By Joe Kiefer , Guide Manager, Kayak Adventures & Member of the Seward Wilderness Collective
In 2013, I was tasked with leading a 10-day kayaking trip in Baja California, Mexico for the non-profit organisation I was working for. Thankfully, I was under the tutelage of Peter and Vicki, experienced kayakers and outdoor leaders who had been planning similar trips for 30 years. Peter took me aside before we left and said: “You’re going to miss some stuff, you’re going to forget some things. That’s OK. Don’t get embarrassed or worried. Try your best to use those mistakes as lessons for your growth as a leader.”
By the end, I had learned a ton of lessons on that trip — from navigating the rocky coastal desert coastlines to preparing yellowtail sashimi on the beach after a fresh catch.
Lesson one: set yourself up for success
The lesson that stuck with me the most? Pull your boats far enough up the beach at night or the tide will take them. On our second day, I got distracted and didn’t get the kayaks far enough up the berm. When we woke up, two of our boats were gone! Thankfully I flagged down a panga (a Mexican fishing boat) and paid them to retrieve the kayaks, but I was embarrassed.
That mistake feels applicable during quarantine: in the evening, keep things organised and ready for the next day. Clean up, meditate, or make a to-do list. Do whatever helps set up tomorrow for success, no matter how small. Pull your boats up far enough that the tide doesn’t sneak up on you overnight — you’ll thank yourself later.
As we’ve all been itching to get outside and explore Alaska, I’ve reflected on the lessons I’ve learned from guiding. Here are a few that feel especially relevant in a pandemic.
Lesson two: be a team player
You can’t paddle a tandem kayak by yourself! In an expedition, being able to work well in a team may be the most important skill. You can’t even get a tandem kayak moving if one person isn’t paddling. Much of what we need to do in life can’t be done alone. Working together keeps everything moving efficiently.
In today’s world, being a team player may mean social distancing to protect those who are immunocompromised, supporting your household when tensions run high, and looking out for one another. Teamwork matters both on the water and on land.
Lesson three: remember everyone who makes it possible
It’s easy to feel a measure of personal success when you’ve navigated tricky weather and arrived at a glacier viewpoint. But behind every successful trip are many others: water taxi captains, deckhands, booking staff, and weather forecasters. Likewise, during the pandemic, health care professionals, grocery workers, and other essential service employees deserve praise for keeping life going.
Lesson four: leave time for magic
When training new guides, I remind them: you can’t completely frame out your schedule, because magic will always find a way to change things. Maybe it’s a sea lion popping up or an eagle soaring overhead. You need to leave room for those unplanned moments of wonder.
Even while social distancing, we can notice the magic in small things — a phone call with a friend, a walk in the rain, or a moment of joy in the everyday. Wonder often finds us when we stay open to it.
Lesson five: control what you can, accept what you can’t
We can’t control the weather, but we can control our expectations. Some of my favourite trips happened in torrential rain because everyone kept a positive attitude. If you cling to the idea of “perfect conditions”, you’ll struggle when things change.
Keeping an open mind and finding positives, even in hard times, is a skill worth practising. Life right now isn’t what any of us hoped for, but we can still look for positives and support one another.
