TAHOLAH — One by one, the skippers of 21 canoes asked for permission to come ashore Saturday as the Paddle Journey 2002 over and around the Peninsula came to an end.
Beating drums, encouraging yells, singing and dancing helped bring the canoes to shore as an estimated 5,000 gathered in a protected cove on the Quinault River, ending the journey that began two weeks ago on Puget Sound.
Along the way, the canoes and their pullers stopped at Port Gamble, Port Townsend, Jamestown, Port Angeles, Pillar Point, Neah Bay, Ozette, LaPush, and Hoh River.
The canoes were trailered to Taholah on Saturday after fog and high winds nearly turned the trip into a disaster Friday.
Three canoes that were swept away in the storm were recovered, but weren’t able to be used for Saturday’s ceremonial conclusion to the journey on the Quinault reservation.
“We request to come ashore for you know we are tired and hungry,” said chief Frank Nelson, skipper of the Squamish tribe’s canoe.
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