Porpoises on the Inlet - July 8 & 9

My parents came to visit us in Sechelt and brought their new kayaks and an adventurous spirit. We did a tonne of hiking and paddling and had plenty of fun evenings playing cards and watching movies. My Mother, Heather and I have done some backcountry camping, however my father has, to this point, been adverse at the notion. We gave him no choice and we headed up the Sechelt Inlet for a one-nighter.

We got off by about 9:30am after I had to head back to get our paddles, are they a necessity? It was interesting to see how layed-back packing is when your jumping point is only 15 minutes away. It was a misty day and all of us feared the signs of rain.



We only explored the shoreline a little as the gloomy day sapped our creative spirit. We landed at some of the pocket beaches with marine camping sites, however, the goal was Halfway Beach and setting up camp before any rain reared it's ugly head. Heather and I paddled the Two Dogs, Dad rode Mango and my Mom sizzled in Red is Best.


Here is a shot of the Mango Man!



The two yak's taking a rest on Halfway Beach



Misty group shot looking up Salmon Inlet with the Tantalus Range in the distance

Luckily, the rain did not come. I was chomping at the bit to get in one of the kayaks and when everyone laid down and took a nap I took Red is Best and played in the tidal water. Mango could not be contained so my Dad joined me.


Here is Mango, posing.

We had fun setting up camp with my folks.


My Dad pitching Trusty Green.


Heather went to show my Dad how to pump water. It looked like the sun was coming out so my Mother and I went to see. As we walked back to camp my mother turned back and remarked "What are those, are those the porpoises you have been talking about?". In fact it was! So I ran back to the creek to inform the water-makers and we dropped what we were doing and loaded up - Heather took Red, PJ had Mango and Mom and I floated Two Dogs.


Mango and Red got there first and waited for some action.

It wasn't long and the porpoises were jumping and playing. It was amazing, they were beautiful and friendly and came quite close to the boats at times. The harbour seals had to make an appearance as they were not to be excluded from such fun. Good snaps were hard to come by as the porpoises were very quick. Heather had the most luck as they initially surrounded her. Below are only a few of the hundred or so shots we took.


The only head on shot taken -- nice!



Nice side shot.



Up close.


After the porpoises headed up inlet we decided to paddle across the Salmon Inlet to Kunechin Point and the bird sanctuary. There are a couple of camping spots and the area is host to many scuba divers as there is an artificial reef here (old war ship).


My Dad taking shots of the black oyster catchers, harbour seals, cormonts, and bald eagles.


Quiggs with Snappy taking pictures in the background.



Oliver and my Mom

We headed back and had steak and camp potatoes with Heather's corn tortilla sugar desserts. We played some euchre and hit the sheets as we just finished a big day of paddling.

We woke up to a beautiful day with calm waters and bright skies. This was what we were looking for. We got moving earlier to take advantage of the calm water. We crossed the convergence of Salmon and Sechelt Inlets to Nine Mile Point and marveled at the surrounding scenery.


Here is my mother with the Tantalus Icefield in the distance.


It doesn't get much better.


The inlet truly is a beautiful spot.


We took in sea anemones sea cucumbers, crabs, starfish, sunfish and other marine life along the way. I was tempted by many of rocks on our route home.



Great trip folks! Cannot wait for the next....