Desolation Sound, June 13 - 19, 2009 (Part 1)

Desolation Sound. West Redonda Island. I’m not sure how this trip came to mind but I think we were talking about checking out Prideaux Haven and it just evolved from that. Started looking at the charts and doing some reading and thought that while we’re in the neighbourhood we may as well see some of Toba Inlet’s waterfalls. Then we read Cassel Falls, up Teakerne Arm was supposed to be nice and tried to find a way to incorporate that into the trip. It looked like everything we wanted to see surrounded West Redonda Island, so we just decided we may as well make our way around it.

We go into these trips now knowing there are certain things we would like to see or experience. In this case the highlights were to be Prideaux Haven and a couple of waterfalls along the route. Sometimes our plans work out, sometimes we don’t see everything we were hoping to, and sometimes we see more than we could ever have expected. There are always surprises on any trip that end up falling into a category we could call hidden gems. On this trip I was also doing a little research for the BC Marine Trail Network. It is a foundation that is trying to get campsites documented and saved along the entire BC coast so that paddlers will always know of a place they can reach within a certain distance along the entire coastline. At this point they are looking for, most importantly, pictures of designated camping areas and the access to these sites at different tide levels. I had contacted a director of this group before the trip and he sent me a list of the sites they were specifically interested in and a list of the information that they would like to have on each site.

So, the trip begins. The first big stage of any trip is just getting to the launch site. This launch was to be from Lund, the northernmost town on the Malaspina Peninsula. Never having been to Lund before I wasn’t sure how long it would take to get there, but there were two ferries we had to take so we knew the Friday we left would just be a travel day. On the road shortly after seven am, Horseshoe Bay, Langdale, Earl’s Cove, Saltery Bay and finally Lund at about 2:30 in the afternoon. It was a nice drive and it is always nice travelling on the ferries. One interesting stop to make along the way is between the new and old towns of Powell River. There is a look-out just before the paper mill where you can see ‘The Hulks’. These are old concrete ships built during the world wars that they have stripped and anchored offshore to use as a breakwater.

Desolation Sound, June 13 - 19, 2009 (Part 2)

We woke up Tuesday morning feeling pretty good considering the previous day’s paddle. Sky was overcast again and we enjoyed a relaxing breakfast, walked the beach for a bit and then decided to go check out some waterfalls. We followed the northern shoreline again to a huge, impressive waterfall. We kept going for now as we knew we would be playing in the falls when we came back. Lila spotted some action in the water a long ways up the inlet. We both saw some dorsal fins coming out of the water but we were too far away to be sure of what it was, either really big dolphins or really small Orcas. The view up the inlet is really something else. The snow on the mountains and the sheer walls of rock rising hundreds of feet right above you is incredible. Due to the cloud cover we were only getting partial glimpses of the tops of the mountains. We headed back now to play in the waterfall. What a blast. The turbulence at the base of the falls just about draws your boat right underneath before it actually starts pushing you away. We were both soaked by the time we left here and it became one of the highlights of this trip. We headed back to camp then to relax for a bit and have lunch. After our break we headed southwest along the shoreline towards a marina and store located behind Double Island.

Broughton Archipelago, Sep. 06 - 12, 2009 (Part 1)

What to do this September? Lila had three weeks holidays left and I had two. We had planned to make a trip this month with my Uncle Ray and Aunt Marg, who live in Nanoose Bay. They were able to get away for one week. We finally came up with an idea, a one week trip into the Broughton Archipelago with my relatives and then Lila and I would head over to the Broken Group Islands in Barkley Sound for the second week. We ran this by Ray and Marg, got the OK, and set about planning.

A quick note about the planning stage of these trips. It seems to be an ever evolving procedure. The first trip we ever made, coincidentally it was into the Broughton area also, the planning consisted of how much gear could we pack into these tiny boats and what would we eat for five days, considering meat is out of the question after day two. There was not much thought, if any, given to weather, tides, or currents. We’ve learned over the years now to read the charts and understand what most of the symbols indicate (not all, but like I said this is an ever evolving learning curve), to predict the tides and currents for the areas we plan to visit, and to look into some of the local history so the area tends to mean a little more to us as we explore it. As for the weather, we’ve learned to plan for the worst and hope for the best and so far it has worked well for us.

The actual plan for this trip was to start with a water taxi ride with all our boats and gear out to Island 66 in the Fox Group, in the northern section of the archipelago. We would then spend the next seven days making our way back, camping at Island 66, Owl Island, Mound Island, and Kaikash Creek on Johnstone Strait. This would allow us to see more of the area as we would not have to paddle out and back from Telegraph Cove, thus covering some of the same area twice. The only area of concern we could see would be transiting Blackney Passage due to tide rips and poor sightlines to see the cruise ships which frequent this area. We would have to ensure we crossed the sound during slack current and monitor the vhf for ship information as we got close. So, enough of the preamble and onto the trip.

Broughton Archipelago, Sep. 06 - 12, 2009 (Part 2)

Thursday arrived and with it were the long awaited clear skies. We got into the practiced routine of a quick breakfast, breaking camp, and loading the boats and we were off. We took off from the Owl camp and headed southeast, the sun blinding us as we paddled down Providence Passage, towards Knight Inlet. Once into the inlet we were a little surprised by the strength of the currents, and they weren’t working in our favour. We shouldn’t have been surprised as the maximum strength of the currents in this area is clearly marked on the charts, but it was just one of those things I overlooked when planning the trip. No harm done in this case, just made the trip east a little slower than planned.

The vistas as you travel up the entrance to the inlet are incredible. Mountain peak after mountain peak as far as you can see, always neat to see as the ranges start out dark blue and fade to light blue as the distance increases. We got across the inlet and took a short break at Rocky Point, on Crease Island. We weren’t able to get out of the boats so just had a quick snack and a bit of a breather. We started paddling again, with our much anticipated visit to the abandoned Indian village of Mamalilaculla, on Village Island, foremost in our minds. Three years ago, almost to the day, we were in this area with a group made up of the four of us, plus Lila’s father Joe, Ray and Margs’ son and girlfriend, and three of Ray and Margs’ friends. It was the first real kayak camping experience Lila and I had taken and it consisted of a four night trip out of Telegraph Cove, with the hopes of getting to Village Island. Unfortunately, on that trip the winds came up strong enough that it kept us from getting to the old village. We now travelled through a picturesque passage between Maud and Pearl Islands, came around the south coast of Island 44, and faced the huge, wide expanse of the shell midden beach of Mamalilaculla. As you paddle towards the beach there really isn’t a lot to see anymore.

Alouette Lake Narrows, Apr. 24 - 26, 2009

The weather forecast was looking good for the coming weekend so we decided to head up Alouette Lake, in Golden Ears Park, and camp at the narrows for a couple of nights. This is not a trip we would do in late spring or summer due to the amount of activity this lake sees when the warm weather arrives. Neither of us was really expecting much from this trip as we had been on the lake numerous times and been turned off by the sheer number of power boaters, which takes away from the wilderness experience. In the end we came away pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable this lake is to paddle, especially the north end where the scenery is spectacular.

Broken Group Islands, Sep. 14 - Sep. 18, 2009 (Part 2)

Wednesday arrived a little damp, but the worst of the rain had fallen during the night and we just had a slight drizzle to contend with this morning. As we were moving to another island today we got busy with the packing of the gear, a quick breakfast and then loading the boats. Nowhere in the Broken Group Islands is far away so we weren’t in a big rush this morning and didn’t get on the water until after ten. We were sitting in the boats making a decision as to our route today, wanting to cross Coaster Channel towards Benson but a little concerned about the southerly winds.

We paddled out past Cooper to get a look and decided to head over as it looked reasonably calm from our vantage point. We were over half way across when the conditions started deteriorating. Once past the protection that Wouwer Island had afforded us, the swell and the wind got pretty good. We were paddling into swells that topped out at about five feet, nothing that concerned us to any real degree but just another lesson as to how conditions can change in a very short amount of time and distance. Applying the weather forecasts to the actual routes you plan to take is an art in itself. With a little forethought, more than we had been using (or are capable of at this time), a person should be able to make a reasonable judgement as to conditions before actually taking to the water. Part of that learning curve we all talk about. The crossing this morning ended up being one of the highlights of this trip for us. Just enough excitement to get the adrenaline going but not enough for fear to take over.

Broken Group Islands, Sep. 14 - Sep. 18, 2009 (Part 1)

September 2009 holidays, part two. After getting back to Ray and Marg’s place in Nanoose Bay on Saturday evening we started to prep for our next trip, the Broken Group Islands, which was to start on the coming Monday. Lots to do with not a lot of time to do it in. Laundry was started that night. On Sunday we had to go into town for a few errands. We first went to the Valhalla Pure outlet as we had broken a pole on our Mountain Hardwear tent again. They weren’t able to help us replace or repair the pole so I was glad we had brought along our spare Sierra Designs tent just in case this happened. We then went to a new outdoor store in Nanaimo just to look around and ended up purchasing a white gas stove, the Dragonfly by MSR. We had been considering switching from pressure fuel stoves to white gas models for some time for a couple of reasons. One was that the pressure fuel types seem to perform very poorly once you’ve used about two thirds of the canister and the second was the amount of room needed in the boats to pack the canisters themselves. We didn’t take the stove with us as we wanted to play with it a bit to get used to it before actually using it in the field. The next stop was the grocery store where we loaded up on the food needed from a list Lila had made up before leaving home. Back at Ray and Marg’s Lila set about finishing the laundry and sorting out the food while I worked with the gear, airing out sleeping bags, repacking the spare tent and the like. It was a busy afternoon but it all went well and we had the truck reloaded and ready to go for an early start the next day.