Rodnak Kayak said:
Thunderseed, here is my take on one of my first trips to that neck of the woods..You will see the comments from a few other paddlers...
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=4340&p=57370&hilit=Blackberry+Point#p57370
Yeah the rock faces are indeed cool, maybe I just like "alien". We have run across quite a few seals in our travels, also cool, although some are indeed poisonous! :shock:
I think you had a tough go first time out... did you go without a sprayskirt? :shock:
Also, I did explore Shingle Point also, kind of cool history, and it is indeed a shame if it has been further vandalized. It did not seem so bad when I was there, a while back. One of my fave spots, although it can get a bit crowded, as it is so nice...
That is the Gulf Islands, and that is the less populated area, Saltspring, Wallace and Galliano (which I also loved) are a bit more crowded, but it is because it is so nice!
I am sure you will have better trips, as you gain confidence and experience. So try to stay away from Portland Island, Darcy Island (see paddling locations, it is deemed to be haunted! :shock: As they are even nicer and therefore more people paddle there to enjoy them!
Do not give up on that part of the world! It is a gem to be treasured.
Remember, try to join us for the WCP Spring Campout next April on Portland, as usual to meet all of us curmudgeons
Well done, for a first adventure. I am sure your next report will sound more positive, as you gain more experience, and bring more sunblock!
Thank you very much for the encouragment. What do you mean by seals being poisonous? Like actually poisionous if you touch them?
Yeah I went without a sprayskirt, not a big deal. It would be if it was cold out. I've ordered one so I can go paddling in colder weather though, because man did my kayak ever get swamped sometimes, especailly kayaking in the conditions I went through.
At least my kayak stopped doing that annoying thing where it was turning all the time before.
Yeah the destroyed tombs are very sad. I liked Saltspring, Galiano, and Wallace, did not like Decourcy at all. Granted, I didn't stay there long, so I didn't really get to see all over the island. A few locals I talkted to by the cut said they didn't have rat infestations there but it is pretty notoriously known for terrible mosquito clouds day and night. Galiano had 0 mosquitos.
D'arcy Island is one of my goals for when I get more experienced! I just love the morbid history of it. Lepers! How aweful, but it would be so intriguing to go see. I'm sure that would also be quite a thought provoking trip. I had no idea it was supposed to be haunted, but a friend from victoria said there's supposed to be burried treasure there? Or was that another island?
It's just such a long stretch and long paddle that I'd be afraid to do it anytime soon. That's a long ways.
You know, I also have injuries. I have a lower back injury and shoulder injuries so I can't do as much paddling as most people, although I guess I probably overdid it a little. The cool thing is my hammock really helped my back, 0 pain there during my entire trip. As soon as I stayed the nighta t my parent's, bam, the pain came back! So I'm even ordering a hammock to use inside my house.
Anyway, kind of sucks that D'arcy gets populated, maybe I'll save that one for a time of year that is cold, so that no one will be there. I like my privacy. I become very much like a hermit.
Don't know anything about the other places you mentioned.
My other goal is to go up the River in Farley Mowats book No Man's River. I might end up having to get another kayak to do that though. Hard shell, river kayak.
Then when I get even more experienced I want to make a very long trip into the arctic! Surely, I might die during that one
. I've always wanted to kayak along icebergs though.
Welll... I have given up on that part of the world, but there are many other parts of the world I'd like to explore. But I would prefer to see more... rural... parts of the world. I'd like to go somewhere where no one else is.
I don't think I'd ever be the type of person to explore the same place twice anyway, I want to see new things. And it's just not at all what I was expecting. When I read the gulf islands book, it made it sound like it was still a wilderness, but it's really not. There are houses everywhere, it's like camping in someones backyard, but it still happens to be just rural enough that you could die out there and nobody would know, yet you can still hear ambulances and vehicle traffic from Wallace, and besides the seals, the only wildlife there are things you can also find in your backyard at home in the city. I liked seeing lots of seals though.
I'd prefer to see bears, wolves, cougars, elk, mountain goats, whales and porpoises.
To each his own. I guess a lot of people here like that, but I would much rather prefer going somewhere where there are no houses or other people at all.
Yeah, I'm sure as I get more experienced my trips will be better and better.
Or they might get worse LOL. As I get more comfortable, I might do even more dangerous things.