It turns out, gearing up for 3 strenuous weeks through the rainforest takes more work than one might imagine. Luckily, we've had some help along the way. The Spirit Bear Team is proud to take note of a few major sponsors of our trip (so far) who are willing to help in our efforts to explore and document the interior of Princess Royal Island. I cannot possibly list them all, but a few are definitely worth mention:

• Alpacka Raft, LLC - Quite simply, the best damned packrafts on the planet. Without their lightweight & durable designs, such a trip as ours would be wholly impossible. Alpacka is supplying the team with some of the packrafts and accessories to complete our journey into the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest. Their help is more than appreciated, and the folks at Alpacka (Sheri especially) deserve our heartfelt thanks.
  

If you're curious about the possibilities of amphibious travel ('tis a whole new way to plan a journey, I assure you), feel free to check out their discussion forums online at http://www.alpackaraft.com/forums. Some of the premier "packrafters" in the world frequent the site, so you can get advice from the godfathers of this budding sport.

• Ursack Bear Bags - Princess Royal is an island known for bears... white, black, and brown. Three weeks food is a lot to carry at once, and even if we do manage a resupply cache in Butedale, it would be devastating to our journey if our food supplies were ransacked early in the game. Bear Canisters are huge, and ungainly to pack & carry that much food (one week? great! Three? not so much). The generous folks at Ursack have agreed to provide the Spirit Bear Team with a line of Ursack Bear Bags. We're proud to have their support in our journey. On the upside, most bears on the island have little acclimatization to humans, and more than likely none will give us problems (unlike the front-country campground raiders found in more crowded places like Yosemite). But still, we'll sleep a little easier knowing our food is secured in the off-chance a curious ursine comes by in the night. We are proud to work with the folks at Ursack for a safer backcountry, allowing us to visit the land of the Spirit Bear with a minimum chance of disturbing the natural ecosystem by allowing a foraging bear to grow accustomed to raiding human food.

• Freezer Bag Cooking and One Pan Wonders
  Did we already mention that three trekkers spending three weeks in a trailless rainforest will eat a lot of food? The Spirit Bear Team is making sure that every calorie counts on our journey. We're each collecting our own assortment of foods (we've acquired varied tastes through our respective decades of wilderness exploration), but some of the biggest support is coming from FBC and OPW, helping provide a healthy and tasteful variety of meals to whet our appetites. Both organizations have been perennial supporters of Rainforest Treks, and we're happy to have them on board for our current venture into the Great Bear.

I can't take the time to list all our sponsors now, but I wanted to list a few for now. With the help of all our sponsors (found at the bottom of the "Gear" page), we look forward to a spectacular journey into the heart of the rare backcountry of Princess Royal Island. Until next time, I bid you all adieu, and we'll keep you posted as plans progress!

Best,

- Mike

Labels: accessories, Gear, sponsors