2017 - Post 20 – A late year kayak camp trip

Kayak camp trips this year have been few.   So Shane and I decided to get in one last trip, despite the wind that was forecast.  We managed to entice Terry to come along.

We drove out to Admirals Beach on Saturday morning for the put-in...

Shane has been taking every opportunity to seal launch lately...

... he has ordered a new fiberglass kayak and figures his seal launching days will be over when it arrives next year.

From the put-in we paddled over to Great Colinet Island.  We had the southerly wind in our face, which required a little bit of slogging as we followed the shoreline down the bay. 

The hope during the planning was to camp at Wild Cove if the conditions would allow.  But before we got to Mosquito Cove we decided that with the increasing south wind the landing at Wild Cove could be dicey, and the wind was forecasted to increase during the evening and even more overnight.  

Wild Cove is open to the South, with virtually unlimited fetch.  We are not paddling fools and so we opted for the safer Mosquito Cove as our destination for the night.  When we arrived we pulled up on the beach and got out to look around for a campsite. 

With our site selected, we got back in our kayaks and moved further down the cove.  We pulled up on the beach and contemplated going for a little paddle down the shore after we set up camp.  It was close to 1 pm by then and we decided by the time we had camp set up, paddled, then came back and collected firewood we would be eating in the dark.  And we had not had lunch either.

We peeled off the drysuits and proceeded to set up camp.

We all pitched in and made quick work of gathering up some firewood.  The first order of business was to get a cooking fire on the go.  Sweet potatoes went on the grille first...

We cut up moose sausage links, 

grilled them,

and then ate them as a pre-supper snack... we figured we needed sustenance to be able to consume our forthcoming supper. 

When our salmon steaks were cooked we ate our supper...

and then boiled the kettle for tea and had pumpkin cake to top off our meal.  It was getting near dark by then and so we moved our evening fire further down the beach and settled in for a chilly evening.

The evenings are long now and so by 10:30 pm Shane and I were in our hammocks and Terry was in his tent.  Minutes later I heard Shane declare "there's something running around under my hammock... I think it's a #$@^ rat!."   I laughed to myself... thinking it was more likely a rabbit as there were runs around.   

As was forecast, the wind picked up during the night and I slept very little.  When I crawled out of my hammock in the morning I walked around a little and then went down to check on the kayaks and gear on the beach.  Terry was up and cooking scrambled eggs and toast for everybody.  I ate mine and then rousted Shane out of his hammock to get his.  Then we had oatmeal to chase the eggs and toast down.

We broke camp after we straightened away breakfast dishes...

... and packed up the kayaks.

I think it was about 9:15 am when we launched.

We decided to paddle a little way south down the island before crossing over.  I didn't take any pictures during the crossing.  It was windy and bumpy and about halfway over I discovered just how out of paddling shape I have become this year. I was getting tired and my shoulder was bothering me.  I decided to turn on the autopilot, letting the wind and waves push me north as I completed the crossing... 

I was happy to reach the other side where we had protection from the southeast wind.  I took a little video of Shane trying to get a good picture of the waves crashing against the shore.

We only had about a kilometer or so to paddle to reach Admirals Beach.  When we arrived I headed for the beach and pulled my kayak up to the car. I could see Terry and Shane playing in the bit of waves to the left of the take-out.  I had some of my gear unloaded as they came in.  

This is the latest in the year that I've kayak camped.  This time of year the days are short and the evenings are long, and the nights are chilly.  It just might be the last camping trip of any kind for this year... but we shall see.