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  1. #1
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    3 Nights in the Gulf Islands

    Did a 3-night trip through some of the Gulf Islands (adjacent to Vancouver Island) last week.
    Kayaktrip.jpg

    Started with a ferry trip from Tsawwassen to Saltspring Island. Was fortunate to see a pod of orca on the way:
    orca.jpg

    The Long Harbour was supposed to have a kayak launch that I had looked at online (map and photos) - a steep concrete ramp just outside the ferry terminal.What I hadn't seen or read was that the bottom did not go all the way to the water - the ramp ends at a set of steps. No way was I going to get a 17' kayak loaded for a 3-day trip down them... sigh.
    launch.jpg

    So, unpack the boat, lug everything down, then trundle the boat down on my homemade 'cart'.A good samaritan (also a paddler) happened by and offered to help me get it into the water, and I gratefully accepted.Floated the boat, reloaded it, wrestled into my drysuit, and I was off.

    My destination was Prevost Island - just a short distance away, and a fairly brief passage of open water. Since I was only getting on the water in the afternoon, I didn't want to travel too far, and the distance to Prevost was ideal.
    jamesbay.jpg

    The campsite at James Bay is a former orchard, planted in the 1800s. The trees are a little far apart for a hammock, but fortunately within the reach of the daisy-chain straps I had packed.
    hammock.jpg

    The island is home to a population of deer, who apparently consider the orchard their personal larder. They wander about, eating windfalls and leaves from the trees, with little regard for the humans transgressing in their dining room.
    deer.jpg

    One of the joys of kayak camping is the ability to bring a few extra items to increase comfort - in this case, my tree table, my helinox knock-off chair, and my bushbuddy wood stove, and a homemade cooler for frozen and fresh food.Steak cooked over applewood embers, anyone...? And still-cold beer....
    steak.jpg

    The next day was a 15+km trip to Portland Island, with 2 crossings. The first was across to Saltspring, and I used the Channel Islands in Captain Passage to ease the crossing. It's nice to be in closer reach of land should anything go wrong, and also to block the wakes of the large cruisers and ferries.
    On the way, a dolphin briefly crossed my bow, and a sea lion bull bobbed up surprisingly close. Man those things are huge!
    After rounding Beaver Point and it's lighthouse, another crossing - to Portland Island, but I had to wait out a large container ship. It, plus a few large cruising yachts made the water pretty choppy, but otherwise, wind and waves were minimal.
    The Arbutus Point, at the north tip of Portland island has a nice sandy beach to land at, and a great campsite with abundant trees for a hammock. I had the place to myself, and selected a site with a great view:
    arbutuspoint.jpg
    arbutus2.jpg

    I pretty much chilled out for the rest of the afternoon, and heated up some fried chicken from my cooler for dinner.
    The next day was a surprise - a stiff wind from the southeast had driven in smoke from wildfires in the U.S. My next destination - Rum Island, was no longer visible - in fact, I could barely see Moresby Island (on the left), so thick was it. And I wasn't crazy about paddling directly into that wind for 15k:
    smoke.jpg

    So I consulted my map, and decided just to head round to the south end of Portland, where there were two more campsites. I leisurely paddled around on the lee side of the island, and arrived at Shell Beach, a pretty small campground, but with no hammock-able trees.So I relaunched and went around to Princess Bay campground.
    Again - no trees at all! What to do?
    The site is adjacent to yet another orchard - this time planted by Hawaiian immigrants, of all things - in the 1880s. It was bordered with a rope 'fence', so I'm pretty sure it was off-limits for camping.
    So I snuck off to the far side of the orchard, where it bordered on the forest, and found an apple tree and a large smooth-barked tree (really need to bone up on my tree types as a hammocker). Despite a visit from Parks Canada maintenance workers, I managed to stay under the radar.
    stealth.jpg

    The next morning, it was time to head for the Swartz Bay ferry - but where was it? I had to launch by compass...
    compass.jpg

    Eventually, islands emerged from the smoke/fog, and I was also consulting Google maps on my phone. A bit unsettling, knowing that ferries ply that stretch of water, and neither of us could see each other - and I can't exactly get out of their path quickly...
    final.jpg

    But no problems. I landed at a dock adjacent to the terminal, and began trundling my boat up the long winding road to the ferry terminal, at which point, one of my wheels fell off! Somehow, the cotter pin had fallen out, and I couldn't find it... A bit of spare cord slipped throught the hole and knotted together, and melted with my lighter, held the rest of my way home.
    Last edited by kentmatt; 09-19-2020 at 00:02.

  2. #2
    Member
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    May 2018
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    S. TX
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    Townsend Big Guy
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    Kent:
    Which bridge hammock is that???
    Thanks
    Mike

  3. #3
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    Ridgerunner - single layer.

    (It looks a bit odd in the pic because the foot-end spreader was being used to support my tree-table)

  4. #4
    Member
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    That's why it looks so different----

  5. #5
    Senior Member twentybelow's Avatar
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    Nov 2007
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    south central missouri
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    Great trip, write up, and pictures. A few questions: What make and model kayak do you have? Does all your gear fit in the hatches or do you have to bungee some on the outside? Which dry suit do you use? Thanks for posting!

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by twentybelow View Post
    Great trip, write up, and pictures. A few questions: What make and model kayak do you have? Does all your gear fit in the hatches or do you have to bungee some on the outside? Which dry suit do you use? Thanks for posting!
    Kayak: WS Tsunami 165
    Drysuit: Level Six Orion

    All my gear fits inside.
    Front hatch: A Sea Line Tapered Bulkhead bag is really helpful. My quilt and sleeping clothes, buffs, socks and underwear go there. The hatch also fits my hammock, tarp, a Nemo Tensor Insulated pad, a dry bag of a few extra clothes, and another small one of electronics (kindle, headlamp, string lights, battery bank) .
    Day Hatch: 6l MSR dromedary bag, and a 4l milk jug (frozen). A few cans of beer, and some fresh food (bagged salad, fruit).
    Rear Hatch: a homemade cooler made from foam insulation board (14" long, octaganal) with 3 suppers (2 frozen, plus a fresh steak), 2 frozen french toast breakfasts, and a slab of ice at the bottom). A couple of cans of chili for lunches, and some dry food (noodles, potato flakes, oatmeal, etc).
    Helinox-knockoff chair, a tree table, cook kit, sandals, and a homemade 'cart' (2x4 with a v-notch, staps, and detachable wheels) goes at the very back.

  7. #7
    cougarmeat's Avatar
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    Aug 2012
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    Bend, OR
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    Kentmatt - great write up. I was around those waters last year (kayak: Mariner XL). Note that SaltSpring (Ganges Harbor) has a great Saturday Market if you can time your adventure so you are there on Sat (don’t know if it extends till Sunday). When on SaltSpring, we stayed at Mowhina Creek campsite. Our site had hammock posts. It’s a commercial site but I recall only a few dollars more than Ruckle Park - which was full.

    If you just need a shower, there is a public pool on Rainbow Road (SaltSpring) but the prices vary depending upon day and hour - like from $2.00 to $6.00. Also, it isn’t a “real” shower. It’s just that trickle of water you get from the “get wet before you get in" shower just as you enter the pool area. You have to push the water button about 20 times to keep it flowing for a decent cleaning (depending upon how long you’ve been out).

    I hope you got to sample some of the plums on Prevost. If you head to the left from the beach, there’s one tent side on a small rise and a short distance down that trail there are other hammock trees near, but not too near, the edge of a drop off to the water.

    Your mention of the shell beach is why I always carry a Plan-B - to go to ground - when kayaking. It’s either a small tent or I’d have a therm-a-rest pad and ground sheet. I put down the ground sheet, pad, then hammock and use collapsable poles to hold the tarp and provide a connection point for the hammock bug net to keep it off my face. Someday I’ll own a TENSA4.

    Thank you for giving the tree detail on Portland Island. Before COVID, that was going to be the next adventure (launching just south of the ferry terminal at Sidney). The shell beach would be closer from there, but now it sounds like that would be a lunch stop idea, then continue around to Arbutus Point.

    Last I heard, the well water was turned off at those parks but the compost toilets were open. Is that what you found? Also, one book said there was a path across the island, from shell beach to Arbutus Point. If so, a tired paddler could hike that while the more refreshed one could lash up a towing system and bring both boats around. Or, if I bring the cart with me, and there’s a mostly flat trail, I could just wheel it over.

    I’ve never been able to manage a loaded boat unless it’s in the water. I’ve always had to set the empty boat at the launch point, note if the tide was coming in or going out, then lay out a ground sheet and move the gear from the jeep to that, then to the boat (or directly from the car to the boat). If it’s an outgoing tide, make sure you keep pushing your kayak out. I hate it when, after the boat is fully loaded, the waterline is 15-20 ft away.
    Last edited by cougarmeat; 10-12-2020 at 18:21.
    In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.

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