Broughton Archipelago Kayaking Trip

Hello MOJO family fans! 

This is a trip report for the Broughton Archipelago Marine Provincial Park, BC kayaking trip that Jason and I took in early June, without our kids.

The backstory...

In the winter, during the full lockdown of the pandemic, I was looking for a trip to take in the Spring/Summer that would be something to look forward to. I was working really hard toward a huge work goal that came to an end mid-April, and I wanted a reward. Also, my brother Tony turns 50 this year, and we wanted to celebrate in some way. Also, like everyone else, we have been stuck at home a lot in the last year+, and it felt exciting to be able to start getting out and adventuring.

In March, we booked a canoeing trip to the Bowron Lakes for early June, which is in the middle of BC. By early June, travel restrictions related to the pandemic remained, making that trip impossible...so we needed a plan B. Something closer to home. We were allowed to travel within our Vancouver Island travel region.

Tony: "Well, we could go kayaking with whales near Telegraph Cove."

Meggan: "ok" 

Vancouver Island. We live at the bottom in Victoria. The blue dot on the northeast coast is Telegraph Cove, BC.

The timing...

Did I mention that we moved house June 1? We took on the crazy real estate market and sold our family house this spring. So the way that schedules worked out, we moved in June 1 and we went on the trip June 5. It was the only time we could all get time away from work and, for us, time away from our elementary school girls. Tony ended up being in charge of all the logistics for this one because we were up to our eyeballs in boxes and trying to find the right gear was enough of a challenge.

The other amazing part was that my mom, "Nana," was kind enough to help us move into our new house, and then stay with the kids while Jason and I went out of town.

Saturday, June 5

Four of us: Tony, our buddy Sean, Jason and myself jumped in a car loaded with gear and 2 single kayaks and drove North on Vancouver Island from Victoria to Telegraph Cove (about 5.5 hours drive).

I haven't been North of Campbell River, BC in a long time and it is BEAUTIFUL! We saw a mama bear and two cubs cross the road just before we pulled into the cute village on the seaside. 

Tony had prearranged a rental of a double kayak for us, and it took some time to get our boats, load all of our gear in the pouring rain, fill up as many water bottles as we could, and load the very heavy / full boats into the water. I was relieved that our large blue plastic water container fit in our center hatch. We heard that there was no fresh water on any of the islands, so we would need to carry enough fresh water for 5 days. We were trying to give ourselves 5L each per day, so that ended up being a lot of water to lift on a heavy and sturdy double kayak.

Paddling out of town in the late afternoon was very peaceful - the water was calm, there was no wind, and we paddled south. We passed a few eagles and seals en route to Blinkhorn Peninsula Rec Site, where we camped for the night. The site was so-so. A few run-down tent pads and an old outhouse at the end of an overgrown trail did exist, but we opted to camp in a more open area where we could watch the water on either side. There was fresh water available, and mosquitoes were happy that we came to join their party.

Sunday, June 6

Tony used to be a paddling guide so he knows his stuff when it comes to tides, currents, kayak touring and weather. Jason and I were along for the ride on this one, and Tony was in charge of our timing. Currents in the area can be strong, and things can get gnarly if the weather or timing doesn't go well, so we were grateful for Tony's leadership. 

Sunday morning we woke early and packed up to push off, hoping to time things right so that we could cross Johnstone Straight toward Hanson Island and up the channel on its east side during slack tide. There was a little current and some waves to cope with, and I was glad we were in a sturdy double. Jason and I worked to learn to paddle together without any arguments, and Tony kept encouraging our pace and helped us ferry across the straight. I gave Tony a hard time about pushing our pace more than I wanted to do while on vacation, but he was right on, and we made it through the channel just in time. Tony was in a single boat that was pretty 'tippy', and it was a good thing he is a strong paddler as we went through some weird eddies and small whirlpools. I was pretty tired when we pulled over in a little cove of Hanson Island to see over 10 seals welcome us to our lunch spot. 

We had a good rest, food, got rained on, walked around the island a bit (which seemed to be a grazing area for sheep), and waited for the next slack tide timing. There was fresh water here also. We saw mink cruise along the beach from time to time, and watched an eagle try (unsuccessfully) to catch a mink for dinner.

After our break we paddled north a bit, and then at slack tide we started the next large crossing east toward Compton Island. We saw whales spout in the distance, which was very cool. The crossing was kind to us and went very smoothly without much hardship. We were headed toward Mound Island, but as we approached Compton Island, we noticed a beautiful white sandy beach that had excellent camping facilities, and decided to stay. The current coming in at the last minute was hard work, and Jason and I were really slow going anywhere for the last few minutes of the day. Thankfully the sun came out and we enjoyed laying out all of our wet gear on the beach to dry as we were able to relax. The island is actually First Nations land, but commercial groups often stay there on these lovely tent pads with an outhouse and a covered eating area. No commercial groups were out for the season yet, so we used the tent pads and enjoyed the sunsets from the beach. We even had weak cell service at the edge of the beach. I think we ended up kayaking about 20km that day, and it was tiring with some challenge to the timing, waves, current, etc. but overall I think we lucked out / timed it right because I bet it could be way harder on other days with other weather and timing. As Tony would say "we nailed it."

Mink here and there on the islands

Monday, June 7

We decided to stay for two nights at Compton Island and spend the day exploring the islands without having to move all of our gear. We paddled around and saw lots of wildlife. I especially enjoyed watching dolphins play in the wake of a boat in front of our kayaks. We also found a rope swing on one little island retreat and got out to play for a few minutes. We went to Ralph Island for lunch, and it was warm and sunny enough to have a quick dip in the ocean and play bocce ball before returning back. 

We heard there was good camping on Ralph island, but we were just there for lunch.

On our way back, we explored the camp site at Mound Island, which would be a lovely place to camp (room for 4-5 tents in the trees and well protected). I think we were close to another 20km of paddling today, but with flat water and no current issues at a much more chill pace.

We had a nice campfire hang out this evening and the rain held off until we were inside our tents for good. It POURED rain that night, and many many things were very damp from then on.

Tuesday, June 8

We packed up all of our very wet gear, and paddled out toward Flower Island. From there, we went east and inside the islands north toward our destination of Owl Island. The weather was kind to us throughout the day and our one larger crossing was successful. We saw a whale closer up and some more porpoises, a sea lion or two, and more eagles. It took us some time to decide where to camp on Owl Island. There was a less attractive option on the south side, but going around to the north side proved to be the way to do it. There was a lovely group site in the forest that could hold about 6-8 tents and had an open-air outhouse with a great view!

We spent the afternoon lounging in the sun on the beach and playing games and relaxing.

Wednesday, June 9

We decided to stay a second night at Owl Island and spend the day exploring the little islands all over the park. We heard and saw whales and more wildlife on our way to Dusky Cove on Bonwick Island. Our larger crossing went well and the wind and current were favourable again. Tony, once again, 'nailed it' in terms of timing and planning.

 

Watching whales...

Paddling all around the little islets and the colour of the water was lovely. The water was flat and it was fun to explore all the ins and outs of smaller islands. 

We stopped at Dusky Cove for lunch, but didn't find it too hospitable. There must have been better camping in another little cove we didn't find. We did see minimal fresh water, fresh bear tracks and fresh bear scat. 

This is where we had lunch. Perhaps another little nook nearby has better camping...

Our paddle back to Owl Island was also lovely, with a sprinkle of rain here and there. Tony and Sean caught some urchin to supplement our supper, so we taught ourselves how to prepare 'uni'... it was a fun experience but it wasn't my favorite taste.

Thursday, June 10

It rained again in the night and we packed up all of our wet things as the sun came out. 

Our destination of the day was Flower Island, where we had pre-scheduled a water taxi to pick us up and take us back. The weather and lack of wind made paddling on the west side of Swanson Island possible, and that was awesome because there was a lot of wildlife to enjoy along the way. Dolphins, porpoises, sea lions, seals, and whales were all around that day, and we didn't have to rush to get back.

Flower Island - a smal blue dot

We had time to relax on Flower Island watching dolphins and eating lunch before our boat came to pick us up. I was really impressed with the process for loading the kayaks on the boat and thankful my companions were strong enough to make that happen. Our boat captain, who ran grizzly bear tours in the summers up Knight Inlet, was fun to chat with as he drove us back to Telegraph Cove. The weather was changing, the winds were picking up, and the current and swell were starting to show their dark side. We were lucky to be exiting the park at this time before things became more challenging. 

We unloaded the water taxi and our gear, returned our double kayak, loaded up the car, and off we went!

We had an awesome dinner stop in Campbell River at a real restaurant (Beach Fire Brewing and Nosh House) with real people (not common for me since the beginning of the pandemic!), then home to Victoria for a clean shower and a soft bed before returning to the realities of family and household life the next morning.

If you get a chance to check out this amazing Marine Park, it was delightful!! Going early season worked out really well for us - we saw one other solo kayaker and a handful of small speedboats over the 5 days we were there. We are so lucky that my brother Tony had the skills and organization to make this happen, and appreciate being able to go out with him on this beautiful adventure.