Author: wall2wallblue

I’ve decided to paddle straight down the east side of the channel so that I can get farther along the shore than yesterday.  I want to see what’s behind that last headland.  The seas were flat calm, and the current was with me, which made for easy paddling. 

When I finally rounded the last point, I was pleasantly surprised by the beauty of this small cove.  I paddled toward a little stream at the head. 

 

 

As I looked for the best vantage point, I spotted movement on the rocks.  A mink was scurrying about looking for breakfast.

 

 

 

 

He was curious about me, but not enough to let me ruin his breakfast plans.  This is my closest encounter with a mink. 

When I heard the call of loons, I turned around and discovered this beautiful pair of Red Throated Loons. 

 

 

 

I’d been gone for over two hours, and that wind was bound to come up soon.  Time to head for the boat.  I did, however, stop long enough to get a shot of these sea stars.

 

 

When I got back to the boat, I noticed that the crab trap had been pulled.  I was delighted to find that Al had caught seven big guys!

 

While I’d been gone, Al had been enjoying watching the four hummingbirds that have been feeding non-stop at our feeder.  They’re going to miss us when we’re gone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a beautiful day for paddling.  The skies are overcast keeping it cool, and the seas are flat calm. 

I headed down the west shore, toward Spiller Channel, checking out the shoreline, hoping to find a mink.  I found a mink on this shore last year and was hoping to get lucky again.  I paddled for about an hour without one photo op.  So, I paddled across the channel to the east shore. 

It was getting near low tide, exposing a lot of the pretty sea stars.

 

 

I continued around another point and spotted a little cove that looked interesting.  As I got closer, I spotted some movement onshore.  It was a mink!  He hung around just long enough for me to get this one shot.

 

As soon as I got the shot, I heard loons calling.  When I turned around, there sat two juvenile  Loons.

 

 

I felt the first puffs of wind and decided I’d better head back to the boat.  I’d ventured a little farther than I intended, so I had probably an hour-and-a half of paddling ahead of me. 

As I finally rounded the last point, I spotted Jubilación and decided to take one last photo for the day.

 

 

I saw that Al had set our crab trap while I was gone.  We’ve never done real well crabbing here, but you never know.

 

 

 

 

 

Spiller Channel can get ugly, so we got a fairly early start for Nash Narrows, where we hope to catch some more Dungeness crabs.  We had smooth seas all the way, but it was a bit foggy and rainy.

As usual, there was no one anchored at Nash, which is one of the reasons we like it here.  It’s also very beautiful.  I spotted an eagle being harassed by crows on the beach.

 

And, there are hummingbirds here.  We’d only had the feeder up about 30 minutes before we had our first hummer.

 

 

There still isn’t space available in the marina, so we decided to put our dinghy in the water, so that we could go in to do the laundry while we waited for the barge to arrive with the fresh produce.

When we got to the laundromat, I found that they would do my laundry for me for $20.  Heck of a deal.  I figured it would cost me way more than that to do it myself. 

When we checked out the store, we learned that the barge wouldn’t be arriving for another day because of some sort of difficulty.  So, we picked up what we could and figured we’d have to wait until we got to Klemtu for the rest.

After picking up our laundry at 1330 hrs, we headed for Roger’s Cove in Troup Narrows, where we spent the night.

 

 

Al called Shearwater Marina for a reservation yesterday and was told to be there at 1100 hrs and there might be a spot for us.   So, after a leisurely breakfast, we pulled the anchor and headed for Shearwater.  When we contacted the marina again on VHF, we were told that there weren’t any openings in the marina, but we could tie up on the breakwater until space became available.  The fresh produce is expected to come in on the barge tomorrow, and we can’t leave here without some fresh produce and dairy products,  and we need to do laundry, so we tied up on the breakwater, waiting for a spot in the marina.

Fortunately, there was free WiFi, so I was able to get one day posted to my blog.  The WiFi was so slow, however, that it took about twelve hours to finally get it uploaded. 

At 1700 hrs, Al called Kristoff, the wharfinger again, to see if there was any space available.  He said there was still nothing open.  So, we spent the night on the breakwater.

There’s a fine mist falling when I start paddling this morning.  I was headed back to the creek  near the entrance to Kakushdish when I saw what I thought was a white plastic trash bag on the beach.  I went to investigate and found not a trash bag, but the jellyfish that I saw up the creek yesterday,  left high and dry by the extra low spring tide.  He’ll probably be fine when the tide comes in to float him.  I

 

 

I spotted this immature eagle on the opposite shore, feeding on something. 

 

 

 

 

And then I spotted a momma Merganser and her brood out for a morning paddle.

 

Unfortunately,  she spotted me, and the chase was on.  I quickly paddled to gain a position with the sun behind me.

 

 

She countered with a fake maneuver that had me paddling like crazy to get that sun behind me again. 

 

 

Pretty soon the little guys were getting tired, so they decided to hitch a ride on mom’s back.

 

 

 

 

Mom decided to put it in “R” for race.  They had me.  Game over.  Out paddled again.

Because the tide was still pretty low, there wouldn’t be enough water for me to get very far up the creek, so I decided to head outside the entrance, toward Bella Bella to see what I could find.

 

 

I didn’t have to paddle very far before I came across these Sandhill Cranes on the beach.

 

 

 

 

 

My VHF radio came to life.  “When are you coming back?  I’m getting hungry.”  I suddenly realized that this is Sunday, the only day Al fixes a big breakfast.  I was a bit hungry myself, but I was over an hour from the boat, and I still hadn’t checked out the creek.  So, I told Al I he should go ahead and have breakfast without me. I’d warm mine up when I got there. 

When I got to the creek, I was fortunate enough to get a shot of these Sandhill Cranes before they got spooked and flew.

 

 

 

I also spotted this eagle looking for breakfast.

 

 

 

And, not too far away, there were other eagles.

 

 

 

 

 

This guy finally had enough of the paparazzi and was outta here.

 

 

When I got back to the boat, Al had fried me some ham and tater tots, so that all I had to do was fry my eggs and toast.  He’s so good to me.

At high tide, I decided to take a quick look at the creek at the head of Kakushdish.  Since it was such a high tide, I thought I might be able to get a lot farther up the creek.  Al said, “You’ve got one hour before dinner.”  So, I suited up and headed for the creek. 

The creek was a little wider, due to the higher tide, so I felt a little safer from any wolves or bears that might be lurking in the sedge grass.  However, when I got to the head of the creek I was really disappointed.  It didn’t look much better than yesterday.  Well, now I know.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have a spring tide today, so the tide is up pretty high when I set out paddling this morning. I decided to check out the creek at the head of Kakushdish. 

 

 

 

I didn’t get very far before I ran out of water.  Pretty soon my paddle was hitting bottom.  Time to turn around.

 

On my way back, I spotted the wolf viewing platform way up in a tree, which reminded me that I was paddling in water that probably wouldn’t even come up to a wolf’s belly, or slow a bear down one bit.  I paddled faster.

 

 

 

When I got into deeper water, I spotted this huge jellyfish near the surface.

 

By the time I got to the mouth of the creek, it was raining pretty good and the wind had picked up to about 15 knots, not very good paddling weather.  Time to head back to the boat.

 

 

 

 

It was raining when I headed for the river near the entrance to Kakushdish this morning.  Low tide made it impossible to get up the river at all.  I spotted these Sandhill Cranes feeding at the mouth of the river.

 

 

There were eagles in the trees, hoping to spot salmon that were waiting for the tide to change so they could make it up the river to spawn.  There seemed to be way more eagles than salmon this year. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We normally spend at least a week at Ocean Falls on our way north, but we’re running behind schedule this year, so we decided to head for Kakushdish this morning.  Conditions were perfect for traveling, and we made Kakushdish in three hours.  There were no boats in the anchorage….perfect.

 

The wind blew like stink yesterday, so I was up early this morning, hoping to get in a paddle before the wind came up. 

I headed for the Martin River in Martin Valley.  Last year there were a lot of big seals here to contend with, but this year there were only a couple that checked me out.

The sun was just coming up over the mountain, as I looked back at Ocean Falls.

 

 

 

 

I found a family of Canadian Honkers feeding near the river.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The wind was starting to come up, so I headed back toward the boat.  Along the way, I spotted this Steller’s Jay hopping along the shore looking for goodies.

 

 

 

 

This crow was feasting on some berries.

                           

 

 

I spotted some hydrangeas and foxglove growing wild on the hill.

 

                                

 

I thought this fluffy pink flower was interesting.  I’ll have to find out what it is.

 

 

 

I spotted a blue buoy among the rocks along the shore and went to investigate.  I’d never seen a buoy this color before.  Well, I discovered it wasn’t a buoy at all.  It was an exercise ball.  So, I invented “kayak water polo” nudging it all the way back to the boat…..fun!

 

 

Al was cleaning crabs when I got back.  He’d caught 5 beauties, and they were delicious.  (The chicken leg  is what Al used for bait).