aubade: Klemtu to Dallas Island: Sept 2, 2018

After a night of intermittent downpours, we were more glad than ever of our inadvertent "hotel" of the first night. Kamila laid out the cup-a-soups and candy that would sustain her for six weeks.

It took a fair bit of bumbling to get our kayaks and gear down the rough "path" to the "launch" — a jumble of rock underneath the ferry dock.

The tide was falling and the current was racing north through Klemtu Passage. The creek by the launch site, last night just a trickle, was now a torrent after last night's heavy rain. A patch of sunlight over Oscar Passage gave us a beacon to aim for.

Sun over Oscar

As we were packing, a deer buck swam by. That's something none of us had ever seen before. Deer aren't bad swimmers, it turns out. After much too long a fuss, we were ready to go by about 9:30. We said farewell to Kamila and shoved off south while she headed north.

Klemtu Passage was flat and calm. We paused for a quick in-boat snack by the Stockade Islets, which appear to be burial islands. A whale blew in the distance but we didn't see him. Finlayson channel was mild as we crossed over to Nowish Island, where we stopped for lunch in the big bay. We found a nice sunny spot to pull out.

However calm it had been, we exited the bay at 12:30 to a raging headwind — the curse of the afternoon. Paddling became a heavy struggle. We were fighting both wind and current, and the seas were very confused and choppy at the mouth of Oscar Passage. Near the northwest corner of Dowager Island, we saw our first (and only) humpback of the trip, who gave us a pretty good show of flipper and tail. By the time we saw him, we were averaging about 3 km/h while paddling harder than we ever had before — our usual easy cruising speed is about 6.5 km/h.

Looking back toward Cone Island

Jon silhouetted against Price Island in the far distance

Other kayakers have written unflatteringly about Milbanke Sound; let me join them in their dislike of this place. The distances are long, the features are few, the scenery is dull, I didn't like the weather, and — more to the point — I had underestimated it. Being significantly out of shape, I was grunting with every stroke as we clawed our way across Suzette Bay toward Keith Point, the westernmost point on Dowager Island. I needed a break; I wasn't going to make it all the way to Dallas Island without a rest and stretch. I hollered to Jon that we were going to turn east and hit the shore, but the wind absolutely would not let us turn that way — it was all we could do to maintain a southwesterly course.

At last we made land on a sandy pocket beach just around the corner from Keith Point. I was utterly spent and could hardly drag my kayak up onto the beach, but some food fuel, rest, and stretching put a bit of life back into me. We were eventually forced to set sail again as the rising tide ate up our little beach. As we rounded Keith Point we got our first taste of the Big Sea Energy we would find a lot of on this trip, the swell crashing on the shore relentlessly and a wild tang in the air. The approach to Dallas Island from the northwest was forbidding, with lots of jagged rocks like broken teeth guarding the entrance.

Dallas Island and approach

Once through the gauntlet of the reefs, though, the water north and west of Dallas Island was miraculously calm, and we cruised onto the sandy beach like we were on rails, greeted by a sea lion who obligingly took his leave when we arrived. Kayak Bill's campsite is marked with a float hanging in the trees, but there's no mistaking which beach to land on — it's big and enticingly situated. On the east you have the protection of the bay, and on the west the ocean throws all its might against the rocks, a breathtaking study in contrasts.

After the battering I'd taken, I wasn't on top of my game when it came to thinking about taking pictures that might capture some of the magic of this place, but it is magical. It gets sun at all hours of the day, a rare and welcome feature. Despite the lack of fresh water, it's obvious why Kayak Bill used it as a primary site. Jon and I immediately agreed to stay here two nights so we could properly enjoy it — and so we could rest up a bit after the first day's beating.