Friday, July 21, 2017

July 5, Gunboat Harbor to Kitson Island

Carl's stretch of the trip was rapidly approaching, but there were still adventures in store!

We had to fight an incoming tide on the morning of the 5th, passing to the West of Kennedy island to avoid messiness associated with Skeena River siltation and currents. Once past Kennedy, however, we caught a fast ebb that brought us Northward towards the Kitson Island recreation site, where we planned to camp. We covered a lot of mileage, and made it to Kitson after traversing some current-related turbulence North of Kennedy.

We were a little apprehensive as we approached Kitson; we could see several boats anchored off the beach of the South side of the island and we could hear loud music. We were met at the waterline by a beach-goer who told us that everyone else would be leaving except her and her family, presumably to allay any fears about noisy parties and the like. Probably a legitimate concern. As we unloaded our boats, a friendly but dazed young gentleman asked me if we had "paddled all the way around the island?" Presumably, he meant Kitson, which is no more than a few acres in size. I grumpily informed him that we had come about twenty miles that day, from the Gibson group.

After the afternoon party crowd had left, we had another visit from the family camping on the island, with an offer to share their fire. Ultimately, we wound up declining, as we were just starting to cook dinner and they were soon to bed. Just before our own bed time, we received another visit from a young couple out for an evening boat ride from town. Lots of questions about our trip, and a pleasant conversation, though it was a bit of a shock to run into so many people after several days with little conversation other than our own.

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