What’s better than one person doing something for the first time? Nine people that are doing something for the first time together!
One year ago, a seedling of an idea began germinating in my brain. I had accepted the offer to become the new Executive Director of Recovery Beyond, learned a bit more about the organization’s history and vision, and started considering ways I could bring their aspirations to life (typically with mind dumps excitedly flung at my fiancé during morning gym sessions).
What if (I asked Rob for the thousandth time with constantly shifting endings to the question) we had a huge annual expedition, just like the Rainier summits of the past, but it changed in focus every year? And what if (see what I mean?) we had seasonal events throughout the year that were mini versions of the annual event and allowed even more people to join in the satisfaction of success? And what if (is it clear how we got to the thousands?) our regular and monthly activities allowed people from all walks of life and activity interests to train for these challenges, connect, and inspire each other? Rob had gone through quite a few of these discussions by now, but he seemed to catch the glimmer in my eye and give a subtle nod of approval this time. Ok, we’re getting somewhere!
Then reality hit, and I rolled up my sleeves to work. Recovery Beyond had gone through a major upheaval and lost pretty much all our participants during COVID-19 (who didn’t?). It took heavy pavement pounding and some pretty cool activities (skateboarding, axe throwing, bouldering, etc.) to get the recovery community psyched about us again.
News of the Audacious Annual Expedition got out!
And psyched they became! The news of Recovery Beyond’s intended Audacious Annual Expedition activity, sea kayaking and camping through the San Juan Islands, was met with excitement and curiosity. We rapidly began growing our population, and by the time we sponsored the King County Recovery Coalition’s Recovery Day at the Mariners, people were hitting up our vendor table left and right to find out more. This event was where we announced the application winners of the Audacious Annual Expedition, who would spend a week during Recovery Month on an all-expense paid adventure guided by Outward Bound!
Let the preparation begin!
As we began prepping for the trip, we experienced bouts of excitement threaded with ribbons of anxiety. We trained with weekly kayaking sessions on Lake Union, our other activities, and personal workout plans. The more people chattered about how fun kayaking on the lake was, the more people showed up to tag along and be a part of the momentum.
We checked in with each other virtually every two weeks to hold each other accountable for our training, share ideas, and ask questions. One participant was extremely adamant that he be able to bring spices and sauces to jazz up the camp food (and I’m pretty sure we dedicated an entire dry bag to his hot sauce collection). Others were anxious about bathroom trips, sleeping arrangements, and a myriad of things that come to mind when you’re going to be plucked from the comfort of your own home for a week. The group cohesion began in these pre-trip meetings and weekly kayak training…bringing everyone closer as we navigated the unfamiliar and thrilling terrain.
Orientation Dinner
Recovery Beyond held an Orientation Dinner at the end of August as a celebratory reception for the chosen participants. We enjoyed luxurious dining (not a foreshadowing of the trip’s cuisine) and a final rundown of logistics and packing requirements. All Participants received gifts of a digital waterproof camera, a water-resistant journal, and an REI gift card for last-minute gear purchases. Following dinner, the trip Participants competed as a team against Recovery Beyond staff and Board members in a boat scavenger hunt on Lake Union (the Expedition team kicked booty and won by a landslide!).
Here we go!
Come September, the first day of the trip was replete with anticipation. The team traveled to Washington Park for departure in the morning, stopping for an unreal breakfast at Calico Cupboard (man, those cinnamon buns). We arrived at the park and had some serious business to handle. First and foremost, our beloved smartphones were all confiscated! We knew this was coming, but it hits home how dependent we are on devices when you hand your phone over to a stranger for a week! We followed Outward Bound’s deliberate packing instructions, emptying our duffels onto the ground and repacking everything ‘allowed’ into dry bags for the excursion. Once each team member’s belongings were approved and stuffed into appropriate sacks, we headed to the ferry terminal – bound for Lopez Island!
Days 1 & 2
Days 1 and 2 were spent on Lopez, including camp skills, learning the requisite food chants (mmmm delicious, mmmm delicious-icious), and working on kayak skill-building. We loved learning about knots and how to put up a sleeping tarp with only logs and boulders. The most anxiety-inducing skill for most was the ‘wet exit.’ It was paramount that we knew each person could get out of their kayak if it went belly-up. One by one, we all hopped in a kayak. We intentionally spun ourselves upside down, yanked our apron off (if you’re not familiar, an apron is an attachment one wears that encloses the kayak opening to keep water out of the hole and the paddler less wet), fell out of the boat, and resurfaced with a big thumbs up!
The act of purposefully performing an event that is meant to be avoided at all costs was a bit nerve-wracking for many. The team was incredible and got through the test with flying colors. With that hurdle out of the way, we played tag on the water to practice our turning and other skills (we learned that one participant was EXTREMELY competitive and watched another participant take a kayak tumble in his excitement).
Evenings on Lopez Island
Evenings on Lopez were filled with chatter about our activities, meal prep, eating together at camp, and getting used to sleeping under tarps. We had hard ground and enormous slugs with which to contend, but one participant demonstrated that he had a thunderous snore! Everyone else on the team was a bit droopy-eyed in the morning after this participant’s first night of bombastic serenading, but the culprit woke with a hilarious line – “Boy, that was the best sleep of my life!” He even described how impressed he was with the group since he didn’t hear one person snore throughout the night (insert amused, the eyebrow-lifted look of irony acknowledgment).
Day 3
Having proven our mettle, Day 3 brought the first large excursion across open water to Spencer’s Spit. The paddle was gorgeous, and we all performed brilliantly! It was humbling to be out in the currents with such a wide variety of vehicles – from our pod of kayaks as the low folks on the totem pole, to the private sailing boats and fishing boats, up to ferries and larger vessels passing through the channels like rulers of the water world, demanding attention, and respect for their steadfastness.
Are those actual bathrooms?
The first rumblings of excitement came with the realization that our camp spot on the Spit was near some actual bathrooms. This was, however, quickly followed by a group dispute over tarp sleeping arrangements (apparently, the prior snoring incident caused a desperate clamoring for the tarp with the most potential for peaceful sleep). We worked our way through negotiations and ended up with an amicable outcome. After these initial reactions, we settled into a background with beauty beyond description.
The evening’s conversation focused on mentally preparing for the nearing activity called “the solo.” When we reached our final island, we were all assigned a small patch of land where we would spend an entire day on our own, left with our thoughts and senses. In anticipation of “the solo,” we talked about what could come up in our experience, from anxiety to the connection with nature to grief responses. Although it was unknown how each of us would come out of the experience, there seemed to be a shared sense of eagerness. While having a group session out on the tip of the Spit, we also benefitted from a display of a very cool phenomenon – bioluminescent organisms. Sparkles of light reflected up at us from the water, sprayed out in microscopic urgency, creating a galactic view of which these tiny creatures were unaware.
The Joy of Paddling
The following day, the paddle to James Island was filled with joy. A harbor seal befriended the group and followed our progress to a lunch stop on the narrow beach of a tiny bay. Laughter prevailed as the team chowed and listened to a participant’s navigational prowess, reporting the upcoming paddle-crossing goals while sharing the unusual (and unexpectedly saucy) names of the geological features.
We arrived at a picture-perfect camp location on James and set up our various stations – cooking, sleeping, and laundry (with a sock-drying tree to boot).
We then tucked in for the pre-solo night, our thoughts swirling around the next day’s activity. After we rose and prepared our breakfast, we each packed up our chosen belongings for the day and were bestowed a large bag of trail mix to nibble. I followed our guides to my spot, and its beauty forced my jaw to drop with awe. I was given a patch of land high above the sea with trees and boulders for climbing.
Down a narrow and steep path, I was blessed with a private beach with scores of driftwood, shells, and beach glass to explore. I didn’t have long to admire my view as the skies opened and delivered a heavy blanket of rain. Scrambling to get my tarp situated, I managed to get my bags and body under shelter before I got soaked.
Connecting with nature.
For the next 7 hours, I had the most relaxing, gratitude-filled, contemplative, ‘connected with nature’ experience I may have ever had. There was no clock – just me and my awareness of what I desired or needed. I took a short nap, read, wrote, gave myself a washcloth bath, and changed clothes in a teepee made from driftwood (yep, that was on the beach and made for a convenient dressing room). I explored my surroundings and stared at the water; I collected sea glass for a future project, let my thoughts roam, and repeatedly thanked the universe for the opportunity to bring this incredible experience to others. It was utter peace, and I loved it. When our guide returned to retrieve me, I wasn’t ready to leave but obeyed anyway. The entire team collected back at our campsite, and we all seemed to have the glow and serenity of a day well spent.
Campfires and connection.
That evening, the campfire glow (a rarer commodity than expected – our guides were a bit finicky with liability) framed our circle of tired but tranquil voyagers. We shared a bit about our solo experience; one person’s story stood out more than most. He was honest with his mixed emotions – some unease, a dash of acceptance, and a good portion of appreciation. This person then talked about how homelessness had been a staple of his active addiction, and he knew the ‘tent life’ all too well. He now has an apartment, for which he is unbelievably thankful and loves immensely. Spending a day with a tarp outdoors was a bit triggering, summoning memories of that old life. He was, however, able to acknowledge and embrace that…this time…he was choosing to be outside to commune with nature; it wasn’t a survival mechanism. What a powerful and humbling juxtaposition for the rest of us to ponder.
Mother nature held another trick up her sleeve and forced us to practice collective acceptance, as our guides explained that the final paddle push from St. James back to Lopez would be replaced by a water taxi. The projected currents were too dangerous for our small crew to navigate the large channel, with no opportunity for rest or pace lapses. The safest and smartest thing to do was pack our belongings on a boat and head home. Admittedly disappointed but intrigued by this ‘water taxi’ adventure, we hit the hay under our tarps one last time.
Last day, group hike!
The final morning, we took a group hike around the island, excitedly pointing out our various solo spots to each other and reminiscing about our experiences. Back at camp, some of us chose to stretch out with a bit of yoga, while others delighted in a navigation lesson given by our intrepid guides. Breaking camp was loaded with a mixture of anticipation and heartache, knowing it was the last time we’d tear down the old tarps and pack our belongings (which was always a chore since we had far exceeded the capacity of those damn dry bags but insisted on shoving everything, we could manage into them). The water taxi arrived, and arranging 13 kayaks onto a boat was a novelty.
Before we knew it, we were putt-putting our way back to Lopez Island. I sat by myself in the taxi’s rear, watching James Island recede, hypnotized by the boat wake while processing all that had happened in the past week. Back at shore, we ‘put the boats to bed’ (a cute phrase meant to take the sting out of the actual exercise of completely unpacking, hand washing, drying, and loading all the kayaks back onto the trailer).
Burgers & Sunsets
One last camp meal was cooked for us on the beach, a more luxurious version than we had sampled through the week – big fatty burgers. We played at the park, talked to each other, and regaled our teammates and strangers alike with stories already heard and newly dredged. Finally, as the sun set, we followed our guides on a little trek to a plateau above the sea, where even the most inspired imagination couldn’t have conjured a more dazzling sunset.
Closing time…
Our group settled into a circle and simultaneously soaked in the extraordinary vista while holding an emotional closing ceremony. Each individual shyly received observations and respectful feedback about their journey. The theme of the evening was gratitude and connection. Having shared a week of challenges, victories, and laughs, there was a bond that would prevail beyond the edge of the San Juan waters. Being part of such a rare and remarkable adventure will be a memory I will cherish for the rest of my life. And I can’t wait for the 2023 installment of Recovery Beyond’s Audacious Annual Expedition!
Want to learn more about Recovery Beyond’s Annual Audacious Expedition (not to mention their year-long activities and events for folks in recovery)? Check out their website here
Want to explore the world of kayaking in all its splendor? Here are some resources:
How to Kayak: A Beginners Guide | REI Co-op
A Beginner’s Guide To Kayaking: Everything You Need To Know — Compact Co
WHAT A TRIP! We trip as often as possible because travel is our jam! Here you’ll find insider information, tips, and honest reviews from a sober perspective. The pandemic is messing with our future tripping mojo, but no worries. We have plenty of really good trips from our past to share. So, come…. SOBER TRIP WITH US!
Did you have a life-changing, globe-trekking sober trip you would like to share? Send us a postcard or write to us at thesobercurator@gmail.com
Resources Are Available
If you or someone you know is experiencing difficulties surrounding alcoholism, addiction, or mental illness, please reach out and ask for help. People everywhere can and want to help; you just have to know where to look. And continue to look until you find what works for you. Click here for a list of regional and national resources.
