Saturday, December 12, 2015

Broken Group

Broken Group

In May, we headed to the Broken Group on the west coast of Vancouver Island. A relatively sheltered group of islands, the Broken Group is a very popular kayaking destination. We arrived late in the day to brilliant sunshine at Toquart, the kayak put-in. We decided to wait until morning to do the crossing to the Broken Group.

We awoke to fog, thick fog. The route looked pretty straightforward, travel up the coast a bit and then head southeast at the Stopper Islands. We paddled a ways and eventually came to some islands. They were too small to be the Stoppers so we paddled some more. The fog started to lift and still the Stoppers were nowhere to be seen. I finally got smart and got out our GPS! In the dense fog we had missed the Stoppers and now had to travel directly east to get to the Broken Group. (We later discovered that the Toquart put-in had been moved and the location on the map was wrong.) We put in some extra mileage but the water was so calm the paddling was a treat.
Islet enroute to Broken Group
We set up camp on Dodd Island and surprisingly had the place to ourselves for the duration of our stay. Two beachkeepers from theTseshaht First Nation stopped by. We talked to them about the history of their ancestors on the islands, including catching fish in stone traps. Slapping their paddles on the water, men in canoes would herd the fish into dead end bays where they had built stone walls that acted as traps when the tide went out. We found a couple of the stone fish traps later when exploring the lagoon between Jarvis and Jaques Islands.
Tree "animal" on Dodd Island
On the beach at Dodd Island
There aren't a lot of places to land in the Broken Group but we found a nice beach in the Tiny Group that was sheltered from the prevailing wind, making it a good place for lunch, napping, and on the day we were there, wildlife viewing.

Recharging
Early one morning, when conditions looked good, we ventured to the outside perimeter of the islands, where the ocean waves sculpt a rugged coastline with surge channels, sea caves and arches. I felt small and vulnerable knowing the vast ocean that lay before us could awaken at any time. Sure enough, as we rounded Gibralter Island and headed toward the more sheltered inner islands, the wind and waves picked up and gave us a taste of their power.
Sea arch
Exploring tide pools is always fun and in the Broken Group we found a couple creatures I'd never seen before: moonsnails and bat stars.
Many colored bat stars
There is more to the Broken Group than we could see in the five days we were there. Next time I'll turn on the GPS!
No trouble in the Trebles.


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