Sechelt and Narrows Inlet

This weekend was the Victoria Day long weekend, and the forecast was for 30 C temperatures and nothing but sun! All winter I've been reading up on different trips that I want to do this summer, so the weather forecast seemed like the perfect reason to head up to Sechelt and check out Sechelt Inlet. It was a little short notice, but Jodi and Mike were up for a trip, so we packed up our stuff and were on our way on Saturday morning bright and early at 6am!

SATURDAY: Mike's sister kindly gave us a lift to Horseshoe Bay, where we walked onto the ferry. Originally we were going to drive to Sechelt, but the ferries were completely booked, so we forgot about the car. The ferry ride was only about an hour, and afterwards we transferred directly to a transit bus that took us from Langdale to downtown Sechelt. From there we took a cab to Tillicum Bay Marina, which is were the kayak rental place (Pedals and Paddles) was located. We got there around 9:45am, and after loading the kayaks, we were in the water paddling by 10:30am.

The sun was out, we had a strong tailwind, and the currents were with us, so we just about flew up the first section of Sechelt Inlet. We passed Tuwanek, Oyster Beach and Nine Mile beach in quick succession, and were at Nine Mile Point at 11:30am, after only 1h of paddling - way faster than we expected! The Salmon Inlet crossing looked a little choppy, but we decided to go for it since the wind was on our side. We got bounced by the waves a bit but made it to the other side (Kunechin Point) without much trouble, and beached there for a tasty bagel and pudding lunch!

After a leisurely lunch, we began paddling north again along Sechelt Inlet, then veered right, bypassing Storm Bay and entering Narrows Inlet. The weather was still spectacular. We messed around for a while trying (unsuccessfully) to find a good campsite on the northwest shore of Tzoonie Narrows park, and eventually gave up and pitched camp on the beach to the southeast, which was busier but nicer. Mike built a "rager" of a campfire and we cooked smokies over it, but went to bed soon after, since Jodi and I only got 1.5h of sleep the night before!

SUNDAY: We slept in a little bit on Sunday and were up around 8:30ish. We were low on water, and decided that for breakfast we'd just pack up and paddle over to a waterfall on the south side of Narrows Inlet. We loaded up on water at the outflow stream of the waterfall, and then Mike and I walked a short ways up the fire road to check out some leftover forestry equipment and the waterfall.

From the waterfall we began paddling again (11:15am), and headed out of Narrows Inlet back towards Sechelt Inlet. As soon as we left Narrows, a strong headwind picked up and the water became extremely choppy! We got bounced around a bit and had a few waves wash over the deck of the kayak, so we stuck close to shore just to be safe. It was tiring paddling, and Mike was particularly tired in the single kayak, so we stopped at a little beach between Narrows Inlet and Kunechin Point for lunch. It was a great spot - it was a former logging loading dock, with a great flat bridge that we could sit on to eat!

We let the winds die down a bit, and had a nice nap in the sun while Mike explored (all he found was bear droppings). We got back in the boats and found the paddling much easier. Before long (4pm) we were at Kunechin Point again. We took a careful look at the Salmon Inlet crossing and decided that the wind was too strong - there were lots of whitecaps. We knew that the afternoon was the windiest time in Salmon Inlet, and the morning was the calmest, so we decided to camp at the spectacular Kunechin Point campsite!

We had a great view from our tent pad. There was only one other couple at the campsite, so it was very quiet. We had lots of time to lounge around in the sun and relax. It was so nice out we left the fly off the tent overnight.

MONDAY: Mike woke me up at 3am. "Pete I think it's raining." So Jodi and I had to run outside and pull the fly over the tent. We woke up again at 6am and it was pouring. I got up to check on the kayaks and the water conditions. The kayaks were fine, and despite the rain, the water was very calm. We decided to just get up and go while the crossing was calm, so we packed our soggy items up and quickly stowed them in the kayak. We crosssed Salmon Inlet without a hitch, but the rain was really coming down, so we beached at Nine Mile for breakfast and shelter. Nine Mile is a BEAUTIFUL campsite and I would love to stay there next time I'm in Sechelt Inlet.

After breakfast the it was still raining, but we got into the kayaks and paddled past Oyster Bay and Tuwanek. The current was against us but it didn't seem very strong - we were still making good time. It wasn't very windy or choppy, so that was nice. It was really pouring out and we were soaked! We made it back to the kayak rental place around 11am, returned the boats, and quickly put on some warm and dry fleece clothes! From there it was a quick taxi, bus, ferry ride and car ride back home, with lots of napping along the way!

Depsite the rain, it was an amazing weekend and a beautiful place to travel to. Great start to the summer season!