Journey North 6 — Studio DVW

6.24.23

Important things I ended up forgetting: toilet paper, wet wipes. Fortunately was given spare of both, though with the almost daily swims, the latter wasn’t often necessary.

Important things I am super psyched I brought: Thermacell for the evening mosquitos and power bank, so I could keep my phone charged and be the super greed lens monster.

I get a little crazy with good gear sometimes. The power bank was my favorite gear item on this trip. Very versatile in terms of input and output and has a solar panel on one side. The design is sleek too, easily visible and rounded corners so it doesn’t get hung up on other items. :)

Endless urchins! Also jellies, sea stars, sea cucumbers, and schools of salmon fry! All day, every day!

Mentally mark where the tide is and where the kayaks are…

Watchman abode. They left a note on the door that they were gone for a few days, so we did not get a tour.

We had a nice lunch, walk, and water retrieval.

Whale bones! Heavier than you’d think… Or lighter… Not sure, but both.

Poles tell stories.

Shells are used to mark trails and ‘do not enters.’

Longhouse. It was common to have little doors, where one had to bend down to enter. It was a sign of humility and also a statement of ‘I come in peace.’

Really nice outhouses at the Watchmen sites. A rare luxury out here in the wild.

Another rare luxury, not having to burn toilet paper after use!

Ravens waiting for us to leave our things, so they could try to rob us of our snacks.

They have an exceptional lexicon of vocalisms and were very pleasant to listen to. Though, some people found them annoying. I find it humorous when people are annoyed by wildlife.

Some poles have hollow backs and some are completely solid. I do not remember the reason for one of the other, but it is worth looking up.

Yay, skulls!

Moss will swallow you up whole if you are not careful!

900 year old Sitka Spruce. A very rare site in logging country.

Sometimes, the Haida would set aside very old trees as special ancestor trees and not use them.

Reminder, I am still reading The Golden Spruce while on this kayak trip. I think it is a good immersive practice to read books about the area in which one is traveling while one is traveling there.

Another deer moment

See that ‘injury’? This is a strip the Haida would take from the tree when living on these islands. The bark would be removed from the strip, leaving behind a fibrous material that would then be used for weaving. This strip mark is likely hundreds of years old.

Water retrieval!

High tide! Where’d the kayaks go?

New home for the night

The kayaks are loaded with our personal gear, food, water. It took the whole village to move them higher onto shore for the evening, or lower to the tide line in the morning before launch. The double kayaks were especially heavy and often required 8 to 10 people to move.

Do you like my flat rock porch?

The water is not warm. I’m sure the whole camp heard us squeeling.

Goodnight

6.25.23

Day 3 and I am genuinely concerned about my physical ability in completing this trip.

Fortunately, we have 2 professional kayak racers with us, one of whom gave me some seriously badass tips on proper paddling and then I started to be in front of the pack. Phew! So thankful. So stoked!

My hands are starting to get bumps on the tops from sun and salt…

One of the guides made a horn out of bull kelp. Sounded like the Hawaiian Conch!

Throughout the whole trip there was a whhhiiirrrrinnnggg sound from a specific local bird. It was very cool. The guides said it was very common and were not as excited about this bird as I was. I have now forgotten what it was, but may update if I figure it out later. I think it may have been a thrush.

There are lots of warblers, finches, and nuthatches out here.

Endless clear water. Endless urchins.

Everyday we stop somewhere for lunch and then a different spot for nighties!

This is around the time I figured out how to use pano and 365 photos. This is a 365, but the 365 option only works while viewing in Google Photos… But! With the 365, I figured out how to manipulate them and then take a screen grab to make a cyclical catch. Look out for those coming soon…

Moon snail shell… Beaten shiny by the sea…

Nature does art!

The guides brought a library! This book is super interesting, with incredible detail about the goings on of sea life. I may purchase it some day.

We collaborated on an art piece and left it on our lunch log during departure.

A 2x daily stack of pills for the gullet of healthy [pain free] living. 1 western and the rest holistic.

A gentle reminder of what was not very long ago at all… This may be the first mostly pain free month since I was 15. Incredible.

To the left

To the right

We spent 2 nights here, a welcome breather.

Sun halo

6.26.23

The wind has a dynamic relationship with the islands. Staying in lee of small islands sometimes was a palpable difference during the crossings, where winds would funnel through the island mountains, creating ocean chop.

Hot Springs Island! This is also a watchman site. We talked to them a while about many things including the whales they were seeing every morning! They gave us fresh halibut that we ate for dinner a couple of nights later.

The hot water comes from the earth, deep down. A few years ago there was an earthquake that changed how this process worked so they had to shut down the hot springs until they figured out the new system as laid out by our planet. :)

More fun food news: My friend, Jeff, from Skidegate, whose house I stayed at and who took me crabbing also gave me 3 mason jars of seafood which I broke out at dinner for the group to share. Smoked clams, crab, sockeye salmon!

The guides know Jeff’s family. It is always fun to make those small world connections!

Tie yer kayaks up so the tide doesn’t take em away!

I remember the first night on the Grand Canyon, the water came WAY up and it stole a metal table from our camp. :)

Kayak seat covers must always be on unless someone wants the ravens to eviscerate and scatter!

Cool Bald Eagle feather, ey?

Apparently a little known rule to shower before soaking! And I may have taken the opportunity for a shower post soak to wash my hair. :)

Not sure what happened here

6.27.23

We are crossing Juan Perez sound, where we saw Humpback whales in the distance and were hearing them for the day when we could not see them. :)

Sharing kayak space and time with Todd, one of our kayak guides. Abbey is our other [lead] guide - keep an eye out for the signature yellow Crocks :) They’re married and the cutest ever. They also guide in Antarctica….. And are walking encyclopedias.

Moooooooonnnnnnsssssnnnnnaaaaaiiiiillllll

Bits and bobs every now and again…

We are on Huxley Island for two nights as we are expecting rain. This humpback was cruising back and forth every 30 or 40 minutes. Very cool.

The next morning, I had the best poo EVER! The humpie came by and spouted while I was contemplating life’s horizons. :)

Organizational Prowess

Shell fossils

Not my home, but a nice view to the left.

My home for 2 nights as we are expecting rainy night and day tomorrow.

Around the left bend

These are screen grabs of my aforementioned magical manipulated 365 images

6.28.23

As predicted, rainy day today. This is our second night at this spot. It is a welcome break. Before landing here we paddled 12 nautical miles in one day, and I couldn’t turn my head left. I am spending the rainy day rolling out my muscles, playing with my camera, and napping.