It’s the beginning for some, the middle for others, but the end for none.
At about 3 p.m. today on Port Angeles’ Hollywood Beach, the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe will welcome the crews of about 25 tribal journey canoes.
The 3 p.m. arrival time is subject to change due to weather conditions, the vigor of the crews or even the death of a tribal member, which could temporarily pre-empt the journey, Lower Elwha Vice Chairman Phil Charles said.
Many of the crews have been on the waters of the Pacific Ocean and Strait of Juan de Fuca for more than a week, paddling their way from the villages of the Quinault, Hoh, Quileute and Makah tribes.
There will also be several First Nations canoes arriving at Port Angeles from lower Vancouver Island.
‘Past and Present’
Today’s stop in Port Angeles is one of several planned for the coastal tribes as part of the 2006 InterTribal Canoe Journey with the theme “Past and Present Pulling Together for Our Future.”
The Lower Elwha will host a dinner for the crews this evening, then join them early Wednesday morning as they make their way eastward to Seattle’s Sand Point on Lake Washington by next Monday.
It will take the crews five days to paddle from Lower Elwha to Seattle, eventually meeting up with more than 30 other canoes from Canada and tribes along the Puget Sound.
After Port Angeles, the next stop will be in Jamestown on Wednesday, with the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe expected to welcome the canoeists between noon and 2 p.m.
The pull from Lower Elwha to Jamestown is about a five-hour run, said Phil Charles, skipper of the canoe Elwha Lightning.
