Fri, Jul 26 2013, Sat, Jul 27 2013, Sun, Jul 28 2013, Mon, Jul 29 2013 - Broken Group Islands (Fully Guided) (View Original Event Details)
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We met in Ucluelet at Majestic Ocean Kayaking on Friday morning and made our way to Macoah for our launch. Our paddling group consisted of eight people: two from Brooklyn, two from Edmonton, two of us from Calgary, plus our guide Janna (a Conservation Biologist) and assistant guide Ben (a Recreation and Sport Management student who enjoys surfing and climbing). All of us seemed to be of the ‘explorer type’, always opting to scope out some more.
I was surprised at how quickly we got onto the water on our first day. The fog hadn’t quite lifted yet, and we set out at low tide, which meant that everything had to be carried quite a distance further to the water. Still, the kayaks were packed quickly (we were each allotted three dry bags: one 30L, one 20L, and one 5L) and we set out. Welcoming us to the Broken Group, the sun came out and we enjoyed lunch on Hand Island before continuing on to our campsite for the night, on Gibraltar Island. Gibraltar must have been out highlight for the day, for the campsite was like an adventure park for grown-ups: a couple of beaches, huge trees with vines dangling from them, some tucked away tent spots, loads of gnarly wood, and a typical west coast outhouse that was a real loo with a view and decorated in true west coast fashion – with ropes and buoys. I placed my tent with a direct view of the ocean. It was heaven, and reminded me very much of the West Coast Trail – just without the hiking. The kayaking was easy, no sore muscles or anything, though we still covered over 12km. We enjoyed a campfire on the beach, and the evening’s entertainment was the guys trying to build a fire ‘the primitive way’ – without matches or lighters. The wood was smoking and hot, but alas, no flame.
The first evening we also got our first visit from the Beach Keepers – members of the Tseshaht First Nations whose ancestors likely first lived on the islands some 5,000 years ago. They now have an agreement with Parks Canada to look after the islands, which are part of the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. They shared some of their rich history with us and over the coming days we ran into them a few more times as they patrolled the islands three times each day.
After dinner we had a group meeting to decide whether we would spend all three nights on Gibraltar Island or whether we would move campsites. Moving meant tearing down camp (more work), but it’s what we all opted for.
Our second day began with a wonderful ham, egg, and potato breakfast at 8am. Around 9am we were on the water, paddling around the eastern edge of Gibraltar where we saw some smaller sea caves and encountered seals, then made our way through the quiet waters around Dempster, Onion, and Mullins Islands, before stopping briefly at Dodd Island to retrieve a package. Lunch was on Willis Island. We had a good paddling pace going, so skirted around Lovett Island, past Owens Island, and landed at our campsite on Clarke Island mid-afternoon.
To say that Clarke Island is a paradise would be an understatement. We were in awe as we arrived on the pristine white sand beach, found tenting spots right along it, but on nice soft grass. We had some rocks to scramble up on and enjoy the views, we had massive driftwood logs to sit on, and of course another west coast outhouse in the jungle. As the small driftwood is starting to run low by this time of year, we kayaked over to Benson Island to collect some wood for the campfire on the beach. On day two we covered 19km.
Day three was more of an explorer day. In the morning we paddled along the east side of Clarke Island, across the Coaster Channel (perhaps an appropriate name as this is where we encountered higher swells) and stopped for a break on Cooper Island before having lunch back on Clarke Island. In the afternoon a few of us went for our ‘lumpy ride’, heading further to the outside of the islands where we encountered greater ocean swells around the south side of Benson. Lots of fun!
Before dinner three of us went across Clarke Island to get a little ‘hike’ in. At its widest, the island is about 800m across, so it didn’t take us long to reach the other shore. There we found some really grippy rock for some light scrambling and enjoyed a great viewpoint overlooking the ocean and a small cove. After dinner Ben entertained us with some didgeridoo sounds from a piece of kelp, and then we had a chocolate buffet around the campfire on the ocean. A beautiful way to wrap up the day.
On our last day we enjoyed a nice long and leisurely paddle back along Lovett Island, stopping
briefly at Dodd Island, heading across David Channel, and then and then having our final
lunch buffet on the Stopper Islands before returning to Macoah. In total we covered about 60-
65km through the Broken Group Islands. Great, great trip!