Though week four was hard to follow, week five proved to be equally as pleasant. It was a much more laid-back week, which to be honest, was a godsend after the busy-ness of my first month out here. I finally had a chance to slow down this week, and to stop and smell the spruce-tips, as I like to say.

On Monday, I went out on not only my first kayaking tour, but my first kayaking experience ever in my life. Early in the morning, our kayaking guide, Robert, and I loaded up the kayaks (and here I thought I was done loading and unloading them after that first treacherous day getting them out of storage!) We headed down to the dock and picked up a fantastic couple who turned out to be from the same area in Florida that Robert was from, so instantly we all had a great connection. Lucky for me, it was also their first experience with kayaking, so we were all (literally) in the same boat.

We headed up to the Chilkoot Lake, loaded in the kayaks, and after a brief safety talk with Robert, we were loaded up and on our way. At first I was nervous, I had a fear of the kayak tipping, but as we began to paddle and I felt the smooth stability of the kayak I instantly relaxed – and almost immediately fell in love. Kayaking on Chilkoot Lake is an experience that words cannot give justice to. We were the only ones on the lake, and the sun was shining bright. Due to the recent warm weather, the waterfalls were powerfully cascading down, creating a beautiful white noise that echoed across the entire lake. I felt really connected to the earth and to the water as I paddled and propelled us forward, and gratefully inhaled the fresh, citrusy scent of spruce tips. It was an incredibly serene experience.

During this week, I found myself doing a deep yoga practice in my little cabin at Mud Bay when it occurred to me; I live in the middle of a rainforest. I pondered this for a couple breaths, feeling completely grateful and awestruck to have come to this realization. Just as I had this thought, a porcupine waddled through my yard, and I couldn’t help laughing. It was such a bizarre and perfect moment. I also found myself driving more slowly to and from work, often pulling off to get out and marvel at the mountains. I had been working so hard, so excited about this new place I was in that I hadn’t necessarily had the time to really absorb everything around me. Week Five was when it all settled in.

I began having very intense and memorable dreams of the wildlife here. I dreamt of hanging out with brown bears by the river, of calling to and swimming with the whales, and in one dream I found particularly humorous – a moose ran up to charge me, stopped short, put her hooves on my shoulders, and simply smelled my head before walking away. I’m happy to report these strange wildlife dreams have continued since being here, and I look forward to them every night!

Finishing up this week, I was lucky enough to teach my first yoga class out here at the Chilkat Dance Center here in Haines. Sharing the space and energy of such fantastic people was such a delight, and the view from the studio here is incredible, overlooking green grass, blue water, and snow-capped mountains. It truly was the perfect way to finish my fifth week here with Rainbow Glacier Adventures!

 

Here is just a sample of the amazing views we had kayaking at Chilkoot Lake. It was such a calm day that the water looked like glass, creating unbelievable reflections!

© Brooke Foorman 2013

© Brooke Foorman 2013

-Brooke