Brad said: >Weak paddlers with decent judgement wanting to paddle open waters in the middle of nowhere sounds like a big fat contradiction in terms. Also sounds like potential trouble. What if the wind suddenly blows in the wrong direction, say towards Okinawa?.< The current would eventually dump them back on the island. Ahh, everybody eventually returns to Vancouver Island :-) As far as appropriate advise, all one can do is give entry level paddlers good objective information and explain your rational for either recommending or not recommending a particular trip. There will always be reservations, even for paddling Puget Sound. I've been to South Brooks enough times over 20 years to know it can be very calm in their during July and August especially, stinking hot -- and full of kayakers, canoeists, and zodiac boaters. The biggest challenge is finding camping spots. That's why I tend to avoid the area now, except to blow by in transit when heading north or south. >From Clerk Point to Jackobson is basically a write off -- too much rocky foreshore, no camping. Jackobson Point is utterly wonderful, with sweeping beaches and ideal camping. Just be prepared for lots of man-made seasonal furniture and log structures. Not sure if that is due to locals, visitors, or the crew from Spring Island. I'll still take North Brooks to Cape Scott any day for challenging, pristine seascape and solitude (solotude, as I call it). You can also do a fair bit of hiking along the eastern Brooks shoreline. My 1982 guide book says this area is "never crowded." Hah. Not these days. One paddler reported a wedding taking place around there recently. The Nasparti Inlet and Johnson Lagoon area are interesting I suppose. Reversing tidal falls further up, with ducks n' geese here and there. A canoe is ideal up here. Bears tend to be a bit undeterred by humans. A water taxi trip from Fair Harbour to a drop off at Johnson Lagoon would be a great trip in terms off a paddle back for a group big enough to split the cost to a reasonable amount. I guess Acous Peninsula is definitely worth a full visit, with sea mammal rookeries off the coast, lots of First Nation evidence, and some awesome beaches and streams with evening and morning sun. Some idiots still can't seem to keep their paws of the artifacts in the general vicinity. Sad but true. This is one area I perhaps blow by too quickly, but I'm usually in a hurry to get to Kyuquot Village for a burger, then on to the Barrier Islands where the reef's churn the water and my crank. Bunsby Islands are great in the shoulder season, but that's no time for novices. Paddled earlier in the morning, there are usually no problems. It's dead flat calm in behind them, up against Vancouver Island. While the area is perhaps a bit more than a "day trip," it is generally considered a good area for paddlers with moderate kayaking skills. Other than the 5 to 6 mile open section previously discussed, Kyuquot Sound is generally considered relatively sheltered. I'd say this area best suits paddlers bent on fishing, photography, and wildlife viewing; and paddlers who like to take their time soaking up an area, just relaxing, journaling, reading, rejuvenating, and being mellow. Perhaps I'll have to try that sometime. Doug Lloyd Victoria BC ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ "Whatever can be said at all can be said clearly and whatever cannot be said clearly should not be said at all." Ludwig Wittgenstein ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Jun 11 2003 - 23:54:02 PDT
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