Previous
year, I completed a three-week solo kayaking trip in the partially
protected waters off North Vancouver Island. My goal at the time was,
before undertaking something longer and more demanding, to test
the concept of
kayaking in an inflatable kayak solo, with no dependency on the outside
supplies.
I also tested equipment that I would likely take with me on an
extended expedition, and checked if I could pull this out alone
logistically,
physically and mentally. Finally, I wanted to gain experience in sea
kayaking,
including handling rough situations. Overall, the trip was a
success. You can read the story
here. I had learned what the kayak was
capable of and and where the dangers and difficulties lay.
My plan for the new trip was a month-long independent solo expedition, primarily in rougher areas off British Columbia
coast. Besides photographing the nature and the trip, my main goal was to emulate expeditions that I
might undertake in future, in very remote areas, where I would be on my
own with no chance for an outside help.
After studying various options,
I had settled on Queen Charlotte Strait - an approximately 20 kilometer wide and
100 kilometer long area between North Vancouver Island and the
mainland, open on the north-west side to North Pacific Ocean. The
north-west has also happened to be the dominant wind direction in
summer. As a result, strong north-west winds and waves are quite
common. On the south-east side, the strait borders Broughtton
Archipelago -- the area that I had partially explored during my previous
year trip. I therefore had some idea of what to expect in the area,
weather and nature-wise.
My initial plan was to circumnavigate
Queen Charlotte Strait, starting in Port Hardy and then crossing the
strait to the mainland through several chains of islands (God's Pocket,
Deserters-Walker Group and Millar Group). This would cut a 20
kilometer-long open crossing into several smaller and manageable
segments. Then I would paddle south-east along the
mainland until reaching Broughton Islands and then continue south
through Broughton Archipelago back to Vancouver Island. After spending
several days photographing the orcas in Johnstone Strait (these marine mammals are very common
there in the second half of summer), I would paddle along the coast to
Port Hardy, closing the loop.
However, I had a chance to talk
before my trip to John Kimantas, an author of the Wild Coast guidebooks
and atlases, who had personally paddled in this area. He suggested
to get farer north from Port Hardy, to Cape Sutil, almost on
the north tip of Vancouver Island, and explore the area full of marine
wildlife.
At the end, I had adjusted my plans to include Cape
Sutil, an about 40 kilometer-long extension of the trip, each way. After
Cape Suitil, depending of the weather, I would either cross the strait
right there, paddling from an island to an island, or come back and
cross in Port Hardy area, where the strait was more narrow and offering
more islands to rest or hide from the weather during the crossing. In
addition, instead of a complete circumnavigation of the strait, I had
settled on finishing in Port McNeil, around 30 kilometers south of Port
Hardy, as the area between Port McNeil and Port Hardy did not look
particularly interesting from a photography point of view.
The
preparation routine was by now familiar. I had to buy the
missing charts and research the area in details. The trip was
going to be a month-long
and therefore too unpredictable for planning it day by day. Instead, I
had
read the guidebooks and studied the charts to understand what to expect
on my
journey. I then selected potential campsites for the first several
days. I had also made sure that I had with me all the materials I
needed to plan on.the go. A month before the departure date I had
booked
the bus, a place at Port Hardy C&N hostel for the night of my
arrival, and gradually started buying the food and the odds. Last
week before my departure was busy with packing and last-minute
chores.