It's been a dozen years since I was in the Gwaii Haanas, but I remember of few things to recommend. When we were there, we didn't have a lot of advice about campsites, etc, and consequently just found places along the way. Some of these were pretty rough. If you're comfortable sleeping in a hammock (and some are quite comfortable), there were many very "woodsy" or rocky campsites where that would have helped a lot. Also be sure to bring a tarp or two or three, since the islands can be quite rainy (if I recall, the driest month is typically June). We went in July and ran into some _nasty_ weather (like 10 inches of rain in less than 36 hours that was washing out fir trees 2 to 3 feet wide), so be prepared for anything ranging from Paradise to continuous storms. If you like fishing at all, there is (or at least was 12 years ago) some excellent salmon fishing. We had salmon pretty much every day. Our most successful technique was casting out buzzbombs, whether from shore or from our kayaks, whenever we saw a salmon jump--although we did catch one while trolling. We found that the bellies of the salmon were often _full_ of candle fish, but oddly they did't seem to be interested in candlefish-like lures. The buzzbombs worked like a charm, however. There was also plenty of cod, snapper, rock fish, etc; but we pretty passed them over in favor of the salmon. Also, be sure to visit some of the historic sites and read as much about the islands as you have time for in advance to give you a better perspective on the experience. When we visited, there were native caretakers who were full of fascinating details about the history of the islands. (It's nice to offer a gift of some sort in exchange for the information. We ended up giving away some of our salmon to the caretakers...). Lastly, and this will show just how green we were on this trip (this was my first multi-day kayak trip, by the way), be sure to bring a _real_ nautical chart. One of the people in our group was charge with bring a "map" of the area and that's exactly what he brought, i.e. a detailed land map intended mostly for hikers (or cars). Duh! Evan Dallas Woodinville, Washington James" <jimtibensky_at_fastmail.fm> wrote: >> Friends and I will be going to the Queen Charlottes to kayak the Gwaii Haanas National Park. Landing with our folding boats in Sandspit, does anyone have any advice as to the best way or ways to get to the park from there, things to see or avoid, names of friendly businesses or people who will accept shipment of stoves and food in advance, ANYTHING that will help make our trip better? None of has been there before nor do we know anyone who has. We're going from August 23 through September 8.>> *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
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