Ellen
One of the benefits of basing out from Flower Island was that we got to do some day paddles in a light kayak. No packing up camp and making umpteen million treks to the kayak at low tide. It was so freeing to just get into the kayak and go! We packed a lunch of course and a change of clothes just in case, but otherwise, we were travelling light.We got to sleep in until 8:00 that morning since slack tide was not until 11:40. We had a simple breakfast of a muffin, which I heat up, and a banana and some peppermint tea, which we enjoyed out on the point. We spent a few hours watching the whales and reading, and then got ready for our day paddle.
We headed east hugging Swanson and Creasy Island as we made our way through Village Channel to the Indian Ruins on Village Island. We had a little trouble locating it; we nearly passed the cove, and even when we paddled into the cove, we thought it might not be it. We paddled a little further along into an area north of the ruins which was really quite pretty. We finally decided the first cove was the right place, so we took out and made our lunch there. We had salmon chowder and bread. While I was cooking, John brought me a surprise for dessert: some blackberries he'd picked along a trail to the ruins.
As for the ruins, they weren't much: just a big log on top of two upright logs. There were a few vertical poles that must have once been totems. The beach was covered in broken glass and ceramics (plates). I am not sure if that was meant to be a deterrent or what. It was definitely uninviting. After lunch, we quickly moved on.
We headed south toward Dead Point. There was another Indian ruin there, but not having been impressed by the first one, I suggested we paddle on. We took the southern route back to Flower through Indian Channel, tucking around the south end of Mound Island. It was a quite route back. We encountered quite a bit of current and a rip tide as we made our way back to Flower around the unnamed island right across from it. There were a couple of other paddlers in front of us who got carried right out into Blackfish Sound due to the current and rip tide. We steered hard for the shore of Swanson and avoided the sweep. I was a little disoriented as to where Flower was because the little island blocked our view of it. Once Flower came into view, it was still strange because at high tide, there is no beach on Flower.
We got back to camp in the late afternoon. I gathered the kitchen and dinner items and John helped me pack them out to the point. We had wheat crackers with "backpack bruschetta," some pinto grigio, and pistou (a French vegetable soup with pesto stirred in). We watched the whales and the sunset once again. When it was time to turn in, we watched an unexpectedly good movie, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. I slept quite well.
John watched the whales again--there is just a little spray in the distance, center, right up against the island in the distance.
As the sun began to set, everything was tinged golden.
John looked amazing in the evening light.
John
We slept in and enjoyed a lazy morning with breakfast on the rocks while listening and watching for the whales as the fog lifted. I liked this basing out idea. Slack wide was at 10:52 am and we had the kayak packed and ready to go by 10:30 am. The kayak was light with only survival gear and extra clothing and our lunch items. As we started east through West Passage, we encountered a strong ebb current, slight whirlpools, and a rip tide, all of which we paddled through to flat water. Thanks to our chart and GPS, we made the correct turn at Farewell Harbor Resort and continued on to Village Channel. We encountered a guide with a family in two doubles. They were viewing pictroglyghs on a rock wall hanging above the clean blue, green water.
Why did we encounter the strong current? We left with the slack tide. I asked the guide the question as we passed by the group and he was unable to answer the my question. I am guessing slack is early the further you are from Weynton Island, which is the measuring point for tides in the area.
We arrived at Meem Quam Leese ruins and paddled by it thinking what we were viewing was not the ruins as advertised. They weren't in the next cove either so we returned to the first cove and beach. That was at 12:38 pm. As Ellen made lunch, I walked up a trail to the ruins and got distracted by the numerous blackberries begging to be picked. I gathered two handfuls and headed to our lunch site and served them to the chef. She loved them. We left the ruins at 1:33 pm without exploring the site.
Our return paddle route was south toward Dead Point and west through Indian Channel which took us along the south shoreline of Mound Island. The water here was very well protected and the scenery was beautiful with the assorted trees on granite rocks that seem to hover above the clear water. As we paddled through the channel we could see huge granite boulders under us in the shallow water. We passed through a short, tight passage on Mound's west side and encountered a large tour group established at the campsite which overlooks the passage. Ellen said "hey" and got one response back. We rode the ebb current past Farewell Harbor Resort and into West Passage and caught a strong current which grabbed two of three singles that had glided in front of us from Swanson Island's shoreline. They ended up passing their campsite and had to paddle out of the current and back up West Passage to their site on Swanson Island. Ellen anticipated the strength of the current and steered us toward the Swanson Island shoreline before the current pulled us into Blackfish Sound. We arrived back at camp at 3:18 pm after a 14 mile easy paddle.
Our campsite companions arrived about an hour after our arrival. We were hoping to find that they had left Flower Island and moved on. They must have decided that the area was worth basing out from.
I followed as Ellen headed out to the point to make dinner.
Ellen enjoyed the sunset and the whales.
We just never got tired of seeing them!
Dinner and wine and whale watching on the west side completed the day for us. We returned to the tent to find a dampness inside. We had left all the vents open during the day. Still, we enjoyed the warmth of the bags and comfort of the mats and our movie. What a nice day! I think I enjoyed basing out.
We both got up sometime during the night to pee. We saw stars in the night sky and marine phosphorescence in the salt water. The waves lapping on the shore made them appear to dance up on the shore and back into the water. It was delightful to view. A first for us.
and green lines show our route back to Flower Island.
Summary: Start paddle to Indian ruins at 10:52 pm 4-8 mph
Arrived at ruins at 12:38 am 7.4 miles
Left ruins at 1:33 pm 4 mph
Arrived at campsite at 3:18 pm 3-5 mph 6.8 miles for a total 14.2 miles
Wine and dinner at 6 pm, movie at 9 pm
One pee break during the night.
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