 11am was raining hard, although we are in sheltered waters and the waves not much more than a ripple. The plan for the day is to paddle half way to Hartley Bay (90 miles) and camp for the night if the weather is tolerable. Alternatively, we will load the boats on the canoe, and pound it through to Hartley Bay. (Grieving - a child recently committed suicide there)

12:20 - Toucan has passed the paddlers, and is stopped in a sheltered spot waiting for them to catch up. It is a grey, grey day and pissing down rain. There are dolphins playing around our boat. For the past 2 hours I have been using one corner of the salon table, while Carol, Joy, Jo-anne and Hennie prepare sandwiches for the pullers. I am not looking forward to my paddling shift. Fortunately, in a rare attack of common sense I remembered to pack my rain gear. The canoes have just passed us; I am told to be ready, we paddle in one hour.

Next morning - It was quite an afternoon. It remained grey, windy (SE) and rainy for the rest of the day. I was part of the second shift. We put in at 2pm, and had a great paddle, although we bucked the ride and wind for most of the way. We had finally persuaded our strokes to lower the pace, but take longer pulls. It is far less tiring, which is just as well, because we puled until 9pm. The place at which we had first planned to camp was too small, so we headed for another, 16 miles away. Crewí spirits were high, but we were all tired, and wet - from sea water (we had taken a few waves over the gunwales, and sweat, from exertion in our rain gear. WE were hauled out and towed at 9 pm - it being obvious that it would be dark by the time we reached our destination. In fact, Roy kept going, and we stayed with him as escort. So we got there just as late, just a little warmer and less tired.

What followed was chaos, and tested what appears to be the inexhaustible camaraderie and spirit of the paddlers.
To wit, crews 1,2&3 had gone ahead of us and set up camp. Our site a deserted logging road on a former burial ground. WE were cold, wet tired hungry and very testy, and it was raining, sometimes hard and dark. We were told to go to the seiner, anchored in the bay, and pick up our gear, and then hop a zodiac to shore, find a place to sleep. Mayhem ensued. Our gear had been randomly dispersed around the stern by the rummaging of crews 1,2, and 3. People, anxious to change into dry clothing and get to shore to eat and sleep, couldnít find their gear, and when they found it there were often parts missing. Some were trying to change on deck, others eat (sally Hill and Rhonda had prepared an emergency stew on the seiner) and other to get to shore. When they got to shore they had to muscle gear up slippery, barnacle covered rocks in the dark. With the result that:

Matt Vickers was seriously injured - thrown against the rocks by an out-of-control zodiac
tempers frayed, with one confrontation that nearly ended in a fight
several could not find sleeping gear and had to get by without it, sleeping on crushed rock in a miserable wet night.

The saving grace of the evening was the basic commitment of the paddlers to pull together, I suspect some considerable inner toughness, and a common commitment to purpose. PLUS our support cook staff, that somehow was able to improvise a hot chili meal and salad.

WE all fell into bed hoping for a much better tomorrow. Rumour had it that we were heading out on the 4am tide.

Wednesday, July 9

Wake up call at 4am this morning.. It was cold and still raining. "There is a chopper coming in 10 minutes. Get up and hold on to your tents. There were 3 of us in the tent. We didnít move. A few minutes later the chopper arrived. IT had come for Matt. During the night a coast guard boat had arrived with a doctor, ho had confirmed what our doctor had already indicated - Matt needed to be shipped to a hospital. Those that had bothered to get up were told to go back to bed. The first crews would leave at 10 am. (we would miss most of our favourable tide, which began at 4, but we were too tired to care).

(At the start of our circle, Cecil Hill reminded us that we were standing on what had been a burial ground and considered sacred. It was now a disused logging road, insensitively cut though the rock to reach an makeshift dock for the loggers. "How would you like it if we bulldozed one of your cemeteries").Worse was yet to come.
After breakfast we had our circle. It lasted an hour and a half, with everybody who wished to say something asked to speak. Most indicated that although they were pretty tired and cold, and sometimes discouraged, they continued to be proud to be a member of the team, and were still committed. A couple of other items were addressed by John at the beginning which I think diffused what could have been pretty ugly:

we will no longer be paddling for unknown durations, possibly into the night. Shifts will be four hours long X 2. If we have not reached our destination, the boats will be towed. No more coming into camp sites at cold, wet and hungry.

paddling style was addressed. Some of the paddlers, notably those in our boat had been trained to paddle dragon boat style. Short choppy strokes, designed for short course sprinting. Our strokes had been setting this pace, and it was killing us, particularly those of us with long arms and naturally long pulls. Yesterday we finally persuaded them to use a cruising pace - the crew voted to put me in the bow to set the pace. We went faster and further and with less effort that on nay previous shift . They are now convinced. Sorry for bragging but their goofy style had been driving me nuts, and hurting like hell.

procedural changes regarding packs and sleeping gear, so that the mayhem of last night will be avoided. It will be interesting to see if it works.

some specific and general concerns related to stress and interpersonal conflict were addressed.

By the time the circle ended it was too late to paddle. The boats would be towed to Hartley Bay. But before we left we travelled to the other side of the river, to *****, the ancient summer village of the Kitkatla people. This is a magical place. Set in a bay just inside the opening to the river. Now a grove a trees, carpeted with thick moss, it was a summer place because of the richness of trees, plants, and sea life particularly salmon. Sights of note:

William drumming for the morning dip in the river
salmon rising in the little estuary
granite rocks some quite large, imprinted in village site - tossed there when the loggers blasted for the road on the other side of the river.
evidence on a live cedar where inner bark had been stripped for weaving into hats, mats, blankets. Example of continuing use of a living resource, conservation, which is at the heart of the culture (the spirit of the living tree is in this hat)
Cecil took Ursula to the site of 3 burial boxes. He wanted us to see it so we could tell the story. It is rumored to be that of a family 2 parents, one child, that had drowned off the point. Probably several hundred years ago, had been set in the trees on a steep shore against a rock face. Made of cedar boards stitched together, covered with cedar matting and a sea lion fur robe, brightly painted on the outside. The site had been recently vandalized, presumably by loggers. Pulled away from the rock and partially opened so that some of the bones, including the skulls, had fallen out.

As we left the bay to be towed to Hatley Bay, the weather cleared. some large clouds, separated by lots of blue. A light southwest breeze. Warm enough to lie out on deck, and sleep. We are exhausted again, and Hartley Bay is likely to be another long night.

HB is considered to be a model reservw community. It has been dry for some time and it shows. the houses, dock, community hall hall are generally better maintained than the other native communities we have visited. Eve the boardwalks connecting the homes are maintained.

Feast daetails are in my notes.

Thursday, July 10.

3:oo pm

We have just hauled abourd the Toucan. Both shifts have completed a 4 hour padle. The first crew left at 5am, the second met them around 10 am. We ahve five sick today and unable topaddle- some kind of virus, probaly spredd by shring the same water container while ibn thr csnoe.
WE ahve had a day that tourists pay big bucks for:

sunshine, some of the guys actually had their shirts off
green mountains dropping to the sea, snowcap
no wind
green, treed mtns stright doen to the shore, snowcapped, waterfalls, occasionally cascading into the ocean
pod of killer whales approached us. Before swimming under on breached just off our bow.
the Queen of the North and Seattle to Alacka ferry have both passed us, rbord ralipassengers glued to the stas have several fish boats. WE salute them, they cheer back. The quen of the North even stopped and we pulled up close, passengered cheered and we a saluted. Race and water fight. They have

Haisla (sp) canoe from Kiimat has contacted us, Dug-out, we had hoped to accompny them tto Victoria. Dedicated- making very slow time brevcsuce shortseveral paddleres
Everyone is tired, We sleot in the gym and wk=aht with the early rise (3:15 for the first shift) and he big-time snoring of a couple of members, followed by the paddle.

Saturday, July 12 Bella Bella - rest day

Not much to report today. I spent the day in bed, so ill that I was concerned I would have to come home. There is a virus going round, and that combined with the sun, de-hydration, and genepral lack of sleep felled me big-time. Iwas sent to the hospital, and from there to my billet, (wonderful lady, Irene Brown, gave me my own room, and just left me to sleep.) whwre I went to bed and didnít move until 10pm. By then my fever had left, and aside from some aches and pains and a headache, am relieved that I will be able to carry on.

Randy Churcill has offered me his notes from his journal on the dayís events, which included a boat race with one of the villageís canoes, and a basketball game.

Generally the crews appear to ahve had a relaxing day, with achnce to catch up on laundry, sight see, shop ( thre is a wonderful gallery here of native art) and all appeear fresh and ready to paddle. This is also the birthplace of J. Bradley Hunt, and Carol was good enough to pick up a brochure on him, with some excellent text for inclusion in the book.

Sunday, July 13

Woke up this morning to the sounds that I have come to associate with reserves - the calls of ravens, eagles and Robertsons thrushes, and dogs barking. Soon they will be joined by the calls of children, which will continue well nto the night. No vehicles, or any other of the noises associated with urban life. I am feeling much better today, although my headache wonít go away, and my body aches all over. I will not pull today, although feel a bit badly about missing my shift. It is my first time to do this.
We lost another puller (Dominique Dray) yesterday, reason unknown.
We have been joined by Philip Lincoln, a member of the Haisla crew. They had paddled down from kITIMAT as part of the Tribal Journeys , and had palned to join us to Victoria. They were relying on us for support, which we were unable to provide, and as a cosequence had to turn back. However philip will accomapny us.
Kelly Brown and son Jefferson have also joined as as pullers from Bella Bella. They have told me that there boat will be brought down later, there being no escort vessel for it until monday, and it will join us (at Rivers Inlet), ( this crew apparently has an interesting story, being comprised partly of recvering addicts) I will interview Kelly Brown.

Also joined by Craig Peterson, RCMP from Bella Bella.

Itís a grey day - low cloud, fog, drizzle and not a breath of wind. We arae headed to Koeye, just soth of Namu. With the exception of a couple of spots, the sea is daed calm. Visibility very limited. NB to keep an eye out, this part of the route is heavily travelled with cruise ships, ferries, fish boats and commrcail traffic to Alaska. The first crew left at 6am. apparently on time. The crew change was at 11. Crew changes are improving with none of the chaos of the first attempt.