Theme |
Kayaking Pacific Rim Park
TripMaster |
Cole Burton
MVP |
Ryan Strom
We keep getting better and better trips! This year was just awesome. Cole stepped up for his second round of organizing with a well orchestrated plan of kayaking in Pacific Rim National Park – the Broken Group.
We sorted gear at his house in Brentwood Bay and stayed the night. As we moved through Port Alberny the next day it started to rain. We hopped on a water Taxi across to Sechart Lodge where we got kitted out with our kayaks and started out. In the rain is never a great way to start, but with enough wine and cigars, we made it through a day and a half of being soaked to the bone. Day three we woke up to a sunny morning and couldn’t find a cloud in the sky through day 3 and day 4. Wicked way to round it out. We stayed on Gibraltar Island for 3 nights, with excursions first to Willis Island and then to the outer islands with a stop at Clarke Island. Incredible scenery and lots of wildlife, although we didn’t get to see the elusive whales, orcas and sea lions we were desperately seeking. We did manage to catch a glimpse of lots of seals, a couple of black bears and plenty of birds (including a close encounter with a bald eagle).
We ended the outing with a night around the fire with “Gord” (aka Garry) and his guitar at Sechart Lodge. Not a cheap taxi, but saved us a long haul paddle across what could have been some serious water.
Phenomenal trip Cole. Well done. Will be interesting to see how Ian tops it, because we know he’ll be shooting for the stars in 2016!
Enjoy the pics. Photo credits to just about everyone…. except Ian. He took 3 pictures, and they were all of himself…
Day 0
Getting revved up and ready.
Day 1
Put in at Sechart Lodge and make camp at Gibraltar Island
Day 2
Wake up, eat, drink, repeat. Finally get wetsuits on at 2pm.
Day 3
Wake up to sunshine and get rolling by 9. Circumnavigate the park.
Day 4
Back to Sechart Lodge
Day 5
Up early, back to the van and back to Cole’s. Ian, Mark and Large Jay head back to Ontario and Tolton and Ryan stick around one more night.
