tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88137759228259446962024-02-19T18:18:46.453-08:00Paul's paddling Paul Kendrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301975219452955992noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813775922825944696.post-33129218214689537142015-09-27T08:18:00.003-07:002018-05-20T10:50:22.374-07:00Raft Cove: A Lightweight SUP'er<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Darcy Wardrop duct-taping gear to his board</u></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">A</span><span style="font-size: small;">s you can see, the put-in on the MacJack River is a kind of small, muddy and mildly claustrophobic spot. But Darcy and I were very happy to be there after having driven the better part of 6 hours from Campbell River to get there. Especially after some unplanned touring about trying to find the right logging road spur after missing a key detour sign at Holberg. Fortunately, Darcy remembered the way</span><span style="font-size: small;"> well enough from a few years before to get us back on track.</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Another good thing was that we only had to carry our stuff about a 100 meters from where we parked my truck. Not that we had much stuff to carry given that we were packing everything in that we needed for four days on our paddle boards- including ~12 litres of water each. We were concerned about the reliability of the usual water supply given the record dry spring and summer conditions we'd been having.</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Without tie-down points on his board, Darcy used ratchet straps going right around to secure his gear and then duct taped over that to make the bottom surface area more streamlined. Hey, it worked- an excellent west coast solution to a slippery problem and we were soon on our way. We wore the bottom half of our wetsuits because we didn't have anywhere else to put them and it was cool enough.</span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">From Campbell River on Vancouver Island, it takes about five hours driving to get to the put-in spot on the Macjack River. The last two hours or so are on logging roads heading west from Port Hardy on the Holberg/ Cape Scott signed turnoff. There is 24 hour gas in Port Hardy- but not Port McNeil. Good idea to top up your gas in Port Hardy before heading west. Its a long way out there in remote country with no cell service- and no services past Holberg. For a final good coffee and just because- you need to make a short detour into Port Hardy where you'll find the 'Café Guido' a combo bookstore/ coffee shop/gift shop at 7135 Market St. A great little place- and especially good to know about if you are in that area and need to wait out some inclement weather.</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Once you leave Port Hardy the only other community you'll come across is Holberg about 45 minutes along the gravel road. There's a general store with a gas bar and the 'Scarlet Ibis' <u>pub</u>/restaurant- which we were <u>very </u>glad to visit on the return trip.</span></span></span><br />
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<u>Selective logging? Culturally modified trees? A hill with a haircut?</u></h3>
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Once you start on the Holberg Rd, you are in logging country. The picture is of an older cut but there is plenty of active logging going on so you will likely encounter BIG logging trucks and other industrial vehicles along the way. Some of the locals who know the road well drive it at a higher speed than you or I may be comfortable with- so it's a sensible tactic to assume some huge truck is going to come barreling around every blind corner and that way you're prepared. And also pull over and let people by who come up behind you as its often hard to safely pass someone on these roads. Its an expected courtesy in these parts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">The first 15 minutes or so of the Macjack River past the put-in have a number of shallow spots and log jams to get over and around. Nothing difficult really- and nothing that required unloading but we were glad to get through those obstacles and then it was clear paddling for the remaining ~8 kilometers to Raft Cove. The scenery just kept getting better and better as we paddled along and the landscape began to open up, the sun began to shine and the water went from a darker cedar brown to clear to an almost luminescent pale green as the incoming tide began to reach us. I saw the first of several ospreys we were to see during the trip- a sign that the fishing is good.</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Our progress was slowed somewhat by the straps and duct tape resistance on the bottom of Darcy's board. And he became even slower once the incoming tide and a freshening westerly breeze both began to work against us. Given the wind resistance of his load atop the board, I made the helpful suggestion that perhaps he should turn his board load-side down in order to make faster progress. What he then suggested I do with my own board was physically impossible- so we both carried on as we were.</span><span style="font-weight: normal;">It took us just over two hours to reach the estuary and the sand bank take-out area. Although there were a surprising number of people there, we lucked into a 5 star campsite tucked just inside the trees and facing the open beach and the ocean which from there stretched out for thousands of miles with only a few tropical islands scattered here and there in the endless blue.</span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Darcy set up his Hennessy hammock and I set up my lightweight Bibler single wall tent. We briefly considered going out to play in the waves but by then there was a stiff westerly breeze which made it less than appealing for stand-up paddling.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><b><u>Darcy Wardrop; enjoying a wee dram</u></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Supper consisted of simply having more of what we'd had for lunch- a good strategy for traveling light. Sardines for Darcy, sausage and cheese for me. After that we gravitated towards a suitable log and settled in to watch the sun in its long, slow motion fall into the sea to the west. Now that we had everything set up and we'd eaten, we could really relax and begin to arrive more fully into this beautiful wild west coast setting we had journeyed to. It can take time to become fully present to where one is when going from one place to another and very different place- so it was nice that we had given ourselves the gift of this transitional time. For the next several days, we had no thing to do- and no place to go. We were already there- life had suddenly become much simpler.</span><span style="font-weight: normal;">We had both brought our own scotch whisky's. Glenlivet for Darcy and Laphroaig for myself. Sitting there in the warmth and light of the setting sun in such a place while sipping on a fine whisky- well it </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">just doesn't get much better than that.</span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Watching one of the resident ospreys hunting quickly became a favourite pastime while reclining against our log. They're large birds and amazing fliers. The osprey would hunt above the water and then just fold its wings and plunge straight down after its prey. There was no hesitation or pulling back at the last second- the osprey would hit with a great splash right into the water and then emerge flapping its way out and up with a fish in its talons. Several times, diving straight into breaking surf areas. Once well back up in the air, it would give itself a good shake and then head upriver to wherever it roosted. </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Hard to imagine the shock and surprise for this fish just swimming idly along minding its own business and then this great splash and commotion and "What the f---!"suddenly finding itself held in steel talons being hoisted out of the water and flying through the air now in an element not it's own and facing a much shortened day ending not quite the way it expected.</span></span><br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: small;">Heading out to play in the waves: Photo by Darcy Wardrop</span></u></b></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">The next morning, we enjoyed a long leisurely coffee reclining against our favourite beach log and then headed out to play in the waves. No wind and the ever changing light on the water was exquisite. We followed this pattern for the next three mornings and just had a great time out there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">I had brought the book, 'Far from the Madding Crowd' by Thomas Hardy to read. An apt title given where we were. It was good reading in the afternoon and before I went to sleep. Absorbed into a living rural England landscape of a time long ago and far away, I followed the ups and downs of the young and beautiful Bathsheba as she, with experiencing ever deepening levels of heart- encountered various archetypes in the forms of the three men who tried to court her. Interesting how in so many stories, myths and fairy tales- how things always show up in threes.</span><br />
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<u>Sunset; Raft Cove</u></h2>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">We did go exploring the beaches and rocky points just north of Raft Cove. And on our boards, we could have just kept going and going and then rode the waves and afternoon westerly back to the home beach. Lots of kelp beds and reefs about so the fishing would be good. The fishing for coho salmon was good while we were there and we were lucky to be invited over for a fresh salmon dinner with a friendly family from New Westminster.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Given our meager dinner rations, we took notice of the amazing number and variety of sand-flea like critters hopping and scuttling about during our beach walks. Many were quite large. Perhaps a few dozen of those in a quick stir-fry-makeshift chopsticks- taste like shrimp? Well, maybe if we'd been stuck in there for an extra week or so.</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Getting freshwater turned out to be no problem at all. Clean, cool, sweet water was at full flow through a one 1 inch pipe on the other side of the river. Neither ourselves or anyone else was bothering to treat it and we never had any problems. Given that the summer of 2015 had been a record breaking virtual drought- the fact that this water was still flowing and tasting so good was a welcome surprise. </span></h3>
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Note for hikers coming in by the trail:<span style="font-weight: normal;"> even at low tide, it would still involve a potentially hazardous swim across the river to access the water- and the water from the Macjack itself is salty for a long way up the river. Best idea would be hitch a ride across in someone's canoe- so good idea to bring a large folding water container. Sure beats the water from the creek along the trail access which is a cedar infused tea colour.</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">We had a great time at Raft Cove and it was hard to leave. We met many interesting people- and there were lots there for such a remote place but it was August and a record summer for sun. Everyone had made a long journey to be there in that special place- and so we all shared that in common. </span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><u>Next time:</u> The fishing is obviously very good so a compact fishing rod would be well worth bringing in. Go for longer and bring a lightweight tarp to create a covered area in case of rain. </span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">Darcy's Hennessy hammock:</u><span style="font-weight: normal;"> He was actually having a nap in it when I took this picture and claimed he slept very comfortably for all three nights we were there. I was a bit skeptical- having no experience with overnighting in a hammock but now I'm curious. A very light set-up and weatherproof with the fly. He did say that an ensolite pad is needed for insulating warmth on the bottom.</span> </span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">We started our paddle back out at the start of the rising tide and were back at the launch point in 1.5 hours. In spite of what we'd heard at times- I don't think it makes much difference what the tides doing for going either way. People were coming and going during all stages of the tide while we were there.</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">In the parking lot, we were lucky to encounter a really friendly couple from Vancouver who had just arrived and were planning to head into Raft Cove for a week or more. We were all hot and sweaty from our paddle back so when they asked if we'd like a cold beer- we were very grateful . 'Stella Artois' no less. Man, did that taste good!</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Just over an hour's drive put us into Holberg where we enjoyed a great burger out on the sundeck before hitting the long and winding road back to Campbell River. </span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">An excellent outing and exciting to know that we could pack so lightly and do a 4 day trip on our boards. All that would be needed to extend that to a 7 day trip would be a bit more food- maybe a fishing rod and definitely more scotch!</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Paul Kendrick</span></h3>
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Paul Kendrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301975219452955992noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813775922825944696.post-77200762141379382202015-06-24T18:30:00.000-07:002018-05-20T11:12:50.943-07:00Post Storm Surf Play<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH3FBomwzCHlRWTAi8YpHlKaPKxN_Oc2Pd2qRVw9hpEASd1nHkwobefD6ytJMJxPwLv6_8WEb5AC3rG4LKn7rnorWXDkH7JlDuaLLnJo7LWW0p0k0Z_QRV0OV5ypXUfWLyF7j6L8DZ5-I/s1600/Leigh1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH3FBomwzCHlRWTAi8YpHlKaPKxN_Oc2Pd2qRVw9hpEASd1nHkwobefD6ytJMJxPwLv6_8WEb5AC3rG4LKn7rnorWXDkH7JlDuaLLnJo7LWW0p0k0Z_QRV0OV5ypXUfWLyF7j6L8DZ5-I/s640/Leigh1.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: small;">Leigh Stalker catching a nice one</span></u></b></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">It was one of those perfect situations for great waves just south of Campbell River at Storey's Beach. A long and quite intense April southeaster with winds that had been blowing 25-35 knots all day along with lots of rain and fast moving grey cloud.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Then as luck would have it, the wind suddenly dropped off just as we were all off work and the sky began to clear. And the small group of us who are really active in the famed Storey's Beach Surf Club headed straight for the home Beach.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Gary and Doug had got an earlier start and were doing a downwinder on their surf skis, but Leigh and I were on our paddleboards along with a small group of more traditional surfers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Darcy would have been there but he and Darlene were off wave-hunting in Belize and Costa Rica.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">After storm- evening light</u> </span></h4>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">The light was ever changing and was quite dramatic with remnants of dark storm clouds and rain showers still around along with clearing skies and a setting sun.</span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSNH4khN_ZoNzm4hKPSFvj9rnaNRPy2wPFk2tIHwe01agASlPHvFmPDCmfDpNUc9lh0DASgttB7bH-vemmoyUDr2fWIAwPT-TJJPXOjjQujTWiQgV-7CP3F0ZPLcFG9so40VDPQ2Wf5y8/s1600/Leigh2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSNH4khN_ZoNzm4hKPSFvj9rnaNRPy2wPFk2tIHwe01agASlPHvFmPDCmfDpNUc9lh0DASgttB7bH-vemmoyUDr2fWIAwPT-TJJPXOjjQujTWiQgV-7CP3F0ZPLcFG9so40VDPQ2Wf5y8/s640/Leigh2.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><b>Leigh's smile says it all</b></span></u><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">We've all been asked more than a few times, "How come you guys spend so much time at the same beach?" Well, I'm finding that the more time I spend at Storey's Beach in all seasons, all weathers, tides, all times of day- it never really seems like the same beach. There are always things different from one time to the next- and it's kind of like an English garden that way. Some flower from the bouquet of potential experiences to be had there is always in bloom.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Paul Kendrick</span></td></tr>
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<br />Paul Kendrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301975219452955992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813775922825944696.post-32858615817452858462015-01-10T06:37:00.000-08:002018-05-20T11:25:31.595-07:00Downwinder: Salmon Point to Storey's Beach<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Dc6kCzdWhg2OsG3qFEU8nE4KMThUmn951BgbtIabnH2oy6QC7oN1ZTYN6BzFnowlHM7GIdepwwxWo5OWPM6724ZYp6NssYr_7aGVI1PDmFThzR7ME6ml2nLY7wP5Cx5_G9uldp40oyE/s1600/Darcy+Jan4+2015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Dc6kCzdWhg2OsG3qFEU8nE4KMThUmn951BgbtIabnH2oy6QC7oN1ZTYN6BzFnowlHM7GIdepwwxWo5OWPM6724ZYp6NssYr_7aGVI1PDmFThzR7ME6ml2nLY7wP5Cx5_G9uldp40oyE/s1600/Darcy+Jan4+2015.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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Darcy Wardrop-taking a break- note the large raindrops. Didn't even notice that at the time.</h3>
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<u><b>Sunday morning January 4/2015</b></u>. <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Pouring rain, cold, grey and dim, blowing like hell - 19-42 knots. Perfect! Lets do a downwinder, Salmon Point to Storey's. Gary Robinson's in. Leigh Douglas so wants to be there but hubby Jason's up skiing and there's little MacKenzie to look after and muffins in the oven- but she'll be there next time We three meet up at Storey's and Darlene drives us to Salmon Point. Wow! Is it blowing- though less than it had been earlier. Good thing the little pocket beach put-in is sheltered.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The question arises, "Why are we going away from a perfectly good pub?" There is no adequate explanation. We are venturing into silliness. In search of the kind of experience we can immerse our whole beings into- like cold water on a B.C. west-coast winter day.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I can only imagine what the people having a leisurely Sunday brunch in the pub were thinking looking out at us through the windows from inside the pub over their eggs bennie.</span><br />
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<u>
Big breakers. Lots of fast moving white-water</u></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Well, from the van into full-on. Brr! Looks cold. No slow transition time for any kind of warm-up. It's plunge in and go. It's normalcy to intensity just like that. I promptly fall off my board in waist deep water then hop quickly back on. Focus, focus, focus! And then all is good- I'm connected. We manage to get through the break and start heading offshore to get far enough out that we can then turn and run straight downwind all the way to Storey's beach- about 6 km's away.</span></h3>
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<b><u>Darcy; blowing with the wind.</u> </b><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You can see the next huge swell slowly rising behind him. Some of these would became steep enough that we all got at least one really good ride in. But they were so fast moving and without a much longer board or a surf-ski almost impossible to catch.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The wind was still blowing hard at this point-so the resulting cross chop on top of the swell made for tricky balancing and any momentary lapse in attention would put us in the water. But then that is one of the things I love most about such paddling- that the conditions demand my full attention- my full presence. Anything less and I'm swimming. And we all did some of that anyway.</span><br />
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<u><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Gary and Darcy absolutely at home out there.</span></b> </u> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Atop what looks like a couple of ironing boards- riding these huge fast moving hills of water - just having so much fun in conditions that would keep most boats tied up at the dock.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I sneak glances at them try to snap some pictures with my Cool-Pix, trying to remain upright at the same time- thinking this is so fantastic to be doing such a thing. To be in such a place on a stormy January day- I want to remember what this feels like- always.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Darcy and Gary taking a break- give the legs a rest. What a workout! Bobbing around out there while the big swells roll under us. Don't want it to be over too soon. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As we neared Storey's Beach the wind began to drop right off and we arrived to find perfect conditions for surfing. So we just kept right on going- shifting into surf mode. Wave after wave. And then after about an hour, these big clearly defined sets of waves began rolling in and it became even better. We could go further out and just wait for an approaching set of the larger waves. I could see them coming from far enough away to get perfectly positioned by the time they arrived and away I'd go. Just about as good a conditions as we've ever had at Storey's. Darcy and I keep surfing until we can hardly stand up any more.</span><br />
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These ARE the good old days! What could taste better than a 'Big Surf' beer.</h3>
Paul Kendrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301975219452955992noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813775922825944696.post-39660454342074244792014-09-23T05:55:00.000-07:002018-05-20T11:35:39.531-07:00Northern Salish Sea- a Solo Crossing by Darcy Wardrop<br />
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<b>Rest stop on Mitlenatch Island 11km's from start</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">( This post is <i>way</i> overdue due for reporting on such a worthy venture. Darcy Wardrop's solo crossing from Salmon Point on the east side of Vancouver Island to Mitlenatch Island-then on to Savary Island and ending in the little village of Lund north of Powell River.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It is a long a committing crossing- and I love his faith in the universe that he simply planned to hitchhike back. Darcy was not only my persistent mentor at getting me to try stand-up paddling, and sea kayaking before that- but has also been a very good friend for decades. His account below-and all photos are DW too.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Its an old adage I like that Time, Tide ( and Setting Resin ) wait for no-one, but the humble paddler knows that time, tide, wind and weather will play its happy games on the best of days.
I have been watching the weather all week, and same as last year we had these crisp clear days , a bit of fog in the morning but burning off to flat calm waters, perfect for stand-up-paddle crossing of the Northern end of the Salish Sea.We had talked of this and my idea that if 2 hours took you out to Mittlnatch island 12km off shore , why backtrack when all sorts of possibilities open up from there, Savary, Cortes, Lund , just get out there and be prepared to take the wind where it might be favorable.
As usual, I don't like to think about these things to much the night before, just keep a clear head and go. In the morning I packed a single bag with 2 liters of water and a couple of energy bars , a banana, 3 pieces of rye crisp and some peanut butter , dry clothes a tent hammock and my life jacket with wallet , camera and radio and about $20 bucks in spare change for phone booths as I don't own a cell phone.
I impromptly dropped in on my good friend Howard to see if he would juggle my truck back from the put-in at Salmon Point.</span><br />
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<b> Darcy W. out on the perfect day for it.</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The water was rippled with a low wind and the odd whitecap, and the mainland some 25km away in fog. Nothing to do but launch and paddle for an hour and see what happens. About 20 minutes in I was feeling pretty comfortable once I got my balance in sync with a loaded board and the wind coming from NW. Savary Island beckoned in a straight SE line rather than a dogleg north up to Mitlenatch and over, but it seemed disappointing not to go to that wonderful place, and soon I found the tide pushing me north despite the wind and I was actually north and making my way SE to Mitlenatch. Two hours later I was greeted by 3 orange beaked Oyster-Catchers as I pulled in on the gorgeous beach on the north end. Last year my camera died after one picture out there so I wandered a bit to stretch my legs and take some pictures ( there is indeed cactus growing out there as well as a nice apple tree). Chatted with the caretakers and then washed down a Cliff bar and some rye crisp with water and ate my banana and took a swim enjoying the cool analgesic effects of the water.
It was a sign that there were standing waves about a foot high in the current that creates a back-eddy off Mitlenatch, it would take me all most 3 hour to paddle the next shorter leg of the distance 10km to Savary island. The wind shifted to the south and blew ever so softly against me and kept me at a perfect temperature as I worked the paddle against it ( the Stroke-Hammer, my hand carved paddle-blade attached to a Nimbus whitewater paddle shaft performed wonderfully , with each stroke the shaft loads under compression and gives a little extra drive at the end when it releases the energy,,,,,I know paddle geek stuff). I made my way by Hernando Island and to Savary and was a bit surprised when the sunbathers that greeted me on Indian Point told me it was 245 pm, it hadn't seemed that long but I suppose I was just paddling in the zone and time had released me of its grip.
Savary is one of our most beautiful islands, almost tropical with its white beaches. Though populated it has no real infrastructure , dirt roads, a few beater cars, no ferry but close to Lund that water taxis ferry people back and forth to the many luxury cabins and shacks.Washed down another Cliff Bar and taking another swim I noted that the tide was strong enough that I could barely swim against it. The water finally glassed off for the final 8km paddle to Lund and I was making nice time though I though I might not make it on time to the famous bakery there. About half way across I was feeling a bit dry so I sat down on the board for a while and dug out my other liter of water most of which I downed and fiddled with my shoes to get the sand out that was grinding a bit. Feeling very refreshed I made my way the final hour to Lund basked in the afternoon Sun that they are so famous for over there.
I arrived in the nick of time just before Nancy's Bakery closed to have a salad and gluten free lasagna and a Glut free date bar washed down with delicious Beachcomber Ale</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">( I don't remember them tasting quite that good last I had one).I wanted to linger in the tropical garden and have another of those fine beer but they were closed now and I needed to get to Powell River. I talked with a few people around the busy little marina and store and put the word out that I was looking for a ride down to Powell River and would be willing to pay for gas. I had only arrived a half hour before and a guy offered me a ride up to the Malaspina cross road, where said you won't have to wait long.</span><br />
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<b><u>Hitchiking from Lund to the Powell River ferry</u></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sure enough 3 cars and about 5 minutes later I had a ride right to the ferry terminal. The ferry staff allowed him to drive my board right down to the loading dock, and he would not take any of my offer for gas money. I was home by 11-oclock after Dar picked me up on the Comox side.
Darcy
(Salmon Point------Mitlenatch 12km --2hrs
Mitlenatch--------Savary 10km --3 hrs hours
Savary ---------Lund 8km --2 hrs
2 liters water, 3 pieces of rye crisp with peanut butter, a banana 2 cliff bars
Trips like these, 7 hrs of paddling , the physical effort is relatively minor, fun really, but unlike a marathon or triathlon or organized event , there is no support, no hydration stations, no quick out if your injured. You're in it for the duration. Some people ask why? Adventure, fun ,exploration, lots of reasons- or as Mallory said "because its there." Several crossings of the Salish Sea have been made from the south, this might have been the first northern crossing on a SUP, its a fun fact but certainly not a reason for going,,,,,,,, the utility of the Stand-Up-Paddleboards has been remarkable, and I'm looking forward to trips in the future with friends."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Darcy Wardrop</span><br />
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Paul Kendrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301975219452955992noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813775922825944696.post-8808778528270009922013-08-28T06:42:00.000-07:002018-05-20T12:02:12.593-07:00A summer paddle on the Puntledge River
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Getting ready for the next section on this perfect late summer day (Darcy Wardrop photo)</span></u></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">It was good to have had our first stand-up river paddling experience on the slower moving waters, big pools and easy riffle rapids of the Salmon River before we tried the Puntledge River in Courtenay- about 40 minutes south of our hometown of Campbell River on Vancouver Island. The Puntledge, while rated easy for kayaks, rafts, canoes and is a popular summer float for inner tubes and air mattresses, it was a little more challenging while trying to stay standing upright on the equivalent of a long ironing board- especially for us river running novices.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Although a shorter run than the section of the Salmon River that we'd done, the Puntledge was flowing much faster and had more 'technical' paddling than our previous outing.</span><br />
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<strong><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Darcy Wardrop, running one of the more demanding sections- good balance required. (pk photo)</span></u></strong></td></tr>
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The water is much deeper than it appears in the photo above. The water is so exceptionally clear that the boulders appear to be just beneath the surface when in fact they are several feet down.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><b>Darcy W. contemplating the best line for the next section- note the leash ...</b></span></u><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">We were new enough to paddleboarding rivers in 2012 that that we both wore our leashes and only afterwards found out that this can be a real danger on a river. People have died finding that one out. The danger occurs when the tailing leash loop catches on some under or above water fixed obstruction in the river because of a capsize or simple bad luck. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"> You'd be suddenly stopped with the full force of the river current piling up against you- likely being forced underwater with only the time you can hold your breath to free yourself before it was too late. So, we are a little smarter about that one now. On the other hand, one doesn't want to lose one's board either- so perhaps a quick release leash or one with a weaker link that would break with a good yank. Knee pads would be a good idea and helmets too, if the water had been faster or we had started further up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">We plunked in at Puntledge Park in Courtenay and then pulled out at the little marina and kayak shop on the right further down towards the ocean. It can be run from further up- just down from the Puntledge salmon hatchery at about the same grade of water, so maybe next time we'll do that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">A beautiful paddle and superb warm-water swimming on a perfect late summer day. And it was just a short enjoyable mountain bike ride back to get my truck at the park.</span> </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Paul Kendrick</span>Paul Kendrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301975219452955992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813775922825944696.post-7122647233263370462013-08-23T17:41:00.000-07:002018-05-20T13:16:35.578-07:00Sayward Forest Canoe Route- 2013 Fast & Light<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Mohun Lake-early morning. A perfect beginning to my day.</span></u></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I set out from the boat launch on Mohun Lake at exactly 7:00 a.m. on August 20th. The challenge of trying to do the Sayward Canoe route on my stand-up board in a single day had been on my mind since I had first done the route in 2012. I had used the same Surf-Tec board then but had carried gear and food enough to stay out for two nights as I really didn't know what to expect or how long different sections would take or what problems I might run into along the way.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This time I knew the route,could pack much lighter and do each portage just once.</span><br />
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The 48km Sayward Forest Canoe Circuit</u></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The light that morning was just exquisite, that kind of clear golden light that saturates and enhances all the colours. The water was a vivid deep blue and the sunlit trees such a luminescent green, they seemed lit from within. There was still a faint white mist slowly rising off the surface of the lake - what a place to be paddling on such a morning.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> It took me about 50 minutes to cover the 4.74 km to the start of the first 1.6k portage. I had made an over the shoulder sling with 2 loops in the end to help carry my board- as it is way too tiring on the fingers to carry the full weight of it that kind of distance. I also had a medium sized dry bag with backpack straps on it that my daughter had bought me for Father's day to carry my food and bivi gear. It took about 20 minutes to hike the portage and I was soon back on the water again. Due to the very dry July we'd had, the water level was a little lower than last year so I had to move up closer to the front of my board more often to lift the fin up enough to get through some of the weedy, shallow sections. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h3>
The channel leading from the end of the first portage- leads into Twin Lakes</h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There was a young couple with a canoe tenting at Twin Lakes and they were just starting to wake up with the warming sun when I landed on the beach. I made short work of the .8 km portage and launched my board into Amor Lake just before 9:00 a.m.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After about a kilometer, I began to hear the sound of loons coming from somewhere up ahead. That classic, iconic call that is so unmistakable, so inseparable from our ideas, our memories of wilderness places. And Amor Lake has that feeling of being a place of wilderness. It's the only major lake on the circuit that does not have any easy road access, so there were no power boats, jet-skis or clusters of campers and RV's along the shoreline like there is near the end of Brewster Lake and along part of the shorelines of Fry and Campbell Lakes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Amor Lake still has the feel and look of an untouched and unspoiled place. The water was still calm and the sun was beginning to warm me up. There was no one else in sight and no other sounds other than those made by my paddle moving through the water and the calling of the loons not far ahead.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And there wasn't just one or two, there were over a dozen of them all in some kind of mysterious loon gathering which I'd never seen or heard before. And they were all calling out at once. Both together and with as many different calls as there were birds in this amazing and highly complex acapella collage of wild sound. I needed to stop and hear this. I felt the urging, the pushing of my agenda for the day. But as I began really take in the sounds of this amazing chorus of loons, my paddle hesitated and then stopped and came to rest. I knew I was witnessing something quite remarkable.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For the next few minutes, I just stood still on my board and simply listened. Drifting at rest after the physical efforting to get to that place, I felt very present, very absorbent. I closed my eyes and just surrendered to this exquisite experience. The sound of the loons seemed like it was being somehow woven into the very fabric of this special place. Into the silence, the stillness. Into the waters, into the surrounding evergreen forest. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Perhaps when I return to that place again, I will still be able to hear the songs of those loons- whether they are actually there or not. 'I will remember this place.'</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Turning the corner and reluctantly leaving the loons behind, I began paddling south down the last 2 km of Amor Lake. I was now exposed to the NW wind which had just begun to build. Luckily, it was going with me and I made really good time down to the end of the lake and then again on Surprise, Brewster and Gray Lakes with my body acting as a kind of sail.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Only needing to do the 2.2 km portage between Surprise and Brewster lakes once was really nice. And this time I carefully avoided the really deep quicksand like mudtrap at the end of Brewster Lake where in 2012 I'd had what I referred to in my post as, "The great mud Battle." I had stepped off my board a little further out than canoeists would- due to the fin on the back of my board, and promptly plunged in up to my waist in deep mud. It had not been easy getting out. If I hadn't grabbed onto my board so quickly, I would have been up to my neck in it. So beware! Land a little to the right of the obvious canoe stop and test the ground before putting your weight on it.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the end of the 2.2km portage; start of the channel leading to Brewster Lake. Note the carrying sling for my board.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">After about 6 1/2 hours of steady going with the only stops being for the loons and later a Snickers bar, I paddled out of the creek leading from Whymper Lake to Fry lake. And there was my good friend Terry Browne in his small inflatable boat with a cold beer in one hand and fishing rod in the other.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Time for a break. Terry had offered to meet me there in case I decided to bail due to strong winds or some other reason- but all was looking good so far. I very regretfully declined the offer of a cold beer knowing that my motivation and momentum would likely fizzle to a halt. I still had a long way to go. Instead I chugged down the Bolthouse chocolate protein drink he'd brought for me. I now believed I was going to make it all the way around before nightfall, so I gave Terry most of my bivi gear but kept my headlamp and extra food just in case. I still had plenty of daylight and energy left and I was past the halfway mark.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Unfortunately, the NW wind which had been such a help up to that point now started blowing directly against me from just past C3 on the Guide Map for the remaining ~4.5 kms to Gosling Bay on Campbell Lake. I took another break there and went for a quick cooling off swim as Terry packed his boat up.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Lucky for me it wasn't blowing anything like the forecast 20 knots there, but it still made for much harder paddling for most of the remaining trip. Especially on Gosling Lake and most of all, for the final 5km of Mohun Lake back to my starting point.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There was just nothing for it but dig deep and paddle hard at a steady pace. Other than in the stronger gusts, I kept making slow but steady progress and I used every headland and every shoreline indentation I could find to reduce my exposure to the full brunt of the wind. It was hard work but manageable.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The steeper hill portage from Gosling Bay up to Gosling Lake was the last of the longer carries as there was only a few hundred meters each separating each of the the four remaining lakes; Gosling, Higgins, Lawrier and Mohun.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h3>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><u>
Lawier Lake; last one before the short portage to Mohun</u></span></h3>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">The wind was the strongest on Mohun as it had a good long fetch to build before it reached the south end where I put in for the last stretch. But it was only 5km more to go at that point and I still felt really strong so I just started paddling and except for one quick stretch break on a lovely little whitesand beach about 3/4 of the way, I didn't stop until my board nosed into the same beach I had left from that same morning- and what a great feeling that was!</span></span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">It had taken me 11 hours and 16 minutes, so faster than the 12-14 hours I had been prepared for.</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><u>
Finished- and still sunny outside. Pointing to my start and finish point on the map at the boat launch on Mohun Lake.</u></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Whether doing the the whole route or just a shorter section, there are lots of different options with all the logging road access points to most of the lakes. The lightness of the board makes it a lot easier for one person to carry over the portages than a canoe or a kayak- but you do need some kind of sling to go over your shoulder. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> As far as I know, I'm still the only person to have done the whole route on a SUP board- and this is a surprise to me as it's such a great way to explore this very special area of Vancouver Island.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> So I hope this blog posting will get out there and inspire someone else to pick up their board and paddle this very accessible circuit of lakes. Whether taking a day or a week, it is great paddling country to be out in.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Cheers, Paul Kendrick </span><br />
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Paul Kendrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301975219452955992noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813775922825944696.post-77874706452289543452013-04-07T12:10:00.001-07:002013-08-19T05:40:32.792-07:00Read Island- a 51km Easter egg hunt<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>The Ace-Tech Wing; all ready for overnight wilderness touring (pk photo)</strong><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">After about ten shorter outings in all kinds of weather from flatwater to a couple of big southeasters, I was more than ready to test my new board on it's first overnight trip- a circumnavigation of Read Island. Although I still really liked my 10' 6" Surf-Tech board, I knew that I was going to have to get a longer board with more flotation and more purpose designed for touring longer distances if I wanted to be able to do the kind of multi-day wilderness paddling trips I had been envisioning.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">I surfed the net checking out all the SUP sites, articles, videos, forums etc and finally settled on the 12' 6" 'Ace-Tech Wing' made by BIC. 'Great, now I just have to go buy one,' which should be easy- or so I thought. As it turns out, there isn't (yet!) any retail distributor for the BIC stand-up boards here on the west-coast of Canada, and so I couldn't buy one- at least not unless I wanted to get one on E-Bay or drive to REI in Seattle. I couldn't believe it, I wanted to support one of the local businesses by buying one close to home but that just wasn't possible. Well, there had to be a way- so I decided to go to the top with my plight. A long story and many e-mails later, I was off to Nanaimo to catch the ferry over to Vancouver to pick up the board I wanted in Vancouver. Many thanks to Jason Hilton, Steve Hare and Chris Decerbo from BIC who made it happen. And the 'Wing' is everything I hoped it would be- perfect for Vancouver Island based adventure paddle board touring.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">I caught the first ferry over to Quadra Island from Campbell River on March 29/13- 'Good Friday' and set off from Heriot Bay heading north up Hoskyn Channel after having decided to go clockwise around Read Island. I was concerned about the NW wind which was forecast to blow up to to 30 knots- but by going north first early in the morning, I hoped for lighter winds and then have it behind me in the afternoon if it did really get that strong. Fortunately, it didn't.</span><br />
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<u>Heriot Bay starting point at bottom left</u></h3>
<span style="font-size: small;">I was sheltered from the wind for the first 45 minutes or so which was nice. Still on the east side of Quadra, I saw some eagles on the shore in the distance- obviously feeding on something, and decided to have a closer look.</span><br />
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<u> Bald eagles enjoying rack of seal (pk photo)</u><br />
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I was unpleasantly surprised to find the eagles feeding on the remains of not one but three seals there- so not sure what the story behind that is but obviously not a happy one for the seals. The eagles were sure dining in style though- nothing was going to waste.<br />
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As I neared Conville Point, the northwesterly wind really began to make itself felt and paddling became harder work. I was really happy though with the way the pointed bow of the Wing cut through the waves and with how stable the board felt with the added weight of my overnight gear. Stable enough that I felt no concerns about falling in as I crossed the roughest stretch from Conville Point to Sheer Point on the west side of Read Island. This was a narrow spot so the wind was funnelled through there and kicked up the only real whitecaps I encountered on the whole trip. <br />
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To get a better plan future trips I was wearing wearing the Garmin 305 GPS watch that I used for running and this was a great little aid to have along. Even with the wind, I was still making about 5.3km an hour and that actually stayed quite constant for the whole trip- including water and snack stops, so I was pleased with that as it meant I should be able to make it all the way around with just one overnight stop.<br />
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After 2.5 hours of steady paddling, I decided to take a short water and Snickers bar break in the little cove tucked behind the south end of Surge Point as I knew the next stretch would be more exposed to the wind.<br />
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<u>Snickers stop behind Surge Point</u></h4>
<span style="font-size: small;">Re-energized, I rounded the point and crossed the open stretch on the opposite side of Surge Narrows and enjoyed a brief respite from the wind at the entrance to Whiterock Passage. </span><br />
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<h4>
<u> Entrance to |Whiterock Passage- dividing Read and Maurelle Islands</u></h4>
The tide was getting quite low by the time I was entering the passage and so I was able to just go slowly along through this short windless stretch and enjoy seeing some of the bottom flora and fauna through the clear water.<br />
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<u>Big sunstar- Whiterock Passage</u></h4>
<span style="font-size: small;">I could really relax and enjoy the day now because I was now turning east and once I was at the end of Whiterock Passage, I would then have the wind behind me. For March on the B.C. coast, it was developing into a really warm day and I was sweating in my farmer john wetsuit. Fortunately, there was still lots of water of water running in all the little seasonal creeks and runnels coming off the rock walls so I was able to keep well hydrated without going into the 2 litres of extra water I was carrying. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">I turned the corner at the end of the passage and decided to take full advantage of the NW wind that was now behind me and paddle on to what I knew was a great campsite at the end of Whale Passage across from Frederic Point. It was still early afternoon by the time I got there but after 34.6km in 6 1/2 hours of paddling, I was more than ready to stop- have something to eat, put my gear out to dry and soak up some sun. Amazing it was so warm and I was just in shorts and sunglasses. Just a week earlier I had been wearing a wool toque and full wetsuit paddling out of Kelsey Bay and it was so cold that I could only stay warm as long as I kept moving. </span><br />
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<u>Great camp spot. Bivi-sac, 2 lb down bag and the luxury of a full length Therma-rest.</u><br />
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I had a small fire that night and enjoyed 'a wee dram' of single malt- the Bowmore Doublewood, ahh.<br />
I was packed and off by 7:30 the next morning wanting to take advanatge of the still flooding tide and the NW wind for the long run down the east side of Read Island to Viner Point.<br />
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<u>East side of Quadra and Vancouver Island mountains - seen from the crossing just north of Viner Point to the Breton Islands to Heriot Bay</u></h4>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I could now see Heriot Bay in the distance and with it came thoughts of a big breakfast and COFFEE to look forward to. I was fortunate on this stretch also that the NW winds nver got anywhere near what had been forecast the day before. If they had, I would have had to beat my way much further up the west side of Read Island before crossing</span> <span style="font-size: small;">and that would have taken a great deal more time and energy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">I'd been going just over 3 hours and had done 16.5 km by the time I landed on the beach in front of the Heriot Bay Inn. So total distance was 50.96m km and total paddling time was 9 hours 35 minutes. No, I don't always keep such tabs on times and distances- but it's useful information for planning more ambitious adventures. And yes, Read Island could be done in a day- but I wouldn't find it as enjoyable. It was a great outing and I hope the first of many such trips now that spring has arrived. Hey, who knows- next time,I may even be able to find someone else who wants to do these kind of trips.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">No, I didn't find any Easter eggs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Paul Kendrick</span></td></tr>
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Paul Kendrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301975219452955992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813775922825944696.post-50074707598718024192013-04-07T09:34:00.003-07:002013-04-07T09:34:28.226-07:00Stand-up on the Salmon River <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><u>Darcy Wardrop- contemplating a highly technical section of the Salmon River :)</u> (pk photo)</strong><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"> This was about about as technical as it got on a great stand-up-paddle trip down the beautiful and aptly named 'Salmon River' in September 2012. It was a cooler day with some occassional drizzle but really nice conditions for this river- as in no wind. The problem with bright sunny weather in this area is that it often comes with strong northwesterly winds which blow up the river and can make for hard paddling especially as you near the estuary- not to mention the wind driven whitecaps once you get out in the open waters of Kelsey Bay .</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">The section of the Salmon River that Darcy and I paddled starts just above where the Salmon River and the White River join together in the beautiful Sayward Valley on Vancouver Island. The Sayward Junction is about a 45 minute drive north of Campbell River on Hwy 19. Turn left at the junction, cross over the Salmon River then left again on Hern Road and drive all the way to the end. A short trail leads from here to the put-in on the Salmon River. It is about a 16km paddle from here to the take-out at the boat launch spit on the left side of the Salmon River estuary. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>Junction of the Salmon and White River's- White on the right- and shortly before I 'splooshed' (Darcy Wardrop photo)</strong></td></tr>
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The put-in is just out of sight and around the bend to the left in the picture. There is a sandy beach and a really deep pool there- a popular swimming spot for the locals and visitors alike in the summer.<br />
Darcy made this section look so easy that, against my better judgement- I decided to try it too instead of wading across the White River and putting in again on the gravel bar to the right in the picture. This was what I had done when I had soloed the river the day before. <br />
(The problem on that day was while I had remembered my camera, I had forgotten to put the camera card back in it- so no pictures meant I felt compelled to do the river again- and this time Darcy came too.)<br />
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Well, I didn't find it so easy and got dumped in just where the water piles up against the rock wall just out of sight on the left. Glad I was wearing my wetsuit or else the rest of the paddle on that particular day would have been a little chilly. Not exactly the way I wanted to start out the day but I managed to keep my camera dry.<br />
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After a very dry August, the river levels were very low and the water crystal clear and jade green. There were several thousand pink salmon schooling in the river in the upper sections and we could see where they had been digging out big shallow pits in the gravel river bed called 'rudds' for spawning and depositing their eggs. Further down in the lower sections there were also numerous schools of much bigger salmon- coho I think, holding in the deeper pools.<br />
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There were also plenty of spawned out dead salmon on the bottom and along the river banks. The presence of all this food had attracted a lot of bald eagles and turkey vulures which we saw perched in the trees along the river banks as we descended. The day before, I had seen a good sized black bear come out of the bush looking for a salmon brunch about 150 feet from where I was passing by.<br />
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The Salmon River was very shallow in the low water conditions that we had, and this had caused me problems with my fin hitting the bottom which mean't I'd had to carry my board down some of the shallow riffle areas instead of just being able to run them as I'd done in my old ocean kayak years before.<br />
Fortunately, Darcy had come up with an ingenious solution to this problem by crafting two wooden fins for our boards which were about a foot long but only drew about 3 inches of water. These shallow draft fins enabled us to run several sections I hadn't been able to do the day before and also allowed us to do much quicker turns when needed. Yet because of their length, these plywood fins still worked well enough for paddling the longer, slower moving sections that make up most of the trip.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>A typical section of the scenic and easy paddling on the Salmon River (pk photo)</strong></td></tr>
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Darcy meandering down the Salmon River; lower slopes of Mt.Kusam in the background (pk photo) </h4>
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As the river winds it's way through the Sayward valley on it's way to the ocean, we did pass some farms and a handful of houses but for the most part, the Salmon River feels much more remote than it actually is. But having said that, this is still a very wild place and home to elk, black bear, deer and eagles. It is also part of what's included in the area known as 'north Vancouver Island' which contains one of the highest concentrations of cougars in the world. As with the bears, everyone around here has a cougar story or two to tell as well.<br />
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Herd of elk resting in a field along the Sayward Valley Road (pk photo)</h4>
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<h4>
The day before, I had paddled all the way out into the river estuary and then crossed to the end of the long spit where the small boat launch is. I tucked my board and paddle out of sight as best I could and then rode my mountain bike back the ~12 km or so to where I had parked my truck at the end of Hern Road. But on this day I got out on the rocky river bank just beneath the bridge over the river on the Sayward Valley Road. My bike was stashed just above so I left my board there and went back to get the truck while Darcy carried on the rest of the way to the estuary and take-out point. This bridge crossing would make for a good alternative takeout if the westerly wind was really blowing. </h4>
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If you go to <a href="http://www.sayward.ca/">www.sayward.ca</a> and open up the 'Outdoor Recreation' tab then click on 'Location,' this will bring up an excellent Google earth view of the whole valley and the river route from start to finish. </h4>
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A great outing in a very beautiful area.</h4>
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<h4>
Paul Kendrick</h4>
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Paul Kendrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301975219452955992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813775922825944696.post-6296758670161661062012-12-09T06:51:00.002-08:002018-05-20T14:46:00.687-07:00SUP'ing the Sayward Forest Canoe Circuit<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><u><b>
Goose Lake (Mohun North) July 2012 (looking towards the 1st portage ~3km further)</b></u></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I bought my board from Island Long Boards 3rd week of July and then was out on it almost every day or evening after that. Learning to paddle, improving my balance and technique and having a whole lot of fun doing so. At the same time, it was becoming obvious to me that I could do and wanted to do a whole lot more on this board than just going for short outings in a small area. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My first longer paddle was with Darcy and Scott and we went from Storey's Beach around Salmon Point and into Saratoga Beach. It wasn't a long paddle really, maybe 8 km's on a glass calm day. But it was long enough to give me a taste of leaving the harbour, to get out there so to speak. It was enough to let me know what kind of paddling I really wanted to do. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I began to look for something more challenging. Somehow, the idea of doing a solo paddle of the Sayward Forest Canoe Circuit began to really grow in my mind. I began to seriously look into it. No one I talked to had heard of anyone who had done it on a SUP board before- so that made the idea even more interesting. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(from Michel Gautier's guide book)</span></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">The Sayward Canoe Circuit is a chain of lakes in a roughly rectangular shape linked by narrow channels, creeks, swamps and portage trails. The whole loop is 48km long with 41 km of paddling and ~7km of portaging. The longest portage is 2.2 km and some are as short as 100m. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">Most people take 4-7 days to do the entire circuit and that would be a relaxed pace with plenty of time for exploring. My board was not big enough to carry more than a minimum of overnight gear so I planned to do the circuit in two days with one night camped out- two nights if I had to. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">I didn't take a tent or any cooking gear, no book to read and nothing to sip on in the evening. A minimum of clothes, bivi sac, my 2 lb 'Blue Kazoo' down bag and some ready to eat food. My one luxury was a full length therma-rest.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">I was going to have to cover a lot of ground on my first day and hope I wouldn't run into any problems I couldn't solve quickly and also hope I was not delayed by high winds on one of the big lakes on the way. This time around, I wouldn't have time for any side-trips. </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And so it was that I came to be standing on the shore of Mohun Lake a little after 7:00 a.m. on August 20/2012 all set to go.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw4-IV8atTSbXEIF3DT-ai8nPVkYLSU-oL9f8F0guov3nMpiGdmOyRB4854kYkamslkuKQbud-98hVH-A0NA3nv8eH-2XlOCsFFDlEk6YfPNdVbchBrZ2e1WwSpvPvq0Ts5preWTq8taE/s1600/Mohun;2km+to+go!.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" nea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw4-IV8atTSbXEIF3DT-ai8nPVkYLSU-oL9f8F0guov3nMpiGdmOyRB4854kYkamslkuKQbud-98hVH-A0NA3nv8eH-2XlOCsFFDlEk6YfPNdVbchBrZ2e1WwSpvPvq0Ts5preWTq8taE/s640/Mohun;2km+to+go!.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">My board set-up for the 2 day trip (Mohun Lake)</span></u></strong></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIK1tBi2V-gWJSwqekvUi-lkw1Tuhgrjdza5fZJwvzCBq3-dDXPcEE513iXyTZPb6hlJj4DyI5NFYVvzwZXDH9UXDnzqHGGw5hKlXMleX6iW1_0Q7aGbfvb4GnILbg00b7v2LfV-yFcTg/s1600/First+half.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" nea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIK1tBi2V-gWJSwqekvUi-lkw1Tuhgrjdza5fZJwvzCBq3-dDXPcEE513iXyTZPb6hlJj4DyI5NFYVvzwZXDH9UXDnzqHGGw5hKlXMleX6iW1_0Q7aGbfvb4GnILbg00b7v2LfV-yFcTg/s640/First+half.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<strong><u>Map showing the first half of the route. I started at The Morton Lake Park boat launch</u></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It was a still and windless morning when I set off and no one else out there. Perfect. It's a really nice ~4.5 km paddle to the end of Goose Lake and the first portage. This took me almost exactly one hour. Because I had cached my overnight gear at the start of Amor Lake on a recce trip a few days earlier, I only had to do the 1.6km portage to Twin Lakes once carrying my board, paddle and a light day bag.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The portage trails for the whole route are in really excellent shape and most canoeists use some kind of set-up on wheels to pack everything across in one trip. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I plunked my board in at the start of the channel leading to Twin Lakes. It is quite open and clear water at the start but soon narrows down into some pretty thick vegetation soup.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVnRhA3ewwB_f-uzb6T3HLpRjrh3WKKKr7N_DJDXPTt_KsA7HbKgDEXkUZ6AWO1XLDBCH2IMz-g0PoTvlqry6hQYv-qE05LPqS-TutnDFVlAuWTEmEQsGX6L68UdoyKjxWl-zd62mKzfE/s1600/Swampto+TwinLakes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" nea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVnRhA3ewwB_f-uzb6T3HLpRjrh3WKKKr7N_DJDXPTt_KsA7HbKgDEXkUZ6AWO1XLDBCH2IMz-g0PoTvlqry6hQYv-qE05LPqS-TutnDFVlAuWTEmEQsGX6L68UdoyKjxWl-zd62mKzfE/s640/Swampto+TwinLakes.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><u><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This first shallow and more swampy part is one of the trickier sections on the whole route for SUP'ing</span></u></strong></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">T</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">his part is made challenging by having a fin on the underside of the board which catches both weed and the shallow bottom, plus there are three beaver dams to cross. You really don't want to get off your board going through here because there is very little to stand on that will support your weight. Even the shallow bottom is really just a layer and not really a bottom at all- as I found out the hard way when doing a recce of this section a few days earlier.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">By moving right up near the front of my board, I found that lifted the fin high enough out of the water that I could keep moving and only needed to step off on the beaver dams which are solid.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyTjdgCIIi8yEkrVPMDK338822hPYKLy9uIBzNgkVAOdo_1X9Sxayf0m8qq75MGrfF0AbiDw2pIheWxWNt76HchwXuvpfvzmmRNzYT2ESikUmWFn8APVOLBmYW8eoxESzEgh5hTR8Go50/s1600/nicer+partto+TwinLakes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" nea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyTjdgCIIi8yEkrVPMDK338822hPYKLy9uIBzNgkVAOdo_1X9Sxayf0m8qq75MGrfF0AbiDw2pIheWxWNt76HchwXuvpfvzmmRNzYT2ESikUmWFn8APVOLBmYW8eoxESzEgh5hTR8Go50/s640/nicer+partto+TwinLakes.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><u><b>Nicer part of the channel leading to Twin Lake</b></u></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Following along the shoreline on my left, it didn't take very long to cross Twin Lake and land at the small Forest Service campsite at the end of the lake. This site is accessible by road and is only 4km off Hwy 19.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The start of the .8 km portage to Amor Lake is about 50m left and on the other side of the logging road. Two hours after leaving the Morton Lake put-in, I dropped my board in the water at the start of Amor Lake. I picked up my cached overnight gear there. From now on, I would need to do the remaining portages twice to get everything moved.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Amor Lake is often touted as the most beautiful lake on the entire route. With it's many white sand beaches and small islets, I can see why. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Although I could see some of these tantalizing white sand beaches in the distance on my right, I didn't really have the time to go exploring over there, but I'll be back and spend more time at Amor Lake.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's a really nice 4 km paddle to a very short 100m portage leading to Surprise Lake. This is where I met the first people I'd seen, a party of four from the southern part of Vancouver Island. They were 'surprised' to see me and my unusual mode of travel. One of them took the picture below.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><u>Start of Surprise Lake</u></span> </strong></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's only a 1km paddle to the end of Surprise Lake and that marks the start of the longest portage on the circuit, 2.2 km leading to Brewster Lake. Much as I would have liked to socialize more with the canoeists, I couldn't linger if I wanted to be sure reaching my goal of being well past the halfway point in the circuit on the first day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I had read on one of the on-line forums about the Sayward Canoe Circuit that one could save a few minutes by following the logging road portion that parallels the second half of the portage trail. I decided to take this advice and it worked out well. I reached the end of the portage with my second load 4' 45" into the day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">No sign of the next lake, so I just headed down the bushed in creek and trusted I was going the right way.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><u>Start of creek leading to Brewster Lake</u></span></strong></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I really enjoyed these creek and channel sections of the circuit. Really interesting paddling and I never knew what would be coming up around the next turn. I just hoped it wouldn't be something like a mother bear and cubs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Coming out of the confines of the bushed in creek into the openness of Brewster Lake was one of the highlights of the whole trip for me. Mirror calm and silent. I just paddled slowly out into the immense stillness of this place.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><u>Start of Brewster Lake- a special place</u></span></strong></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The first few km's of the 5.5 km paddle to the far end of Brewster is really one of my favourite memories of the whole trip- just gliding along a blue silk surface of complete stillness. After such a beginning, I must admit to a temporary sag in my spirits, a jarring of my perceptions, a feeling of disappointment when I came within sight of a large cluster of boats, campers, trailers and RV's along the beaches near the far end of the lake. The easy road access to such portions of the route is somewhat of a mixed blessing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The guide said to portage around the log jam at the bridge trestle near the end of the lake. I decided to take a look at it first. I didn't really want to unpack my gear and carry everything over the short portage and re-pack again if I didn't have to. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I pushed and pried and nosed my way into and through the logjam without much trouble and was feeling quite proud of that accomplishment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Alas, that feeling only lasted a short time. It lasted right up to the moment I stepped off my board into the shallows a few feet from shore at the end of the lake and promptly plunged in up to my waist in really, <em>really</em> deep mud. It was like quicksand in that the more I moved, the deeper I sank. When I tried to use my paddle to push down against something solid, it sank in right up to the handle at the top- almost 80 inches without encountering anything. So it was well over my head and I'd certainly never been in mud that deep before.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I now had moved in a single moment from the sublime at one end of Brewster Lake along with the paddle mastery of the logjam to the frankly ridiculous Mr. Bean like situation at the other end. Fortunately, I had a firm grip on my board which provided the only means I had of getting out of this mess on my own in a reasonable amount of time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Otherwise, I <em>could</em> have been stuck there quite awhile. Even with my board, it was quite a struggle to make any progress-especially while trying not to lose my sandals in the process.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It would have been hard on the feet to do the rest of the circuit with no footwear. I had to first get a portion of my upper body onto the board before I could get the leverage to even try to extricate my lower body. Although solid ground was only 10-12 feet away, it felt like a mile in terms of the effort I had to make. It was exhausting work- and I was really, really glad I didn't have an audience. Although it would have made for a humorous video.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><u>Beware this place!!! The innocuous looking diabolical, bottomless mud-hole at the far end of Brewster Lake</u></span></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><u>Aftermath of the great mud battle.</u></span></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">I was thoroughly humbled, somewhat rattled and covered with mud by the time I finally pulled myself out of there. I got myself and board cleaned up as best I could while trying to reconnect with what little remained of my 'competent outdoorsman' ego. I then started a mixed section of creek paddling, short portages and hauling over beaver dams while making my way to Gray Lake.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";"></span><strong> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>Map showing the second half of the route.</u></span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I now felt good about my progress. I was clearly past the halfway point and there was plenty of daylight left. Thankfully, there were no further challenges of the mud pit kind and I made good time paddling and portaging the next three smaller lakes- Gray, Whymper and Fry. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDNBy6VPqf3X0LJbcriWRd6BDe1dTpem79eBo4yNhkkc0sQ1nP-uw_BenR5tmOqt63858RbKB5d8VZMygrkmAtDGIw3BcukMxChNFVADAA0sMpVxqza_GioKe8sJ6La3Jw2sYmM7pg2qg/s1600/Whymper+Lake.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" nea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDNBy6VPqf3X0LJbcriWRd6BDe1dTpem79eBo4yNhkkc0sQ1nP-uw_BenR5tmOqt63858RbKB5d8VZMygrkmAtDGIw3BcukMxChNFVADAA0sMpVxqza_GioKe8sJ6La3Jw2sYmM7pg2qg/s640/Whymper+Lake.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><strong><u>Whymper Lake</u></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">I </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">had been thinking about spending the night somewhere in this area but when I got to Fry Lake, it was RV and camper land again so after a snack stop at Fry Narrows, I kept paddling out into Campbell Lake.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">I had been on the go now for just over 9 hours and was further along the route than I'd hoped to be by the end of my first day. It was time to find a place to stop for the night. All the road accessible campsites along the shoreline had people and vehicles there, so I kept paddling on. There was no one at the one campsite with no road access ( C-1 on the map) so I landed there for the night; 9' 45" since leaving Morton Lake.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Oh yummy, a can of sardines for dinner- which actually tasted very good. Yes, I did have more than that. But there was no hot chocolate, no glass of fine Malbec to sip while watching the light of day's end slowly fade from the water's surface nor any special 'someone' to snuggle up with. Life was good all the same and life was simple. At least I wasn't still stuck in the mud pit. I was quite happy to be where I was. I did make a small fire in the pit there, as much to announce my presence to the herd of man-eating bears that my imagination was trying to create as to enjoy the warm companionship of the fire as the coolness of night came on and stars began to show.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">I slept in my bivi-sac on the beach. I woke up at some point during the night and looked up into a vast expanse of velvet black sky and a billion stars blazing overhead. Think Van </span>Gogh's<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;"> 'incredible painting, 'Starry Night.' The great sweep of stars above my little </span>bivi<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">-site at the water's edge that night was simply astounding. </span><em style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium;">Astounding! </em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">I lay on my back snuggled in my down bag, toque on my head and just gazed up into the infinite depths and distances of the Milky Way. I was filled with an amazement, reverence and wonder. beyond words. There it all was. Just where it is all the time. Patiently waiting for me to find a moment in my 'oh-so-busy' life to gaze up into the great and awesome mystery of it all. Where have I been and what could be so important that I haven't made time for that?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I woke up early the next morning, there was already a freshening breeze blowing on the lake and it was going in the direction I needed to go. Traveling so light, I was out of my sleeping bag, fed, packed and on my board in less than 15 minutes. Cool still, but warming enough to set out again wearing only sandals, shorts and a tech shirt.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was a really nice downwind run and took almost exactly one hour for the 5.8 km to Gosling Bay and the start of the next portage. This stretch could be hard work if a strong wind was coming from the other direction, but there were bays and headlands one could work with to still make progress.</span></span><br />
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<u><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"></span><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The downhill run on Campbell Lake to Gosling Bay</span></strong></span></u><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Just after landing at Gosling Bay, I had my only unpleasant human experience of the trip. Carrying my stuff up the dirt road through the campsite, a huge dog suddenly came charging out at me from the porch of an old RV. The dog looked to be a cross between a pit bull and a rottweiler. Big, black and aggressive. I stopped and fortunately for both of us, the dog stopped too. Perhaps it sensed my lack of fear due to the large canister of bear spray I had my hand on- ready for a quick draw if it came down to it. I did not want to get bitten.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">After sufficient barking and growling to wake everyone in the whole campsite up, the door of the RV opened and out came the owner. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">He had obviously just been woken up and looked about as friendly as his dog. 'Morning,' I said- in a tone keeping with the situation. 'Morning', he replied- obviously not a happy camper at that particular moment.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"I'm coming back in about 20 minutes to get my board," I told him. As in, 'Keep your f'nn dog under control!' He didn't say another word, just called his dog off and hauled it inside- slamming the door shut. I thought, 'What if instead of me, it was a small child who got up early and wandered down to look at the water?'</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was a steep hill climb up the road for a good portion of the 1.1 km portage leading to Gosling Lake where I dropped my gear. When I returned to get my board, I smiled with wicked delight at hearing the dog the RV go into another bout of frenzied barking- thinking of how nice that must sound to a grouchy man inside. No, I'm not proud of that sentiment- just human.</span></span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Start of Gosling Lake</span></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Gosling Lake is a narrow lake and about a 2.5 km paddle to the next portage. There's a small campsite on the left side about a third of the way down- marked Gs2 on the map. No RV access there. A short .2 km portage led to Higgins Lake.</span><br />
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<u><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><strong>The 'Water-Shield' garden paddling of Higgins Lake</strong></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Higgins Lake is small but beautiful- another place I'd like to return to with more time to spend there. Another short portage leads to Lawier Lake.</span></div>
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<strong><u>Lawier Lake</u></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Another short paddle, another short portage and then I launched a final time back on Mohun Lake now for the final ~5km paddle to my starting point of the day before, Morton Lake Park.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There was a stiff wind blowing straight into my face for the first ~3 km of this portion and it was the hardest paddling of the whole trip. I stuck as close to the righthand shoreline as possible, getting what little shelter I could from the wind and whitecaps. No pictures from here and somewhere along the way, my water bottle got washed out of it's bungie cords.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I just kept going- digging hard and repeating like a mantra, "Starbuck's! Starbuck's! Starbuck's!" The morning without a coffee to start with was beginning to catch up to me. The wind kindly relented and quite suddenly dropped right off for the last 2km to the end of my trip. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"What, no media scrum to greet me at the end of this historic journey!?" And I had my speech all prepared too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The section from my camp at C-1 to the the take-out at Morton Lake Park took only ~5 hours, so really- the circuit just took a day and a half.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A wonderful trip to do on a stand-up-paddleboard, I highly recommend it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>If you would like any further information about SUP'ing the 'Sayward Forest Canoe/SUP Circuit' feel free to contact me at </strong></span><a href="mailto:purepk@telus.net"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>purepk@telus.net</strong></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong> </strong></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><strong>Paul Kendrick </strong></span></div>
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Paul Kendrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301975219452955992noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813775922825944696.post-25409233907296978842012-11-12T21:12:00.001-08:002018-05-20T14:59:38.647-07:00A little iced SUP<u>Nov.12/12 </u><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So after yesterday's surf'n & burn at Storries Beach just south of Campbell River in southeaster, Darcy and I felt like something a little more mellow. A noon start from town with coffee and a portable lunch from McWoofald's, we headed up the highway going north. Taking the next left past the Menzies Mtn. logging road, we drove about 4km in and parked at the Twin Lakes forestry campsite. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The slushy snow along the roadside and on the logging road was a bit of a surprise but then it had felt quite cold the last few days and the top of Menzies hill was just high enough for some of Saturday's heavy rain to have turned into the white stuff. Even more surprising was the layer of ice on some sections of the lake. That was a new thing for us on our boards, so we sallied forth and poked our noses into it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Following through the broken up ice in the channel and now dressed in winter clothing and a farmer john wetsuit, I thought back to the last August when I had last come this way wearing only shorts, sandals and sunglasses. The Twin Lakes are part of the 48km Sayward Canoe Circuit and I had been passing through on my way to doing the first SUP of that beautiful chain of 12 lakes and linking portages.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Darcy Wardrop- breaking the ice/ PK photo</span></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">At first it was just a kind of mushy slush but then further in it became a little thicker. Darcy found he had to rock his board from side to side to break up enough ice to make room to get his paddle in and be able to make forward progress towards the next stretch of open water.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Heading towards the portage trail leading from Mohun Lake/ DW photo</span></strong></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When we got to the narrow channel that led to the portage trail there was enough water flow after the heavy rains and melting snow to have kept the ice from forming and progress became a little easier. At least until we ran into the first beaver dam.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Coming from an ocean kayaking background, both of us have now learned the hard (and actually quite quite funny) way that in freshwater- test what you step on to before commiting your full weight to it no matter how firm it looks. If not, you can end up to your waist in the mud in a second.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We found the beaver dams to be solid structures though, really well built- and about the only firm ground around through these marshy sections.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Darcy running his board up onto a flooded beaver dam and then hopping off to lift the board over/ PK photo</span></strong></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There were three such dams along the way with the biggest creating about a two foot drop on the return trip. We didn't get quite all the way to the Mohun portage trail as the last section looked to be all ice. The sharp edges of the ice were taking a toll on our wooden paddles so we decided we were happy with what we had done and turned around.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">On the way back, we went around the other side of the small island that divides the lake into two and came across a beaver lodge.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>Beaver Lodge</strong></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">All looked quiet around the lodge so perhaps the beavers were hibernating, watching a movie with a cup of tea or had headed south to the warm blue waters for the winter.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Another great SUP outing and further proof, <u>'There is no 'off-season.'</u></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Paul Kendrick</span>Paul Kendrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301975219452955992noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8813775922825944696.post-32586685946537998172012-11-11T09:59:00.001-08:002013-02-10T07:44:48.547-08:00Mitlenatch Island SUP<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><strong><u>Mitlenatch Island NW beach Oct.8/2012</u></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It was one of the very last days of this amazing ocean calm, this warm high pressure ridge. For me with my work schedule, it was also almost certainly the last chance I would have to try and paddle to Mitlenatch Island and back. I had all but resigned myself to the idea it would have to wait until 2013. Surely this weather couldn't last? But it did- and just long enough.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I checked the 4:00 a.m. marine forecasts- and conditions were perfect. There was no wind, no system, no squall anywhere that would affect the area and so I had my chance. I was filled with energy, couldn't wait to get on the water and paddled away from Salmon Point about 30 minutes before sunrise. There was the island way in the distance. I aimed my board for it and started paddling. The sea was calm but with a cool breeze behind me that helped me along for a short time but that wind dissipated shortly after sunrise. I warmed up with the sun and settled into a steady rhythm. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">According to my GPS watch, I was averaging about 10 minutes per kilometer. It also felt like I was getting a bit of a push from the flooding tide too.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This was a good thing because my Surf-Tech board is only 10' 6" long- so it's not the fastest board for this kind of longer distance paddling. I was glad I had my GPS so I knew for sure that I was making progress- even if Mitlenatch did not appear to be drawing any closer. I took a break after 1' 15" and sat on my board for a rest and a drink of water.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><u>Rest stop- just over halfway there- looks close but never seems to get closer</u></strong></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I was conscious of how at ease I felt compared to how I would have felt if I were in my kayak at this same point. In my kayak, I would have been stuck in one sitting position for the whole time and would not have been able to stand up, stretch, move around, lay down for awhile if I wanted to as I could do on my board- so physically I found it far better for my body. Mentally, I would have been more worried in my kayak and would have pushed hard until I got there. I wouldn't have enjoyed the open crossing nearly as much. Always in my mind would have been the mantra, 'Do not tip over!' Yes, not likely in these conditions and I would not have had much trouble getting back in my kayak but awareness of that vulnerability is always there- especially on solo trips. On my board, so what if I fell in? I was always tethered to my board and I'd just get back on it simple as that. No water to pump out, no such worries. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So I sat there in the morning sun completely relaxed and happy with my situation of being almost an hour's paddle away from the nearest land should something go wrong. But nothing would go wrong on this day- certainly not with the weather. I was the engine and then there was just the paddle, the board and an endless expanse of calm, sunlit sea. Life was simple. Life was good.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Another reson I was able to relax to the degree I did was that I had brought extra food, clothing and water in case I did have to spend the night on the island for some reason. I was carrrying a cell phone, a VHF radio, flares and a headlamp. I was wearing a farmer john wetsuit and friends knew where I was so I felt I'd covered all the bases a reasonable person could for such an adventure.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There were only two 'concerns' I had. One was the colony of sea-lions on the SW end of the island. It was mating season and the bulls were fighting. I'd been told this by my paddling friend and SUP mentor Darcy who had been the first one to do this trip on a SUP board a few weeks earlier. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Male sea lions are huge animals and have sometimes behaved aggressively towards kayakers- so it's best to avoid getting too close to them- especially in mating season. Fortunately, I knew where they were and so planned to go around the north end of the island and land on the east side instead. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My only other concern was transient killer whales- the mammal hunting kind. On a solo trip last May to Desolation Sound, I'd had what for me was a pretty scary encounter with a group of transient killer whales that ambushed me while actively hunting and later killed a seal (see my other blog for full account). On this trip so far from any land, I really did not want to get ambushed and 'checked out' again by a group of these whales, the largest mammal hunting predators on the planet- while I was out there alone on a tiny board. It was an unnerving experience- not at all like the friendly encounters with the fish eating 'resident' killer whales.</span><br />
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<strong>Here is a photo I took in Desolation Sound early September this year showing just how big these whales are when viewed from a kayak's perspective. This is a transient killer whale, one of a small pod of four - curious and checking out Roy and Marilyn.</strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was still about 3 kms away from the island when I began to hear the roaring and bellowing of the bull sea lions- they were that load. It was an awesome sound, a huge sound like that conjured up an image for me of two different prides of lions fighting over the same carcass. As Darcy had, I too ran into quite a strong current as I drew closer to the island. To keep myself on track, I lined up one of the features on the island with a prominent peak on the mainland in the background and angled my approach to keep those two points aligned so I didn't lose ground.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Plenty of seals on the north end- dozens of them and they were very curious and seemed more like a welcoming party than anything else- a dozen or so 'herding' me into the beach.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">By the time I pulled into the beach, the water was almost mirror calm and I was beginning to really feel the heat. I'd made it! </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><u>GPS watch- a great tool to have along</u></strong></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What a fantastic feeling! A major SUP goal accomplished and on the most beautiful day in the history of the universe.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I wasted no time in stripping off my wetsuit and booties. Now I could dig my thermos out and have that coffee I'd missed earlier. Ahh, now <em>that's</em> what I mean.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now in shorts and bare feet, I spent a really nice hour or so wandering about the island. There are many very special places in the world, but here on such a day on Mitlenatch Island on the west coast of British Columbia- there was no place on earth I would rather have been</span>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><u>Mitlenatch Island- looking east </u></strong></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> From where I was, the islands of Hernando, Cortes and Savary were all closer to reach than the paddle back to Salmon Point. Next year- with a longer touring board and camping gear, I'll just keep going.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But this time, I needed to think about paddling back. Yes, I could have spent several more hours there but I felt that same restless energy I used to feel when having reached the summit of a hard climb. I was only halfway, I still had to get safely back down- and in this case, I still had an 11.4 km paddle to do.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>The Volunteer Naturalist's Cabin/ Emergency shelter. The apple tree is on the left (pk photo)</strong></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I picked three ripe apples from the tree by the naturalist's hut to bring and share with Darcy and Darlene who were going to paddle out and meet me part way back, slipped my board back into the water, said goodbye to lovely Mitlenatch Island for this year and started the long paddle back.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The tide was still flooding and about 4 km on the way back my progress began to slow noticeably. That far out from a fixed reference, I probably wouldn't have noticed if it weren't for my GPS. If I'd waited until the tide changed and the ebb began, I would have had less of a workout. But this slowing didn't last too long before either the tide began to ease or I was out of the faster flow of it. I was getting really warm now so I stripped my wetsuit down to my waist and kept steadily paddling towards the point on the ridge near Mt. Washington that I'd picked out as a reference for the return while on the way to Mitlenatch.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I met up with Darcy and Darlene about 3 kms offshore and we sat out there on our boards in the sun drinking water and munching the apples I had brought back. Then, we began paddling back the last leg together- now motivated by the thought of a pub being there. Lunch and a cold beer in the sun-yes!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><u>Darcy and Darlene - who paddled out to greet me on the return</u></strong></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Those last few km's went by quite quickly and it was great to share that part of the return trip with Darcy who had been the one who inspired me to do it.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><u>Darlene and I toasting Mitlenatch</u></strong></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>If you go: </strong>Whether by kayak or on a stand up board, you need to really check the marine forecast before setting out. The trip to Mitlenatch is a serious and fully exposed 25 km return crossing from start to finish and not somewhere you want to be caught out in by rising winds. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fog can really be a serious issue as well and this frustrated an earlier attempt. As fog can come in very quickly, I think you really need to be carrying a GPS or compass.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Given it took me just over 2 hours to cover the 11.4 km to the NW beach, I was clearly getting some help from the flooding tide- and was working against that same current for part of the return trip- so tide times are worth noting.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The closest launch point to the island is the Salmon Point Resort which also just happens to be a pub- this can be very motivating on the return trip.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Eatmore bars are a great paddling fuel.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mitlenatch Island is a wildlife sanctuary- a park and no overnight camping on the island is permitted except in an emergencey. There are volunteer naturalists there from May until the end of September and they stay in a well-built driftwood hut with a woodstove.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>For the record: </strong>Darcy Wardrop did the first known SUP trip to Mitlenatch in September 2012 and this accomplishment was repeated a couple of weeks later by Scott _____. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mine was the 3rd known SUP trip there- and I think this will become a classic outing for the more adventurous stand-up paddler.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Paul Kendrick</span></strong><br />
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<br />Paul Kendrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11301975219452955992noreply@blogger.com1