Dallas Island to Gale Passage entrance: Sept 4, 2018

A blind fog this morning as we crossed from Dallas Island to Lady Douglas/Salal Island.

We weren't sure which side of Clam Passage we'd arrived at, so we crawled eastward along the shore until we came upon a triangle symbol on a headland. Means "here's a passage"? OK, let's try it. As we went deeper and deeper into the inlet the water became more still — not a great sign — until we bumped into a dead end.

We'd ended up in Morris Bay (top right) instead of Clam Passage (top centre). Well, at least we now knew exactly where we were. Retreating back to Clam Passage we hit it in the nick of time. It was too shallow to paddle through at mid-tide and falling, but we could disembark and hand-float our boats over the shelly midden that gives it its name.

When paired up with her sister Dowager on the north side, Lady Douglas is a frump, but she shows her wild side to the south. The waves roar nicely as they crash into her reefs and rocks, and it was a ton of fun picking our way through the maze in the magical fog to find a spot for a mid-morning snack and to take a bearing for Cecelia Island.

We needn't have bothered with the bearing: by the time we were ready to launch again the morning fog had cleared and it was a clear shot across the channel and easy paddling through low swell to the Ivory Island lighthouse — cute as a button. As we floated in the lee of Ivory Island, rising and falling on the swell, we contemplated a shore break here to find the trail that crosses the island, but we decided to take advantage while the weather was good for crossing busy Seaforth Channel.

It was an uneventful crossing, with no wind, mild swell, and not a terrible amount of shipping traffic. We tucked into Gale Passage and got stymied by a sandbar until we figured out that the channel was clear to the east.

Stick to the east shore of Gale at mid-to-low tides.

The wind began to kick up as we landed at the site of the Heiltsuk cabin. The landing was on moderate cobble and would be easy at all tides. This cabin would have been in better nick than the one at Cockle Bay — except it had been stove in by a fallen tree.

There were multiple excellent tent sites here, plus a picnic table and an outhouse in good repair. a fine spot to spend an afternoon and the night. After a nap (!) in the semi-sun and getting the tent set up and all, we spent some time with the charts plotting our next moves. We decided to cut Calvert off in favour of Goose, plus taking some extra time to spend two nights in one spot and minimize setup and teardown.

We tramped to the river via bushwhacking overland. The estuary was grotty, and the water was cedar tea.

 Lots of bear sign around here, so hanging food is a must.

Your author demonstrates the correct posture for huckleberry picking

We couldn't find a good spot to fill up on water here. We had plenty for now, but would have to fill up before we crossed to the McMullin and Goose groups. I'd been told the sunsets at this location were spectacular, but we didn't get any action in that regard. However, it was a perfect place to spend an evening, with high slack at sundown.

Dallas Island to Gale Passage north entrance, Sept 4, 2018: 20 km