by Dorothy Van Esbroeck
It was February and I was hoping to pick a few rather calm and sunny July days for a trip. Checking the calendar, I picked the days leading up to the full moon on July 21st. What else besides the phases of the moon do you know in advance when selecting trip dates? I had been to the Phillip Edward Island area many times so it seemed a good choice for this leisurely trip. Gradually e-mails came in from fellow GLSKA members inquiring about the trip.
In the end it turned out there were 6 others besides myself, none whom I had ever met or paddled with before. Discussions and suggestions by e-mail beforehand had helped make the trip start a day earlier. I had e-mailed my trip goals which were mainly to camp and kayak, enjoy the area, lead my first multi-day GLSKA trip and have no one left behind.
Meeting at Chikanishing Creek in Killarney Provincials Park, it was easy to pick out the trip members – everyone who drove in with one kayak on their vehicle. I was happy to find out beforehand that there is a box at the parking lot that accepts credit cards to get your day passes for parking. Unfortunately, it wasn’t working for the first two who tried it and they had to go to the George Lake Campground office to help straighten out their pass situation.
We left about 3 o’clock as planned and paddled out stopping to notice the signs and to GPS the exit of Chikanishing Creek before crossing Collins Inlet. After the crossing we could hear noise which was rain hitting the water ahead of us and then sure enough it rained on us for a few minutes. We passed by the first island with good camping only to find the other islands like Le Hayes, Solomon, Marten and West Fox full of campers.
With calm paddling but somewhat threatening skies it was a pleasure to paddle on to the start of West Desjardin Bay. It was about 6:30 when we set up there on a spacious campsite. Sitting around after a leisurely supper, I listened to the weather forecast – rain ending by midnight.
Well, it was about 9 o’clock when the rain suddenly started. I hustled back to my kayak for my raincoat and then scurried off to my tent. When I got there I could see how my tent site might not have been the best. There was a small river running down the rocks, thankfully it seemed to run right under the waterproof floor of my tent. It wasn’t too bad; I went to sleep on a dry thermarest on a damp tent floor. If it was only going to rain 3 hours, how bad could it be? Well, it didn’t stop raining at midnight. Every once in a while it would let up but then start back even harder.
There were others worse off than myself I realized in the morning. Sean had had an open tent when the rain started with open dry bags and a river that seemed to flow through his tent. Not one thing left dry.
After trying to dry out some the next morning we were on the water by about ten. The forecast was for increasing winds. We got by Big Rock Portage and after passing between Hamilton and Bateman Islands, stopped for lunch. We then enjoyed some of the quieter channels before coming to Crume and Deer Island. It was windy with a forecast of 20 knots and up to70 knots near thunderstorms. We went back and camped on Crume Island. Reinforcement rocks helped keep the tents in the open down.
The next day was again windy so we opted out of exploring the Chickens. As we paddled back we had lunch around Big Rock Portage and stopped from about 12 till 2 to allow for a hike, swim or to read and sleep.
It was a strong west wind and we divided into 2 groups depending on our preference for inside or outside routes. There were metre waves and the next stop was Silver Island. We really got spread out here and with some people far ahead we ended up just following them instead of doing the inside channel.
After a stop back at the inside of Silver Island Channel we ventured on for what was only a 5-kilometre paddle but straight into a west wind with metre waves close together. It was 4 o’clock and energy levels varied. We partnered up. Three chose to go around Silver Island again and do the more outside trek across to the island just north of East Fox Island. It seemed as if people were heading off to different islands and near the end I was paddling alone, which was strange, as I was the one who knew where we were headed. (It can be hard to check your map, compass or GPS in wind and waves or with sunscreen in your eyes.) The two groups came together just at the end of the crossing.
The central kitchen at this campsite proved a nice setting for our pot luck dinner. Every day we had watched Sean cook up delicious meals such as tea biscuits, gourmet pizza or French toast with his oven. For our last night there was Laura’s amazing oriental dish with stir-fried vegetables, Cynthia and Jane’s tabouli, rice, noodles, eggs and pad thai. Sean attempted to match his other gourmet meals with blueberry biscuits.
With the trip almost over and a relatively calm day, we were on the water by 9:00 the next morning for an hour of rescue practice or instruction. One member of the group had never done a wet exit or any of the rescues before so it was with some trepidation I had watched her in the last few days as she paddled through the waves. Probably feeling a bit like she was now being bombarded with instructors, she quickly got an introduction to some rescue skills.
After loading the boats, we were back on the water shortly before 11. Having had our thrills of waves and open water, exploring between islands as well as through reeds was the path chosen for the day. We also practised paddling as a pod of boats something we hadn’t done in the wind and waves.
After a quick break and fuel stop, we started off crossing Collins Inlet in a tight group. I did not want to be strung out across the Inlet with boat traffic. We did get farther apart as we approached. I had lamented to myself when we headed out that we hadn’t explored any islands to the west of Chikanishing Creek; but because there was some disagreement as to where the entrance of the creek was after we crossed, we did get to see some of the islands. Herbert’s Fish and Chips was our late lunch destination.
As a first time GLSKA trip leader, I must say I learned as much as some of the newer paddlers did. In discussions during and afterwards, I really learned how important it is to communicate. I had said it’s windy, partner up, but I didn’t check to see if everyone had the same understanding of what partner up meant. Also when it did get windy, and people were paddling in front, it quickly became impossible to communicate by way of a whistle.
Around breakfast the last day, we shared our highlights of the trip, which included things like the waves, the people and the pace. For me it was great to meet 6 fellow paddlers who I hope to paddle with again. I will remember Ostap for trying to limit his new yellow boat to only one scratch a day, Sean’s willingness to squeeze his kayak through anything remotely possible, Cynthia and Jane for always making time for a swim and Laura for her determination on choosing campsites with a view.
At the end of the trip I was in the park office and I was chatting about the rain Sunday night. Apparently it had rained 5 inches. Some other friends had been pulling out at Chikanishing Creek when we were putting in. They had paddled around Phillip Edward Island in canoes and never had more than 10 km/h winds. So if I have a choice of trip dates, I might choose somewhere just after the first quarter.