Kayaker paddles solo through Inside Passage

For the past two months, Maditha Kröger, a project manager from Germany has been paddling solo through the Inside Passage from Washington State toward Skagway aboard a 17-foot sea kayak named Prudence.

Along the way Kröger stopped in Petersburg for a few days rest and shared a glimpse of her adventure with the Pilot before paddling on.

Two years ago, after kayaking with friends in British Columbia, Kröger discovered the book "Inside" by Susan Marie Conrad, a memoir about a solo Inside Passage kayak expedition. The book resonated so deeply that Kröger did something she'd never done before - she emailed the author.

"It took three hours to formulate this mail," she remembers. "I never sent mails to authors," and she didn't necessarily expect a response, but as her desire to follow Conrad's path grew stronger, she says, "I felt like I want to ask some questions."

Conrad not only responded enthusiastically but offered to mentor Kröger's expedition. As fate would have it, Kröger even ended up buying Conrad's kayak - the same vessel Conrad had used for her Inside Passage journey.

"The boat knows the way ... her name is Prudence," Kröger says. "You never change the name of a kayak."

Kröger launched from Anacortes, Washington on May 6 - the same starting point and exactly 15 years and one day after Conrad began her journey - and, since then, she has been navigating challenging weather, exhaustion, and all the other the complex logistics of solo expedition life.

Every evening brings the same laborious routine: "I have to unpack the kayak completely every day, and then I carry it up," she explains. "Sometimes I can put it on my shoulder." Sometimes it's more like dragging it across logs. To establish camp each night, one way or another, she gets the boat on shore and then makes multiple trips back for the gear which amounts to nearly 200% of her body weight. She's determined to make a nice camp to cook a good dinner each night.

Food management consumes much of her mental energy. Before leaving Germany, she couldn't arrange mail drops like most paddlers, so she improvised with help from Conrad. "It was really funny. I did the big Costco run with Susan. And we do not have Costco in Germany ... I even bought a 10-pound chocolate bar. I just bought it because it was big."

Chocolate doubles as a treat and as good fuel. "I really calculated the calories, because I do not have that much buffer. I really need to try not to lose weight," she explains. Her daily menu centers on oats with protein powder for breakfast, nuts and energy bars while paddling, and pasta or couscous with freeze-dried vegetables for dinner. "And lots of chocolate."

While necessary, bear safety protocols prove to be a real nuisance on the expedition. "I like to eat chocolate in my sleeping bag, and I cannot do that," she laments. All food must be stored in a bear-proof container far from her tent. The safe practices can be grueling sometimes. Like when she was had to wait out a few days of heavy wind and rain before continuing on, for every meal or snack "you need to take on all your stuff, you need to take off the food from where you put it... You get wet and you eat, and then you go back to the tent."

Battling fear and the elements

One particularly intense stretch between Bella Bella and Prince Rupert pushed her to her limits. After five days of exhausting conditions, paddling up to 60 kilometers daily against currents and winds, she faced a critical moment near Cape Caution.

"That day was supposed to be a storm," she recalls. The weather was deteriorating rapidly, but the only camping spot she could find had fresh bear tracks. Bears are her biggest fear. Checking her satellite phone for weather updates, she decided to push for the next bay. "I was just checking okay, it should be clear until 12, and I have two hours."

But the conditions were already treacherous. As she rounded the cape, the confluence of wind and current made waves that threatened to capsize her loaded kayak. "I hit a few of them, and that's terrifying a little bit," she says. Recognizing the possibility of a surf landing on a rocky beach, she prepared for the worst: "I have a helmet just in case."

She made it safely into the bay and onto shore with just minutes before the storm hit.

On another day during a punishing stretch, exhaustion finally overcame her. "After 30 [kilometers] I realized I'm so exhausted. I've never been that exhausted in my life. And I was just waving to a motor boat, and they really picked me up," she recalls. The kind boaters brought her to Oona River, British Columbia where she spent five days recovering.

The experience taught her a vital lesson: "Learn to accept your limits."

Another battle comes from insects. Her darkly suntanned hands also show the cruelty of Southeast Alaska's bugs. During a recent stretch of calm winds, the no-see-ums have been following her even onto the water, forcing her to paddle wearing protective netting. "I was freaking out these last days ... and then I lost [my bug net hat] ... it was really bad," she says. Fortunately, Petersburg's Hammer & Wikan Hardware store came to her rescue. With a new bug net and "I bought some bug spray here because I was freaking out." Though she hesitates to use strong chemicals that might degrade the fabrics of her dry suit.

The rewards

Despite the challenges, Kröger finds many profound joys along the way. She describes watching whales close to her kayak and experiencing bioluminescence in the dark water - "We don't have it in Europe," she marvels.

One morning near Mitkof Island, she encountered what she believes were Alexander Archipelago wolves. "They were just approaching, and the one was like barking, and the other one was just like looking friendly," she recounts. "I took my bear horn, but they didn't react at all. And then I was just talking to them... I automatically switched to German." It was nice to have somebody to talk to.

Kröger is finding that the solitude allows for ample introspection along the way but also creates enthusiasm for human connection. "I'm in total solitude. And when I go to towns or small cities, I always meet those fantastic people. They're so welcoming," she says. In Petersburg, local resident Rocio Tejera was her host, and here, like other places along the way she enjoyed the tight-knit community feeling of small-town Alaska.

Authentic adventure

How to document the expedition was something Kröger thought about. Despite friends suggesting she could gain sponsorships or become an influencer, she resists commercializing her journey.

"I really just want to enjoy this trip," she explains. "I don't want it to be destroyed by any outside pressure."

This stance stems from childhood experience. A European champion in taekwondo at age 11, she saw how external expectations destroyed her love for the sport. "My family and people around me were like getting used to that I won this title, and turned into pressure, and that destroyed my fun of the sports."

She declines to be an influencer, but if her trip influences people anyway, she hopes it's as an inspiration to other, particularly women, to pursue their own adventures. During her stay in Prince Rupert, she remembers a young woman who approached her with shy excitement, seeking encouragement to start kayaking. "That's what I like, to inspire people to do something they like," Kröger reflects.

She is, of course, taking photos along the way, but her photos will mainly reflect the easy parts of the expedition. "If you still can take a photo, the conditions weren't challenging," she says with a laugh.

Kröger's adventure offers everyone an example worth following: Stay attentive, camp responsibly, know your limits, be courageous, summon your strength, and paddle forward into the unknown.

With a few days rest in Petersburg, Kröger packed up Prudence once again to head further north.

After a week of paddling, she safely reached Juneau. Arriving there felt a little strange she says, as it is actually the final destination of the trip. But she's not done yet. As soon as her resupply box arrives she will be heading on for "the bonus paddle to Skagway."

The original plan was ­to sell Prudence in Juneau, but now she's considering leaving the kayak with a friend, so she has "to come back in in 2026 or 27."

She says there is, "just so much more to explore."