July 27, Grand Point to Point Walpole

Another good mileage day, despite somewhat contrary tides. After a typically late start paddled down the remainder of Sumner Strait to Fanshaw Point, then turned North into Stephens Passage. Not much of note except for indecisive weather--it couldn't decide whether it wanted to rain or be sunny, making it difficult for me to decide what hat to wear and whether I wanted to wear sunglasses or not. The paddling was relatively fast, even though tides were against me most of the day and a predicted afternoon tailwind failed to materialize.

In the late afternoon, I took a break at the back of Fanshaw Bay for a snack and explored some of the site of a long-abandoned cannery; little remains, but interesting to see how quickly the forest has taken over what must have been a busy settlement forty or fifty years ago.

My preferred daily paddling rhythm is a late afternoon start, a few relatively short breaks during the day, a break during which I eat and maybe cook dinner, then a few more hours of paddling before a relatively late stop (often 8:30 or 9) to make camp. My paddling partners generally prefer a more conventional schedule, so I usually follow along; typically, a slightly earlier start and earlier finish, with dinner in camp in the evening, but paddling alone (and also with Emily, who shares my preferences), dinner on the fly is the norm. In this case, I took a short break on a gravel beach on Foot Island to eat (didn't seem like a good place to camp anyways), then paddled on to Point Walpole, on a small island, unnamed on my chart (Walpole I?) with a beautiful gravel and clamshell beach, good upland camping and a lovely view in several directions. I paddled along with a pod of feeding humpback whales for the last several miles, and they also spent the whole night feeding in the area near camp--I could hear them spouting all night long.