Friday, June 03, 2005
Hey Carrie, been back for a bit, thanks for asking. The trip was amazing; just me, a photographer and two guides. We had special permission to set up camp on an island in the Broken Group that is off limits to other paddlers. Given some of the other campsites already had upwards of 25 boats parked at them, having a spot to ourselves sure enhanced the experience.
Saw lots of eagles, quite a few rude, juvenile sea lions (it's never their fault when they almost run into you), some otters, and luckily a couple of humpback whales and a grey. The paddling was ummmmm, exciting. While we were out there, the region was hit by a train of low pressure troughs, one as low as 983. We were on the water for about 10 to 12 nautical miles a day, and managed to find some beautiful protected lagoons and channels to ride out the squalls - but there were a couple of crossings that were sphincter tightening. Had the pleassure of riding 2 - 3 metre swells, without losing my breakfast - once you get used to it, it's actually a lot of fun.
As for packing, our boats looked like little fat ducks on day one. We had two single and one double kayak filled with; 8 10 litre water bladders, a cooler, food bages for 5 days/3 meals/day, snacks, two burner propane stove and 5 pound tank, table, 3 tents, big-ass tarp, 2, 25 litre personal gear dry bags each, 4 sleeping bags, 4 super cushy thermarests and thermarest chairs - and some other stuff.
So much better than backpacking... I'm hooked.
Saw lots of eagles, quite a few rude, juvenile sea lions (it's never their fault when they almost run into you), some otters, and luckily a couple of humpback whales and a grey. The paddling was ummmmm, exciting. While we were out there, the region was hit by a train of low pressure troughs, one as low as 983. We were on the water for about 10 to 12 nautical miles a day, and managed to find some beautiful protected lagoons and channels to ride out the squalls - but there were a couple of crossings that were sphincter tightening. Had the pleassure of riding 2 - 3 metre swells, without losing my breakfast - once you get used to it, it's actually a lot of fun.
As for packing, our boats looked like little fat ducks on day one. We had two single and one double kayak filled with; 8 10 litre water bladders, a cooler, food bages for 5 days/3 meals/day, snacks, two burner propane stove and 5 pound tank, table, 3 tents, big-ass tarp, 2, 25 litre personal gear dry bags each, 4 sleeping bags, 4 super cushy thermarests and thermarest chairs - and some other stuff.
So much better than backpacking... I'm hooked.
