July 6 and 7, To Prince Rupert

Sadly, my final day paddling with Carl.

The sixth was supposed to be a short day--only about 9 nautical miles-but turned into a bit of a grind due to strong contrary tides and wind. We also spent a fair bit of time worried about incoming cargo traffic; Rupert has several bulk cargo facilities, including a coal facility and a bunch of grain elevators, as well as a container port and a great deal of commercial and sport fishing traffic. Fun to listen to the harbor traffic on the VHF, but a little nerve-wracking, too. Wouldn't be much fun to end the leg in an unpleasant encounter with a bulker.

Sorry to see you go, Dr. Salk!

We made it to the Prince Rupert Rowing and Yacht Club by midafternoon. There, we were able to store our kayaks for about ten dollars/day, and store a few things temporarily as we made our way up to Prince Rupert's excellent youth hostel, the Cow Bay Pioneer Guesthouse. We had made a reservation the night before, from Kitson, where I was able to get a cell signal. This was the second time I had stayed at the hostel, the first time also with Carl, two years earlier, after our epic rail journey from Jasper. Certainly more enjoyable to arrive by Kayak. And given our experience with Via Rail Canada, possibly faster as well.

Once in Prince Rupert, we were able to connect up with Skeena Kayaking. Joe, the proprietor, had agreed to hold a package for me, and had expressed some interest in buying Carl's kayak. Ultimately, was able to grab my package and Carl got a fair price for his kayak. We also ate a few meals out, picked up a food box at the post office, and did some grocery shopping, among other errands. Carl also bought a ferry ticket back to Port Hardy, from whence he planned to take a bus back to Sidney. Happy to be in Prince Rupert, but sorry to see an end to a very enjoyable leg of the trip.

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.

July 4, Klewnuggit Inlet to Gunboat Harbor

Klewnuggit Inlet

Carl and I debated whether we would be within sight of the United States by the 4th of July--he thought it unlikely while I thought it possible. As it turns out, he was right (as usual). We made good progress on the 4th, making it out of Grenville Channel, and finding a campsite in the evening on Bloxam Island, in the Gibson Group, at a place called Gunboat Harbor. There, we found another nice beach campsite, but even if higher peaks in the coastal range inside the US might have been visible (unlikely), we couldn't see them because of overcast and fog.

That night, however, we were within sight of the very small community of Oona River, and close enough to Prince Rupert that I tried my cell phone (unsuccessfully) to see if we had reception. I was happy to be out of Grenville Channel (afraid of getting trapped by contrary winds) but had found the channel quite pretty; enjoyed the passage.

July 3, Grenville Channel Entrance to Klewnuggit Inlet

Looking up Grenville Channel

Another good mileage day with no real wind to speak of and favorable tides later on in the day.

Made good progress through very pretty Grenville Channel, seeing lots of Seiners, both Canadian and American, bound for Alaska. Made me feel more at home.

Made camp for the night at a known campsite just outside of Klewnuggit Inlet, more than halfway up Grenville Channel. Hoped to find upland sites (for softer ground and less worry about tides) but the only tent sites we could find were on the beach, though high enough to be well out of the way of the neaps we were experiencing.

Made one of our only fires of the trip (the only other one so far had been just north of Namu) in order to dispose of some trash, which was piling up by this time.

July 2, Kingcome Point to Grenville Channel

For the first time in several days, we faced contrary winds on the morning of the 2nd, making the crossing to Gribbell. Off the Southwestern-most point of Gribbell, though, we were able to turn slightly Northward, and the winds began to move from a more Southeasterly direction, probably due to the geography of the surrounding passages. For the next hour or two, we got a nice push from a tailwind, crossing to Gil Island.

We stopped on Gil for a break, which has nice beaches that would be good for camping, at least at neaps.

From there, we crossed over to the Eastern most reach of Pitt Island, just before the entrance to Grenville channel. Although Carl described these crossings as "tedious," I found them more enjoyable--the scenery is pretty (though admittedly it didn't change much all day) and I often enjoy the dynamism of the water.

Ultimately, passed by a known campsite on the Northern side of the entrance to Grenville channel and worked our way inside, where we found good beaches for camping at several points in the first several miles. We selected a likely location in the evening and set up the tent and tarp--we had gotten rain on and off all day and it seemed likely to continue.

July 1, Butedale to Kingcome Point

On the first, our increasingly ridiculous luck held, as overcast conditions kept the inflow winds at bay and allowed us to make our way out of Princess Royal Channel.

By this time, Emily had caught on to the fact that around 85% of my daily mental energy was being spent thinking about winds, tides, and currents. I suspect that this cognitive focus is coming through on these daily logs.

Carl and I both favored a shorter day; we were tired! But also felt that we should take advantage of the conditions we received to the extent possible.

A somewhat later start and an earlier stop than the prior several days put us just West of Kingcome Point, on the Northern end of Princess Royal Island. The landscape there was striking--the first time since Desolation Sound that I felt like we were in someplace that rivaled the beauty of Northern Southeast Alaska. Dramatic cliffs and high peaks, as well as the relatively open water of Wright sound to the West. It may have helped that the setting felt somewhat mysterious, with the peaks surrounding us drifting in and out of the fog.

We camped on a flat, mossy table over a cobble beach. Beautiful site, and a great end to a good day, topped off by whale sightings as we made camp.

June 30, Sarah Island to Butedale

For a third day, our unbelievable weather luck held. After a calm morning with favorable tides, the wind picked up from the South--this appeared to be a typical inflow pattern. We were able to make very good progress again, paddling all the way the the abandoned cannery at Butedale.

Well, not completely abandoned. We had a nice time chatting with the caretaker, who offered to rent us a room with wifi and running water. We opted to camp on the Butedale helipad instead, but he very kindly joined us for a fire before we turned in.

We were concerned that the inflow winds would continue the following day, but past Butedale, they would blow from the Northwest, making progress hard. But the weather forecast was for rain! With a low pressure ridge over the area, inflow winds would be unlikely, so we held our breath and didn't set an alarm, worn out after the previous several very productive but long days of paddling.

June 29, Jackson Passage to Sarah Island

Another day with favorable tides and winds. We caught the ebb through Jackson Passage to Finlayson Channel, where the tide soon turned and we caught an increasingly strong Southerly wind north. Passed by several possible campsites, as we felt like we should take advantage of the very favorable conditions while they lasted.

In the late afternoon, the wind died and we started to experience the turn of the tide well after we had passed Ohio Bay, our final known campsite for the day. We hoped to find a beach campsite, but couldn't find a spot that looked very comfortable, even after several stops in likely looking coves and peninsulas.

Feeling pretty desperate after an hour or two of campsite search, we approached the Northern end of Sarah island, determined to stop, but with only a single known campsite--several miles out of the way down Tolmie Channel--within striking distance. While Carl checked out a possible site near the very Northern end of Sarah Island, I worked my way down the West side of the island for a few hundred yards, and found a nice beach with some potential. As a bonus, the strong Southerly we had experienced earlier had backed to the West and was now blowing strongly towards our newfound campsite, keeping the black flies at bay! This would not be a site that would work at spring tides, by under the circumstances, it was about the perfect location for us. Carl managed to engineer a great tent site by moving some driftwood and raking some gravel into a flat pad.


I don't remember what we cooked for dinner that night, but I do remember watching a beautiful sunset. Because the day had been so successful, I only can imagine that we finished it off by making breakfast burritos, my favorite camp meal.

June 28, Denniston Point to Jackson Passage

Another mostly uneventful day with good mileage. Left Denniston Point on an ebb tide an got a good push, with little resistance from winds. Caught the flood as we turned the corner to work our way through a narrow series of passages into Mathieson Channel and rode the flood most of the way to the East entrance to Jackson Passage. Carl especially really enjoyed paddling through narrow, shallow passages hard to transit in other kinds of vessels.

Found a nice campsite with an upland tent site and a nice beach landing. Had some neighbors as the cove at the East end of Jackson Passage is also a popular anchorage for motor and sail vessels. Thought about continuing further, but we were unsure of finding further campsites for several miles, so decided to call it around six.

June 27, Shearwater to Denniston Point

Had a good breakfast in Shearwater, then headed out around 11. Packing kayaks from a float always takes a long time, but we got it done and made good progress into Seaforth Channel. Camped after a dozen miles or so near Denniston Point, a good site with a gravel beach and upland camping.