Gulf Islands Expedition

This trip was one of the highlights of my summer, if not my entire paddling career. A seven day journey through the southern gulf islands, starting in Swartz Bay and ending in Ladysmith. The trip was organized by my friend Robert and was intended to be a weekend trip to Portland Island. Five of us made the trip and after the weekend was over, I stayed on and the others headed home.

This trip was done in true portable kayak style. We all walked onto the ferry at Tsawwassen with our gear and we all had collapsible kayaks, Robert and his friend Peter were in a double Klepper, Ted had a Klepper 1 and Chris had a home made Yostworks folder that was on her maiden voyage. And I, of course, had my usual, the Innova Sunny.


The Kleppers were assembled at the Ferry terminal and wheeled on board.


My gear. 7 days worth of food, 8 litres of fresh water, camping gear, kayak, paddles etc. I was asked "where's your kayak?" a few times. I probably had the lightest load, next to Chris with his Yostwerks.


Nice ferry ride over and a slightly confusing walk down to the government dock, but still fairly easy. And pretty soon I turned the pile above, into this:


For this trip I picked up a new aluminum folding cart from West Marine. Excellent $60 investment! Far sturdier than the similar cart I bought many blog posts ago that broke on its first outing.


Folded, the cart fits in the bow almost like it was made for it.

And then, I played the waiting game as my friends assembled and packed their boats. This was the first time out for the Yostwerks, and the first time is always a bit slower.










But soon enough we are all assembled, loaded up and ready to go. This was a first for a couple of us, as we were crossing a ferry route. Neither Robert nor I had ever done this before and the Swartz Bay terminal is notorious for having poor visibility of incoming ferries.


We headed towards Coal Island to cross over in between Pym Island and Knapp Island.


As you may notice, Chris's Yostwerks was still not quite complete, with a bit of duct tape holding the back end together. I got to paddle with Chris a number of times throughout the summer and it was a real treat to see the progress of his kayak, from this trip all the way up to him installing an electric bilge pump!




We dodged this ferry with no deaths or injuries, but this was just a baby...what about one of the big ones? I kept my vhf tuned to vessel traffic services to monitor the ferry arrivals and departures.


That big ferry at the dock could roar out of there at any time! And mow us down!


Well all that anxiety for nothing really, the crossing was nothing. We stopped in at Pym Island so the fellas could adjust seats.

The next bit of anxiety was crossing Shute Passage. I had read on West Coast Paddler of some recent rough water through here, and a capsize on the crossing. But it was nothing. We headed for the first of the campsites on Portland Island, Shell Beach.



I really loved this site. Very charming and it was empty. I've heard the beach gets a lot of ferry wash, and we were headed for Arbutus Point, which is supposedly the nicest of the three sites. I plan to come back here again and stay a night. It's really nothing to get here on a friday night after work.

Portland Island used to be called Princess Margaret Provincial Park but is now part of the Gulf Islands National Park. Back in the 60's they gave this island to her as a present. But I guess she had enough islands so she gave it back as a park a few years later.




After a few minutes here we saddled back up and headed for Arbutus Point via Princess Bay.





Arbutus Point. There were a few people here already, including an organized tour, but still plenty of room for all.



It was here that the first occurrence of a trend emerged. Even though I was in an inflatable and the slowest on the water, I was the first off the beach and had my boat up beside my campsite before anyone else had even unloaded. Slowest on water on fastest on land. I carried the Sunny up one handed and kept it beside my tent, while the others kept their boats by the beach and at the mercy of the raccoons!


Had a very pleasant first evening getting to know everyone. I'd paddled with Robert and Ted before but was meeting Chris and Peter for the first time.


One of the highlights of the trip was comparing notes on lightweight camping gear. Chris was going ultralight in preparation for a major hiking trip and had switched to using a hammock.


Robert's tent, an MEC Gemini. This is probably the tent I will get next.

Arbutus Point is a beautiful place. To be honest, I probably would have preferred Shell Beach, as it was empty and just charmed me completely, but I'm glad we stayed here, even though it was pretty busy.

I noticed a campsite that seemed like it was set up for a long stay. In front was a sign reading "Please Disturb the Biologists". It explained that there were two marine biology students from the University of Victoria in residence on the island for the summer, running experiments and doing marine biology stuff. It also said they'd be happy to vacate some space if need be, and to stop by and ask them about their work.

The next morning as I was waiting around for the rest of the gang to pack up their kayaks and get ready (as usual I was ready long before) a zodiac zipped up to the beach with what must have been the biologists. Two incredibly super cute young ladies in dry suits and rubber boots and overalls. So I go "you must be the marine biologists" and they're like "yup that would be us" and I'm all "more like...the marine 'cute'-ologists". Greatest pick up line ever!

Long story short we engaged in some delightfully witty banter and repartee on the beach while my companions struggled with their folding boats. Score another one for the inflatable!

Unfortunately, so distracted was I by the cute-ologists, that I forgot to unpack my camera from my dry bag. So no photos from the day's paddle! And what a paddle it was. We decided to head to Prevost Island for night 2. We dashed over to Saltspring, then along the coast to Beaver Point past Ruckle Park. Looking at the assortment of multi-coloured tents and gangs of tourists Robert remarked it looked like something like Ghengis Khan and his horde. Much as I've enjoyed Ruckle Park in the past I agreed. Would far rather be out kayak camping than car camping.

From Beaver Point we did a straight run for Point Liddell on Prevost Island. This is where it got dicey. The wind and waves were up, and this area, Swanson Channel, seems to be very confused, with waves coming from all directions. Last time I was out here it was the same. Normally on the trip I was in the number 2 position, Chris in the lead, then me, then the klepper double and single. But here I dropped to dead last, as I had to stop and bail a number of times. Got quite a bit of water over the side, enough that the handling of the kayak was noticably affected. Nothing dangerous, but slow and steady wins the race and I made it to the beach on Point Liddell well behind the others. By far the roughest waters I've taken the Sunny through.

Leaving Point Liddell we headed up the west side of Prevost, and wound up catching a nice 2 knot current through the Acland Islands. We also had the wind at our back, which got Robert thinking. He demanded I hand over the blue tarp I had behind my seat. We were going sailing!


We rafted up three kayaks together, the Klepper double on one side, me in the middle and Chris and the Yostwerks on the end. I had rope handy in the Sunny and we tied the tarp off to the paddles and made a sail.


Now I was really regretting not having my camera handy. But I remembered I had my cell phone! With a camera in it! So I pulled it out. And as I turned it on I got a message from my good friend Josh in Calgary. Turns out he was on Vancouver Island with his girlfriend Kira! So while on the water and under sail I gave him a call and started making plans to meet up after the trip.



We wound up sailing about three miles total. A very unique and fun experience! We were passed by a large sailboat and I could tell how jealous the skipper was. She had paid all that money for the sailboat and here we had the same experience with an inflatable and a dollar store blue tarp!


Soon enough we arrived at James Bay and we grabbed the campsites on the point, as the sky was looking a bit like it wanted to rain.



It did wind up raining a bit but it was no bother. I had brought along a tarp. My experience camping with the Helios 1 really taught me something about going light. I had one of the lightest loads of the group, but I had everything we needed, from a rain tarp to the blue tarp for the sail to an extra pump for filling up the sponsons on the Kleppers.



We had a bit of rain through the night but all stayed warm and dry. And the next morning was brilliant sunshine.



This cruise ship was docked in Ganges Harbour. I learned from some sailors in James Bay that it was some kind of condo cruise ship. You paid a million or whatever for a room and got to live on the boat as it travelled from port to port. Sounds nice. Again, any sponsors out there who are keen to set me up, please write! Please!!!


The gang had plenty of time before their ferry so they went on a hike. I decided that since I was staying another night, I'd take a little kayak around the bay.




I caught up with them out Peile Point.


I discovered a nice little pocket beach along the shore.


And I ran into the gang again.

Pretty soon it was time for them to get going. I was a bit nervous about staying on and even considered heading back with them. But I calmed my jangly nerves and pressed on. I even selflessly offered to relieve my friends of their heavy water, so they wouldn't have to carry it back with them. I wound up with 10 litres total, 2 more than I had started with.


And there they go. Off to Long Harbour to catch the ferry. Leaving me all alone. Well not really. Just as soon as they set out people started coming in, wound up with 8 other people sharing the campsite. But they were all in groups with friends and stuff, and I only had my own miserable company. Sob.


Even the apples mocked me, for they looked ripe and delicious but left a foul and sour taste in my mouth, as it was not yet their season.


Well no, it's hard to be down in a place like this. In fact it was just the opposite. I felt happy, liberated and free. And that was a nice feeling.


And there go Robert, Ted, Peter and Chris on the ferry. Thanks for a wonderful time guys, can't wait to do it again.



Watched the bats and the stars for a bit and called it a night.

Next morning I woke to a howling wind, coming straight from the direction of where I was headed, Wallace Island. The radio indicated it would calm down, so I sat down to wait it out. By about 10:30, it was calm enough to set out.


My pile of gear. I brought the bear barrel with me, not so much for bears because they don't tend to make it to the gulf islands, but as protection against raccoons. Of which there are many!


Ready to load up and head out.


Crossing Captain's Passage.


And over to Saltspring Island. From here, a crawl up the coast to Wallace Island.


Potential lunch stop?


The yuppies on Saltspring Island gotta power their cappuccino makers and whatnot somehow!


An unexpected sandy beach ahead. This is Walker Hook on Saltspring.



This made for a nice little break in the paddle. I had never heard of it before.




The beach rose up to a large grassy plain...


And a bunch of cows.

After a few minutes rest I set out again. And by now I was feeling a bit tired. By the time I reached Fernwood Point I was exhausted, and completely out of steam.


I had noticed the government dock at Fernwood from way back on Prevost, and I remembered there being a store and restaurant here. So I stopped in, tied off the kayak and headed up the road. Right off the dock is a coffee shop/bakery and I bought a sandwich, a diet coke and a large cookie. I scarfed these down and was right as rain, ready to cross over to Wallace.


Panther Point on Wallace Island.



Since I had already been to Conover Cove, and it was bound to be busy, I headed for the kayak campground at Chivers Point. Wallace Island has three campsites.




Chivers Point and the "No Campfires" sign. I didn't even use my candle lantern this trip.


I had heard from some kayakers just leaving that the day before every spot was taken at this site. Now, I was the only person here.


That night I was so exhausted that as soon as the sun went down I was out. The next morning I woke to howling winds, at least 30 knots and a churning sea. Based on the forecast, I wasn't going anywhere today. So I decided to explore the trails on the island.


This is an outcropping just off Cabin Bay. Cabin Bay is a great little campsite but about a 20 minute walk to the outhouse!





Wallace has a water source in the "Valley of the Sun" by the old truck. You have to treat it to drink it safely but I was good for water and didn't need any.



Many of the old resort cabins are still standing at Conover Cove.


A couple of Airis inflatable kayaks. I saw quite a few different inflatables among the yachties on this trip.


My campsite at Chivers Point. A bit of shelter from the wind, which wound up howling from sun up to sun down.


And so I just waited it out. As far as places to get windbound go, this is a pretty good one.




The raccoons were everywhere on this island. Digging for clams on the beach, fighting with each other...why a couple were even shamefully engaged in enthusiastic love-making on the beach! Thank goodness no children or ladies were about to witness this.

Next morning was much the same as the last. Howling 20-30 knot headwinds. What to do, stay another day or give it a go? I decided to give it a go, and head to Tent Island.


It was a wet ride. I was glad I brought a bailer.


Tent Island ahead. It's part of the Kuper Island Native Reserve, but they allow camping there. It's a reknowned party island for the Ladysmith crowd.


Well I got to Tent Island and I was a bit...disappointed. First thing to greet me as I got ashore was a big dead otter. The bay was filled with tents and people. It was Canada Day and there were more boats pulling in. And the worst thing of all was I was out of beer and smokes. I didn't want to hang around crowds having fun and drinking and feel so left out, so I got back in the kayak, faced down the wind, and kept paddling. I figured I would get up to Telegraph Harbour and visit the marina there.


The shoreline of Kuper was beautiful, I'd been by so many times by now in my Dad's boat but this was the first time I really saw it. But this was the toughest slog of a paddle I'd ever done. The wind was blowing hard and it was in my face the whole trip.


The hardest part of the paddle was into Telegraph Harbour. The wind was just howling through the cut and I was only making 1-2 km per hour, and I was thirsty and exhausted.


But I made it. And at the marina I bought a six pack of beer, a six pack of diet coke and a pack of smokes. And had some lunch. And felt a little more alive.


Heading back out I noticed an Aire Sea Tiger inflatable on this yacht. Nice looking kayak, would love to try one someday.


Everyone was out on their decks for the holiday and I got a lot of cheering on as I paddled up Thetis Island into the wind. I also got a few "you're going the wrong way!"s.


Found a nice little beach by a summer camp where I stopped for a rest and a much needed swim. I was exhausted, trying to find somewhere to camp and not having much luck. I decided to head back to tent island.


Along the way I detoured to check out a small, unnamed islet that looked inviting. I did not see any "no trespassing" or "keep out" signs so I landed.


There were a couple of "No Hunting" signs, and some signs of people being here (fire scars and broken glass...ugh) so I figured I would stay.





Next morning I was up early and ready for the last leg. The crossing to Ladysmith. It was still a bit rough out there but it looked okay, so I decided to go for it.


And two hours later, I pulled into Transfer Beach, where I called for a ride. Six nights, seven days camping out of the kayak and I survived. Worst wind and wave conditions I'd ever been in and the Sunny handled it well. A bit wet, but she did not let me down. My friend Robert, who also owns a Sunny as well as the Klepper, remarked that after seeing it in action he'd decided it was the boat he'd take on his next solo trip through the gulf islands.

From here I wound up hooking up with my friend Josh. Went swimming at Spider Lake, and then my father took us all out on the boat...back to Wallace Island so I could show them where I'd been. After that, I rolled my gear onto the ferry on onto a greyhound bus, and easily got home. A very enjoyable and very much needed break away. As always, can't wait to get back there.

Birthday Trip up the Arm Again

I had big plans for my 40th birthday back in June, but my health took a bit of a hit this year and I was feeling a bit miserable. Not up to doing my original ambitious plans and wandering around in a bit of a funk. So Dale suggested we take it easy and do the old reliable standby, Indian Arm. Beats sitting around housebound so Friday night he picked me up in the van and we set out for Deep Cove.

Since this was an evening start we set out for Twin Islands for our first night. By now it was getting crowded but we easily found a good spot. Somehow, within the space of a few hours we managed to put away about a dozen beer...don't remember much of the night after that!


The next morning we woke up bright, early and hung over to start the paddle. We planned on a leisurely three hours to get up to Berg's Landing. Most people, when they think Indian Arm, they think of Granite Falls, but I prefer Berg's. Fewer people, fewer powerboats. It doesn't have the waterfall but it is a nicer campground, in my opinion, and lots of room to spread out.


We stopped by a little freshet where last year our friend Tim took a shower. Not at this tide level today but we got a nice cool drink.


The newer old power station.


I just like taking photos of the kayaks in the water. Wish my paddling partners brought cameras and could give me some photos of me and my kayak! Hint hint guys.


It seemed like no time at all until we reached Silver Falls. Finally I had a camera and could take some decent(ish) photos of it.


Berg's Landing is just another couple of kilometers from the falls. We thought about going to Granite but decided to just hang out at Berg's and explore the area. The campground was empty when we arrived.


Bit of a dilemma now. Do we stay in the usual nice camping spot, or try one of the many other sites? We had never been to the north side of Bishop Creek, which runs through the campground, and I had heard there was camping there. The tide was low and so was the flow from the creek so we waded across to explore.


I was very pleasantly surprised by the north side! Lots of great camping spots, good to know if we ever arrive to find the south side busy. The outhouse on this side even had toilet paper and...a bottle of hand sanitizer! (the south side bathroom was picked clean, b.y.o.t.p.)


A Bayline Cierra like my Dad's zipping by.






An egg shell of some kind...either the miracle of life or the remains of someone's breakfast!


In the end we decided to just stay at the usual spot. I don't know what it is about this spot but I really like it. It relaxes me greatly.


The ice pack seems a bit smaller this year. We have had a pretty hot dry summer.




I love the way this beach looks at a high tide.


Dale's tent, a chinese import sold under the "Chinook Tech" brand here in Canada. I really like this company's stuff, except for their tents. This one is alright, but I also have a much bigger Chinook Tech tent that is just a big pain, and not very dry.

Later that evening we had a chat about how we feel about running into other people out kayak camping. I always feel a bit uncomfortable arriving at a spot where there are already people, I like to respect their privacy. But I'm perfectly fine if someone arrives to share a spot that I've arrived at first. Later that night that got put to the test. I was doing a bit of stargazing and getting ready to hit the sack when a light shone into my eyes. It was a canoe out on the water trying to land. This is a bit of a tricky landing at the best of times let alone the pitch dark, so I helped guide them in. They were the advance party of a group of six, the other four about a half hour behind. Nice group of people.


Heading home the next day. We had drank all our beer on night one, so no hangover this morning.

Nothing terribly interesting to report on the paddle home. Just nice to be on the water for my 40th birthday, which was otherwise a bit depressing (poor me). I guess I'm now officially an old crank. Can't wait to start shooing kids off my lawn and confiscating frisbees.

Power boats and why inflatable kayaks are better!

My old man got inspired by by my exploits out on the water so he decided, now that he's moved to Vancouver Island, to follow in my footsteps...well, maybe leapfrog over my footsteps, by getting himself a boat. A Bayliner Cierra 2650. He wanted to do an overnight trip for the maiden voyage so I joined him with the kayak.


I didn't want to mess around with trying to inflate it on board, so we just strapped it up top for the voyage. Our plan was to head out of Ladysmith Harbour and down to Galiano Island and Montague Harbour provincial park.


Heading out of Ladysmith Harbour. The woodchip mill is on the right. Ladysmith has a thriving industry producing wood chips for guinea pig cages. Port Alberini, further to the north, does the same, but for gerbil cages only. The BC forest industry is very diversified.


Now that we've cleared the harbour....Give 'er!!!


Kuper and Saltspring in the distance.


Rounding Tent Island. In just a few minutes we'd done a half day's distance in the kayak. So I guess there are some advantages to having a motor.


Some random beautiful house on Saltspring. If there's any billionaires out there reading this who want to sponsor this blog and set me up in a place like this, please write!!


Zooming down the coast of Galiano. Now the problem is, and I'll say this again later I'm sure, is that while the speed is nice, if you're in a hurry, you miss quite a bit. Very different experience than slowly poking along a shoreline.

So about 45 minutes later we tied up to the dock at Montague Harbour. The place was deserted! I'd never seen it so empty. I had been here a couple of times before by ferry and car. It's one of my favorite campsites and has one of the best beaches in the gulf islands.

In addition to the Sunny I had also brought out my little Spree 1. This was the last hurrah of the Spree for me, as after this trip I sold it to a friend in Ladysmith. With the Helios and the Sunny and my wife nagging me about having three kayaks, this one had to go. Had some great times in it. So soon after setting up in the campground we broke out the kayaks and my nephew and I went for a spin.


Heading out of the harbour, with one of the mooring buoys in the distance. Montague has both a public dock and quite a few mooring buoys. In the summertime it can be a very busy place.



The dock and my Dad's boat, the Freed Spirit, behind us.


Montague has a few cool carved sandstone rock faces.





A young bald eagle. Now, all this time up until now my nephew had been whining, "oh my arms are sore, this is hard work, we're going too fast, I'm tired". Yeah Andy I'm talking about you!! But after seeing this he was all "that's the coolest thing I've ever seen, I'm so glad I came out here!"


After this we headed over towards the marina on the other side of the harbour. My mom had forgot to bring milk, and my dad didn't bring enough beer! So I was sent on an errand to go get some.


Unfortunately I didn't take any shots of that. Why didn't I? It was fun, I pulled into the marina's dinghy dock, climbed up, tied off the sunny and popped into the store. I got the milk but no beer. They didn't have a license, which the owner complained about to me for a few minutes. In the summertime there's a bus that comes by hourly to pick up people from the marina and bring them to the pub. But no liqour sales here.


Back at the dock at the park. The campsites are in the trees up to the left.


My pal Josh and I had stayed here a few years before. We had, as I discovered now that the campground was empty, the best site in the campground. I didn't take that one again, instead we grabbed the closest to the stairs to the dock. Still very nice. If you're camping at Montague, the walk in sites are just up a set of stairs from the parking lot, and are much nicer than the drive in sites.


We had a nice night with a campfire even. And marshmallows, which I guess are some kind of snack the kids are into these days. Too sticky for me. The following morning we didn't really want to head home, so we decided take our time and check out Wallace Island on the way back.


There isn't really a store here on Wallace! This is a place I wound up returning to a few times over the summer. For a beginning boater like my father, it's an ideal spot. Only 20 minutes from home, and with a dock as well. My dad didn't have a dinghy yet, and there was no way he was getting in the kayak!


Most of this island is park land, with just a few private homes. This part is called Conover Cove, and is the site of an old resort owned by David Conover. I guess he dated Marilyn Monroe and wrote a couple of books or something. It's a very nice place.

After a quick walk around we decided to stay for the night, and broke out the kayaks again for another trip.





After a few hours exploring the shore of Wallace we headed back to the boat to find that a whole group of kids, part of some rich kid adventure school or something, had invaded the campground and were staying the night. So we said "nuts to this", plus Andy was complaining he wanted to get home and we packed up and headed back to Ladysmith.

And that was the maiden overnight voyage of the new Bayliner. Which is a great boat but not better than an inflatable kayak. Even Andy would agree, now he wants to get himself an inflatable too! Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against power boats and I love having that option of calling the old man for a pickup if I'm in the gulf islands. But with the noise and the speed you miss so much. And the cost of fuel and marina. To me, being out on the water is freedom. And the fewer things standing in your way of getting on the water the freer I feel.

Camping in the Helios 1

Earlier this summer I got it into my head that I needed to try camping out of the Helios 1. I was curious whether or not it would fit the new 7 day bear vault barrel I got for christmas last year, so I inflated it on the deck and set about seeing how much gear I could stuff in. I was very surprised to see that I could easily fit in enough for a comfortable camping trip. And the bear barrel fit behind the seat like it was made to go there. And so I went camping.

I decided to try Alouette Lake in Golden Ears Provincial Park. I had camped here before and swam at the lake, and done a day trip here. A friend recommended it highly and I saw that there are 3 marine access campsites on the lake. Alouette is a power boat/jet ski lake but I was going on a weekday so didn't think I'd have any issues. And I didn't, the place was deserted.


I even got a parking space right beside the trail to the beach. Very different experience than my last time out here in the height of August.


Hitting the water at about 9:30 am. The destination is the Narrows, the very narrow bit at the top of the photo. Alouette used to be two lakes but now it is one. It was a pretty grey and calm day so I forgot about sunscreen. Big mistake! Ouch. More on that later.



I decided to stick to the west shoreline, and come back on the other side the next day. I was also using the Helios 1 rudder for the very first time. I had just purchased it a few days before. And I have to report, it works very very well. I figured the foot straps would be a pain, and I would wind up just tying the rudder off the back d-rings like a skeg. But actually they turned out to be no trouble at all. All problems with tracking and the boat doing the "sit and spin" disappeared. I think I even got a bit more speed out of it. I was averaging 4-6 km per hour most of the trip.


Part of the park's interpretive center.


Upon closer inspection I noticed they had a small fleet of sevylor inflatables. Cool. Probably for running up the river and kayaking back down to the lake.


Very shallow in this part of the lake, I almost grounded out. This is by the Gold Creek campsite.



Lots of nice shoreline along the lake here. I was surprised that I never thought to come here before!


This is the Moyer Creek campground. The Narrows is just another 1.5 km or so away, and that's where I was headed.






This particular campsite caught my eye though, and I was tempted to just stay here. But no, I had a destination...The Narrows!


Well I got to the Narrows and it didn't look all that. The campsites are up the hill behind the trees and it didn't look like it got a lot of sun. So I headed back to Moyer Creek.


And I grabbed that campsite that caught my eye. I was the only one there. Only saw one other boat the whole day. Just me and the bears and cougars.


And by now I realized I should have put on sunscreen. So one of the first things I did was hop in the water here and cool off my sunburn. Very refreshing!


And by now the sun had decided to make an appearance.




Very nice little campsite here.



All in all, I was able to pack a 20 litre drybag up front, my waterproof duffel (45 litre) and my bear barrel with all my food in the stern. On the deck I had the pump, a spare paddle, 2 litres of water and of course, a six pack. The only thing I missed having was my chair, but I did have my inflatable cushion to sit on, and I sure appreciated having that! Did I mention I just turned 40? The old bones are beginning to feel it.







The bear vault worked! I did not get eaten by a bear that night.



A couple of shots of the Helios rudder assembly.


Ready to go the next morning.


And all the gear ready for the boat. Very easy to load and unload this thing.


A nice calm start to the day. Didn't last though. About 20 minutes later the wind was howling up the lake against me. So I got to see how the fully loaded Helios with rudder handled in some bumpier conditions.




One of the "unofficial" camping spots.


A bit slower ride going back due to the wind. I only averaged 3-4 km. I discovered that you need to keep a bit of inflation in the bow to deflect the water properly. I had it softly inflated to store more gear. It was pooling and dripping into the boat. So I propped up my sandals to put a v-shape into it and all was good. I didn't really need to under inflate the bow to get the gear in though.



And the landing site in the distance! A fun paddle back, if just a bit wet.


And that's it for the trip to Golden Ears Park and Alouette Lake. And I'm happy to report that the Helios 1 with the rudder makes for a pretty cool little touring boat. I think I need to lose a few more before really giving it a workout, right now I overload it. But I'm really looking forward to doing some more camping out of this thing.

still paddling

Wow, it's been a crazy summer, but things are still looking hopeful for a few more kayak trips, including a few days in the broken island group. I'd like to thank everyone who wrote and encouraged me to keep writing. I was a bit sick earlier this year but am feeling much better thanks to the Canadian health care system :) Plus a few hundred hours on the water.

But I still got in quite a few really good trips...so many that I don't even know where to start writing about them, so I'll just pick one and give it a go!