This trip was different. Instead of loading kayaks with tents and sleeping bags, we left them home. You see, we'll be staying for six days at Paddler's Inn in the heart of the Broughton Archipelago. Bruce - the owner of the resort provided for us with transportation as well. It will be a 2.5 hr water taxi drive from Port McNeill.
Twelve of us including our paddling equipment and eight kayaks fit nicely on his craft.
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Soon after casting off dock lines we entered a maze of fabulous islands and rocks:
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We run into a few humpback whales:
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A few days later, on the way back to Port McNeill, we had the opportunity to meet them and a pod of orcas as well.
Bruce's floating lodge is located in a tiny Simoom Sound, well sheltered from the wind and waves:
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Location of Paddler's Inn offers multitude of day trips' so for the next few days we paddled various bays, sounds, passages and groups of islands:
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One day Maddie and I run into a school of dolphins. Unfortunately my camera did not truly registered their somehow hectic activities. Later on, some other paddlers run into the same group.
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Just around the corner from Paddler's Inn is Echo Bay - years ago a very active logging and fishing community. Not much is left now (appart from six or so permanent residents):
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For few remaining Echo Bay residents typical form of transportation include a dinghy, fishing boat, sailing vessel, and a float plane:
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On the above picture is shown Billi Proctor's dock. Billi is a local environmental activist and a local museum curator.
Back to Bruce's floating resort. Normally, late afternoons was the time of arrival of paddlers from various paddling trips:
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Soon activities would start in the kitchen to prepare food for communal supper:
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In the meantime other paddlers would take it easy, be it in the kelp bed, or on the dock:
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Paddler's Inn offers a few hiking options, from the sunset point, to high cliffs, to lake trail. The last one offers many opportunities for mushroom hunters. Fortunately, our hiking group included a boletus expert, who declared that this one is not edible:
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All in all, it was an extremely enjoyable trip. Definitely, it is on my list for the next year.
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