You think you have tight deadlines? Try the one Becky Peace and Nick Giguere were laboring under. They had to paddle 1,300 miles through the Inside Passage — from Alaska to Bellingham — fast enough to make their flights to Antarctica.

They did, with five days to spare as they traveled an average of six to eight hours a day, sometimes as many as 10, in their sea kayaks to land at Boulevard Park on the afternoon of Sept. 22.

“Our main objective was miles,” says Peace, a Western Washington University graduate.

Giguere says the hardest part was drifting by beautiful areas like the white beaches and forested hills of Hakai Pass in the central B.C. coast that they could have spent weeks exploring. “We have lots of places to go back to now,” he says.

Between their various adventures, the couple calls Bellingham their home base. They set aside some time the day before leaving for their jobs at McMurdo Station in the Antarctic, where it’s summer, to talk about their trip. Here’s a breakdown of their paddling journey, which began June 26 when they put in at Glacier Bay in Alaska.

On putting in after days of traveling with lots of other people… “Immediately we’re by ourselves. We were both grinning ear to ear. It was incredible. We looked at each other and broke out into cackles. We were so happy to be on our way after all the planning and the travel,” the 33-year-old Giguere says.

You’d be giddy too if just getting to the journey’s start required taking the ferry from Bellingham to Juneau, Alaska. Then taking another ferry from Juneau to Bartlett Cove, then a boat from the cove to Glacier Bay. “By the time we finally got dropped off, it had been such an epic to get there,” Giguere says.

At least they got a nice send-off from the estimated 50 tourists on the boat, who all watched them go. “We were the main attraction,” he says with a laugh.

Why the Inside Passage: They’d read some books that got them excited about the idea, including Bellingham kayak guide Jennifer Hahn’s, “Spirited Waters: Soloing South Through the Inside Passage.” “We’re outdoors enthusiasts ourselves so we were attracted to the idea of a big trip,” Peace says. Giguere also liked the idea of an epic journey.

“It’s sort of the Pacific Crest Trail of sea kayaking,” says Giguere.

The Pacific trail zigzags 2,650 miles from Canada to Mexico. Each year, some 300 hikers attempt to hike the length of the trail.

The Inside Passage is a coastal route that begins in northern part of the Alaska Panhandle and ends in Seattle. Ships like using it because it provides protection from bad weather that whips up on the open ocean. It’s also a favorite journey for kayakers and canoeists testing their mettle by paddling its length.

What they paddled: Peace, 25, used a British-style boat from Nigel Dennis Kayaks, which she bought used. Instead of a rudder it has a skeg, which is a retractable fin. The kayak is easy to roll, she says. The idea being that if she ended up upside down in the water, she could right herself without having to exit.

Giguere built his kayak from a kit that he bought from Pygmy Boats Inc., based out of Port Townsend. The boat had a mahogany plywood core that was covered in fiberglass. His modifications included adding a day hatch so he could easily reach important things like his lunch or GPS while paddling.

He also reinforced the hull so it could withstand being dragged up on rocky beaches day in and day out. Fully loaded, each boat weighed 175 pounds.

“You had to unload the boats to carry them up to the beach because there was so much gear,” he says. What they wore: Dry suits, in case they fell into the cold water.

There were other considerations.

“It’s a way to keep yourself warm and it’s also a really handy option in terms of being in rain gear all day,” Peace explains. “When it was really hot out we’d decide not to wear the dry suit, but we did most of the time.”

What they ate: The two packed up boxes of food and supplies before their departure, and friends in Bellingham mailed them to scheduled stops along their route. Much of the food came from rations originally set aside for scientists in the U.S. Antarctic Program.

“They were giving it away before they were throwing it away,” says Peace of the food, which was nearing its expiration date.

That free food included dehydrated corn, dehydrated beef and dehydrated chicken. “We did a lot of dehy,” Peace says.

They dressed it up with spices, hot sauce and toasted nuts. They also relied on couscous and other staples such as pasta.

Weathering the storm: Most of the trip, which they spent a year planning, went well. That’s not to say they didn’t encounter bad weather, the worst of which was a big storm that swept in near Cape Caution along the British Columbia coast. This part of the passage was open, exposing the kayakers to large swells from the Pacific Ocean.

Swells grew from 6 feet to as high as 10 feet. “At that point, Nick and I were losing sight of each other coming in and out of the swell, even though we were paddling 100 feet apart,” Peace says.

Best part of the journey… “For me, it was experiencing a portion of the world in such a personal and intimate way,” says Peace, who graduated from WWU’s Huxley College of the Environment just days before she set out with Giguere. “There’s a completeness in having traveled that waterway. It’s no longer a blank image.” For Giguere, it was the chance to go on a long trip with his partner, make decisions together along the way, and learn more about each other in the process.

“It was a good growth experience for both of us,” he says.

What’s next? The two are at McMurdo Station in Antarctica, where they’ll work during the winter months here. Giguere will fly helicopters to move people and gear. Peace will work with the field gear distribution center. “It’s sort of like the REI of Antarctica, except no one has to buy anything,” she explains. They’re already thinking of their next big adventure in the outdoors.

“We’re asking ourselves what we’re going to do next summer,” she says.