INTRODUCTION:
Hello! Welcome to Aquasension! Thank you all for joining us in celebration to protect this sacred landscape and its waters. Here you will find answers to questions such as: How do we get there? Where will we be staying? What do we need to bring to feel comfortable? What kind of weather and environmental factors can we expect? What food is being offered, and what food do we need to bring ourselves? You will also find information pertaining to happenings pre- and post-Aquasension for which all are welcome. Thanks again, and please join the Aquasension Attendees facebook group where you will find community discussion collaborating on getting any and all questions answered, as well as aligning travel plans among other things.
WHERE TO? AND HOW TO GET THERE? :
Hello! Welcome to Aquasension! Thank you all for joining us in celebration to protect this sacred landscape and its waters. Here you will find answers to questions such as: How do we get there? Where will we be staying? What do we need to bring to feel comfortable? What kind of weather and environmental factors can we expect? What food is being offered, and what food do we need to bring ourselves? You will also find information pertaining to happenings pre- and post-Aquasension for which all are welcome. Thanks again, and please join the Aquasension Attendees facebook group where you will find community discussion collaborating on getting any and all questions answered, as well as aligning travel plans among other things.
WHERE TO? AND HOW TO GET THERE? :
- The event is held at the Chilkat Inlet Retreat (chilkatinletretreat.com) in Haines, Alaska. The main arrival point for most of us will be Juneau (pronounced *Joo-no*) International Airport.
From there, we can take either flights or ferries to Haines, Alaska.
Most flights will get into Juneau International Airport in the evening, while most ferries to Haines leave early in the morning (7am), so most attendees should prepare to stay in Juneau for the night. There are hotels in Juneau (find hotel suggestions below) although hanging around/sleeping in either the airport or ferry terminal has been suggested as a safe option for those who do not wish to spend the money on a room.
The ferry costs $58 one way (about 4 hours). If taking the ferry to Haines, you will need to take a taxi from the airport to the ferry terminal, 3 miles away. The taxi is about $20 and can easily be split between 2-3 people. So if on a budget, it is a good idea to find out who will be arriving at the same time and coordinate a taxi share. Please join our Aquasension Attendees facebook page to link up with the homies, and begin collaborating on travel plans and what to bring.
*IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT THE FERRIES* ...Ferries DO NOT travel from Juneau to Haines everyday, and on the days they do, there is only one ferry from Juneau to Haines. So look at the ferry schedule -here- and plan your flight and accommodations accordingly. (*The ferry schedule can feel kind of cryptic at first, so check out the calendar key and look below for ferry times on the days that we expect most of you will be traveling*)
Once boarding the ferry, you are in store for a treat! A four-hr cruise up the deepest fjord in N. America, with mountains, glaciers and potential whale sightings filling the landscape.
CAMPING & GETTING AROUND:
Once arriving to the Haines Ferry terminal, an Aquasension Shuttle will pick you up and take you to the event’s designated campsite. The campsite is only 1.5 mile distance from the event site and located right on the water of the Chilkat River. Due to the presence of our beloved bear friends, your food will need to be stored across the street at the Benassi's house in large coolers and protected by the family dogs. :) Thanks for your cooperation with this.
After setting up your camp, another shuttle will bring you to the event site, the Chilkat Inlet Center, and opening ceremony begins on Tue. June 25th at 2pm. Throughout the event Aquasension shuttles will be available every hour to bring people in-between the campsites and the festival grounds.
***We ask you to bring a little extra cash for gas donations for the shuttle system.***
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS GETTING TO HAINES:
The second option from Juneau to Haines is to fly from the Juneau International Airport to Haines Municipal Airport. The cost is approx. $120 ONE WAY, with under an hour of flight time. We cannot guarantee shuttle pick up from the airport but taxis are available to the campsite or event site for an additional cost.
WEATHER:
We are gathering close to the Summer Solstice and that means lots of daylight in Alaska. We can expect 18 hours of sun each day with 2-3 hours of twilight on either side. Temperatures range from low 50’s (F) at night and highs of 70's (F) during the day. Plan to bring a warm sleeping bag, a jacket and closed toe shoes for chillier evenings. And maybe one of those eye masks if you’re light sensitive and still want to catch some Zs.
FOOD:
First things first, we also ask you to bring your own Blissware— a plate or bowl, cup, and utensils to help with our zero-waste efforts.
We will have meal options available for purchase in a range of prices. There will be affordable daily (mostly) vegan meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) from Natalie Benassi’s food truck (think delicious and basic soup kitchen style ~ approx. $5/meal).
We will have more substantial catered meals with meat and dairy options available for approx. $15/plate.
We will also have a few more vendors serving up snacks and other extras.
And stay tuned on the high potentiality of the local indigenous tribes serving up a Native Food Day with smoked salmon, quail eggs, seaweed salad and more.
With all of that said we still encourage you to bring your own sustenance to fall back on and share with others. And remember, less packaging means less waste and that's way mo' better!
PRE & POST AQUASENSION EVENTS
If you’re feeling the call of the wilderness a little more urgently, we also have a few pre-Aquasension events planned. However, shuttles and camping will not be provided unless working out special arrangements with a core-team member. - 21st: Summer Solstice Ceremony event at the beach with the Kogi elders from Colombia
- 22nd: "Toxic Treasure" Documentary screening & fundraiser at the Library
- 23rd: Daytime Disc Golf
- 24th All hands on deck for setup
And we HIGHLY encourage you to stick around for the Post- Events with the Tlingit Tribe and the Kogi Mamos. Here is a tentative schedule of what we will be up to. - Post Events — ((tentative))
- 28th Closing Aquasension Gathering and visiting Klukwan Village of the Tlingit People
- 29th Chilkoot Lake Visit / Glacier Point / other offsite adventure
- 30th Ancient Village of Chilkat “Culture Camp”
- July 1st - morning water ceremony and goodbye to Kogis
POST EVENT DETAILS:
Camping during this time will be the same location as camping during Aquasension on the Chilkat River. We will continue the donation-based shuttle service and use the tribe’s bus for our bigger adventure.
For the post-events we ask for a $30/day donation per person. This money will cover gas/transport/entrance fees and the remainder of funds sent home with the Kogi elders to help them rebuild their Learning Village in the Sierra Nevadas of Santa Marta in Colombia. (They are building and expanding their learning center so we can all go visit one day. It’s like investing in your own potential future adventures :)) - During these days we will be sure to schedule in food stops and make sure there are lots of meal options available but unfortunately cannot guarantee any food included in your daily donation at this time. Thanks so much for understanding and your investment in the indigenous revival on our planet!