OLD FRIEND, NEW PADDLING ADVENTURE

Kayaking Kyuquot Sound to the Brooks Peninsula

After a 40 year hiatus my good friend Brian Henry and I got back together to do another camping/kayak trip. Brian and I go back a long ways. We first met whitewater kayaking on the Cowichan River on Vancouver Island and from there we went on to build our own whitewater kayaks together. In 1980, along with some other friends, we spent a month sea kayaking in Haida Gwaii, then called the Queen Charlotte Islands.

On that trip we paddled the entire east coast of Moresby Island all the way down to Ninstints and back.  And partly inspired by this trip, Brian went on to start a retail kayak store, Ocean River Sports in Victoria. I spent many years teaching whitewater and sea kayak courses for them on weekends.

Not long after starting Ocean River, Brian founded Current Designs Kayaks. The Current Designs ‘Expedition’ kayak that I paddle on these trips is one of the earliest Expeditions produced by Current Designs way back in 1995! We’ve continued to work and play together paddling, biking, building docks, renovating stores and even building Brian’s house on Saturna Island!

The region we plan to explore this time!

Kyuquot  (“ky YOO kit”) Sound is one of the 5 major sounds indenting the west coast of Vancouver Island, and is certainly one of the more interesting ones to explore due to it’s amazing array of rugged rocky islands. Northwest of Kyuquot Sound is Checleset Bay and along its shores, steep mountain ranges rise as high as 941 meters (3,o87 ft). It encompasses two major groups of islands, the Bunsby’s and the Cuttle Islets as well as the historical Checlesht First Nations former village site on the Acous Peninsula.

Further north of Checleset Bay loom the mountains of the Brooks Peninsula, an untouched wilderness area spanning spanning 127,583 acres all protected within a provincial park of the same name. Mountain peaks on the Brooks soar as high as 961 m (3,143 ft). This whole area, like much of the west coast of Vancouver Island, is only accessible by water or air.

Getting There

The closest road access to Kyuquot Sound is at Fair Harbour rougly 11 nautical miles from  the village of Kyuquot. Not a lot has changed in Fair Harbour since the 80’s. It is made up of a small store, a government dock, a boat ramp, parking, a fuel station and camping. That’s about it. If you have forgotten anything, you’re not likely to find it here. However, there are a couple of more services, such as a liquor store and restaurant in the village of Zeballos just a short detour off the road on the way to Fair Harbour.

Kyuquot Sound and Checlset Bay are very popular destinations for both kayakers and fisherman. Access is relatively easy by way of Fair Harbour, roughly a 6 1/2 drive from the city of Victoria on the southeast end of Vancouver Island. It is about 5 hours to the Zeballos Main Rd, where you turn off the highway to head for the coast. From there it is another 1 1/2 hours or so on well maintained gravel roads to Fair Harbour.

From Fair Harbour it is about 11 nautical miles (12.7 miles, 20.4 km) to the village of Kyuquot, which will take somewhere between 4-5 hours of paddling. However, there are a couple of water taxis operating from Fair Harbour which offer an alternative means for paddlers and their equipment to reach the coast where the most interesting kayaking is. This saves having to paddle the less interesting inlets plus the loss of a couple of days of time that could be spent exploring the more interesting areas.

Voyager Water Taxi

Siquaa Water Taxi

Great West Adventure Cruises also offers service to Kyuquot for passengers and kayaks on the MV Uchuk III, departing from Gold River. This trip allows for a shorter drive (approx 4hrs 45min) followed by a very interesting trip on a classic 1942 working coastal freighter which, along the way, will be stopping at fish farms and logging camps to deliver cargo and dropping paddlers at other destinations. In the end, the Uchuk will drop you and you kayak off right in the village of Kyuquot. Check out our post:  Kayaking From Kyuquot to Nootka Sound

The Trip

This year Brian and I wanted to explore Kyuquot Sound and Checleset Bay, poke around the Bunsby Islands and extend our trip as far north as the Brooks Peninsula, weather permitting. In particular, Brian wanted to reconnect with the area and reach out to West Coast Expeditions, a kayak touring company in the area. His hope was to partner them with Ocean River Sports in running some sea kayaking tours in the area.

West Coast Expeditions is a business formerly owned by another friend and former fellow kayak instructor at Ocean River Sports, Dave Pinel. Dave sold the business to the Ka:’yu:’k’t’h’ / Che:k:tles7et’h’ First Nations’ Group of Businesses in 2022.

West Coast Expeditions has a spectacular wilderness retreat based on Tle:hoh (Spring) Island just a couple of miles from Kyuquot, and run their sea kayak touring program from there. With West Coast Expeditions you can enjoy a true wilderness paddling experience with the ease and safety of paddling with knowledgeable sea kayaking guides.

The WCE staff will also take care of your water transport between Fair Harbour and Tle:hoh Island and they offer deluxe tent accommodations and chef-prepared meals. Westcoast Expeditions caters to a variety of kayaking preferences from wildlife viewing to accessing more remote areas. They offer exceptional paddling opportunities for kayakers of all ages and skill levels with trips ranging from 1 day to 8 days.

With those goals in mind we planned our trip with a departure from Fair Harbour then paddle out the inlets to the village of Kyuquot and camp one night on Tle:hoh (Spring Island). From there we would head north to the Bunsby Islands then on to the Brooks Peninsula, before returning. This would be a relatively short trip, being on the water for a total of 6 days.

Day 1 Fair Harbour to Union Island

Arriving at Fair Harbour, we dropped into the store and paid for our parking for the week and were directed to an old boat ramp well away from the government dock and main boat ramp. This is was perfect for loading and launching our kayaks being well away from the motorized traffic.

With the skill of the experienced master paddlers we are, we had timed our launch perfectly to coincide with high tide and were able to take our kayaks off the car, walk a few steps to the waters edge, load our gear then slip into the water and leave. Actually, just kidding…we got lucky!

However, we were packed up and on the water by 3:15 after a 6 AM departure from Victoria. We paddled out past the government dock and boat ramp to have look then set off down the 2 nm stretch of Fair Harbour  to Markale Passage, where we would turn southwest and continue our journey towards the coast.

Our first day’s goal was a campsite on a small peninsula on the northeast end of Union Island, about 7 nm from Fair Harbour. We set off in relatively calm conditions with only a light headwind. Once again, we were lucky because it is very common for strong inflow winds to come up on these inlets in the afternoon making later departures, like ours, a problem.

A little over 3 hours later we arrived at Union Island where we set up camp and cooked up a dinner of chilli and cornbread. For this trip, Brian and I decided to share a tent, but setting it up turned out to be a bit of a challenge and just a little comical. I brought along my very old 3 person Sierra Designs Dome tent to give us a bit more elbow room over our two person tents. The trouble was, I hadn’t set this tent up in years. We struggled for some time to figure out the placement of the poles, seriously questioning our cognizant reasoning abilities in the process!

Darkness was settling in by the time we finished cleaning up dinner and putting our food and gear away. The mosquitos were also really bad, so it was definitely time to climb into the tent to escape the predation and spend some time reading. However, sleep came quickly after a long day of travel and paddling. The lulling drone of the mosquitos outside the tent didn’t hurt either.

Day 2 Union Island to Spring Island

We were up and on the water early after a quick breakfast of granola with dried fruit. The temperature was warm and there was a low overcast of fog like clouds. However, the visibility was good and the water was flat calm, perfect conditions for paddling in my opinion! Our destination for today was a visit to the village of Kyuquot and then on to Tle:hoh (Spring) Island where we would camp for the night and hopefully connect with West Coast Expeditions.

We slipped away from our campsite rounding the end of the peninsula into the narrow passage between Union and Surprise Island. We had camped on the east side of the peninsula, so we took a quick detour have a look at the opposite side where there is also a possible campsite in case we stopped there on the way back. After that we continued down Crowther Channel towards the outer coast.

Along the way we were entertained by road signs someone has posted in the trees along the shore. They varied from bridge load limit to speed limit signs. We carried on, following the road signs, before eventually crossing the channel to the north side. There we rounded a point inside Amos Island, conveniently marked by a road sign, and headed into Kyuquot.

Vancouver Island has very few communities on its west coast and these small villages are really quite interesting so when you find one, it is worth taking some time to explore. Kyuquot is the site of a First Nations village located on the north shore of Walter’s Cove on Vancouver Island. It was originally a winter village called Houpsitas. There is also a selection of homes, cottages and fishing lodges across the cove on Walter’s Island. On the approach to Walter’s Cove we passed a large floating fishing lodge on Amos Island and passed an interesting farm with lots of solar panels on the way into McKay Cove.

Right in Walter’s Cove there were a couple of relatively relaxed sea otters swimming around. They are certainly bundles of cuteness. This pair have probably become accustomed to lots of boaters and kayakers passing through. It has been my experience, in more remote areas, that sea otters generally don’t let kayaks get too close. They will keep an eye on you and continually swim away, keeping their distance. These two, however, allowed us to approach a bit closer, though we made sure not to chase them around, instead we used a long camera lens to pull them in.

A few years ago, passing through Kyuquot after being dropped off by the MV Uchuk III, we had passed by a float through coffee shop. Brian and I were both keen to check this out and hopefully get ourselves a mid-morning coffee and snack. Sadly, Java the Hut is no longer. As we passed by the Kyuquot Inn, the owners Eric and Nancy took a break from making pie and came out to talk to us. They owned Java the Hut, but it is no longer operating as a floating coffee shop.  They are now only open after 4 PM for dinner. Disappointing…no coffee, no pie!! Not much to be done but to carry on to Spring Island and our campsite for the night.

Ka:’yu:’k’t’h’ / Che:k:tles7et’h’ First Nations

In 2011 the Maa-Nulth Treaty was ratified by the British Columbia government which has helped repatriating the Kyuquot and Checleseht people with some of their traditional lands. It also recognizes them as the custodians of the Kyuquot/Checleseht region. There are some campsites and areas that kayakers have taken for granted for many years that are now affected by the treaty. If you are paddling this area you should check in the the band office in Kyuquot or call 250-334-5259 to register and get more information on how to visit the region.

John Kimantis in his most excellent book, The BC Coast Explorer, Vol 1 sums it up well: “Be aware the region is not just a wilderness area; it is the Kyuquot/Checleseht home and historic cultural landscape. Be respectful of that. Taking time to understand some of the cultural traditions will enhance your travel experience.”

Tle:hoh (Spring) Island

Most of Tle:hoh Island is within the Maa-Nulth Treaty lands, however, a small part of the southwest end of Tle:hoh Island is still public land and there are a couple of sites with some nice beach camping. West Coast Expeditions has its base camp set up on the large bay on the northeast side of the island. Our plan was to camp for the night and hopefully visit West Coast Expeditions and touch base with Bev, the current manager.

There are a few good beaches to choose from on the southeast end of Spring Island. We picked a slightly steeper beach at the end of a small surge channel which looked to be more protected if the winds came up. The entrance was deceptively calm as we approached. However, as we began getting out of our kayaks a few low, seemingly innocent waves surged in making our exit look like a couple of first time amateurs! However, other than myself getting a slightly smashed thumb,we survived the experience.

After setting up camp we decided to do a little exploring and see if we could find the trail that leads across the island to West Coast Expeditions Base Camp. Just outside our campsite we passed by a huge patch of salal covered in ripe, juicy berries! We had to stop and sample the treats! Brian would come back later and pick a cupful to add to our granola in the morning.

We worked our way around the beaches and headlands of the southwest point looking for the spot where I remembered the trail started from on a previous trip to the island. The trail ends, or starts in this case, at the site of an old World War II Radar Site. All that remains of the site is a concrete pad and some old wiring. West Coast Expeditions have built a basket ball hoop on the pad and have even left a couple of basketballs lying around if you inclined to throw a few hoops!

The well groomed trail runs relatively straight up and across the island, probably following the remains of the road that was originally built to service the radar site. As we got closer to the northeast bay, we passed the first of the ‘glamping tents’ set up along the edge of the bay that are used by West Coast Expedition’s guests. At the north end of the bay we entered the main camp.

We met up with some of the staff of WCE including Taishi Ose, who is from Japan and an ex-employee of Brian’s from Ocean River Sports. It’s always interesting who you can meet in remote places! While we were chatting with the staff, Bev showed up in a powerboat with some supplies for the group that was staying there that week including a large tub of ice cream! Tough living out here!  Brian was able to make his connection with Bev and after helping move a bunch of water and food into camp from her boat we said our good byes and headed back to camp.

Day 3 Spring Island to the Bunsby Islands

We woke the next morning to foggy skies and calm winds. Another perfect day for paddling in my mind! As much as blue skies and sunshine are nice, I find paddling in the fog an ethereal experience. As we set off, the fog remained fairly high so visibility was still decent.

We paddled back around the inside of Tle:hoh Island, passing by West Coast Expeditions, and set a course for the north end of McLean Island. On McLean we passed a small cave that was acting like a blow hole as the swell surged into it and exploded back out…a great photo op!

The fog settled lower and lower as we worked our way past McLean Island and up the coast of Vancouver Island. Even so, we could just see the shadow of Thomas Island looming out of the fog just off shore. There is a large sea arch punching a hole right through the middle of the island and apparently, at high tides, you can paddle right through. Sadly, that wasn’t going to happen on this day!

As we left Thomas Island the fog was beginning to burn off presenting a dramatic view of the Bunsby Islands and the Brooks Peninsula beyond. An amazing sight!! We also passed by our first ‘raft’ of sea otters.

Two years ago my paddling companions and I had tried to paddle around the Brooks Peninsula from the north. We had departed from Winter Harbour with a planned take out at Fair Harbour. Unfortunately, persistently high winds for 2 weeks prevented us from getting around the peninsula on that trip. Check out the trip here: Kayaking Winter Harbour to the Brooks Peninsula

The Bunsby Islands

The Bunsby Islands have some historical as well as ecological significance as it was here that sea otters, brought in from Alaska, were first reintroduced to this area in 1969 and 1972. For those unaware, sea otters were hunted to extinction on the BC coast during the days of the coastal fur trade in previous centuries. Much of the Bunsby Islands are now part of the Checleset Bay Ecological Reserve which spans an area from the Brooks Peninsula, along the coast of Vancouver Island and down to the edges of McLean Island and the Mission Group. Click the link below for a BC Parks PDF brochure with a map and descriptions of the area.

BC Parks Map of Protected Areas of Kyuquot Sound & Checleset Bay

Unfortunately, his means there is no camping on the islands within the reserve. The exception is Big Bunsby Island which is a Provincial Marine Park. Some of the islands within the reserve have also been turned over to the First Nations as part of the Maa-Nulth Treaty. This includes Too-tah Island, formerly known as Barney Island which has one of the best beaches and campsites in the Bunsby’s.

We ended up setting up camp on Too-hah Island. This turned out to be an error and misunderstanding on our part from not being careful to check our notes and not confirming  information we were given, but more on that later. After setting up camp we set off for an exploratory paddle of the Bunby’s in our unloaded kayaks.

We paddled up the channel between Big Bunsby and Too-hah Island and working our way west across the north shore of the Bunsby’s. We made our way out to the west side of the islands, then paddled  up a channel to Green Head, a notable landmark of the area. After some photo ops at Green Head we made our way back across the southern end of the islands and back to camp.

Too Tah Island

Too-tah Island (formerly Barney Island) as I have already mentioned, is part of the Maa-Nulth Treaty, and is privately owned by the Williams family. We were actually very fortunate that David Williams and his wife Jesse showed up on the island. They are in the process of building a cabin there. David came over to talk to us and and warmly welcomed us to the island. He sat down and explained the status of the island to us, but very kindly gave us permission to stay. However, David with a smile on his face, told us that if his sister had been there, she would most likely have run us off! Once again we were lucky!

For anyone planning to visit the area, please keep in mind that Too Tah (Barney) Island is private property and you cannot land or stay there without prior permission. Do not expect to receive permission to stay once you get there.

David’s family history is really fascinating. His grandfather, who was from Scotland, was shipwrecked off the Bunsby Islands in the early 1900’s. He was rescued by the Checlesht people and ended up staying there and marrying a Checleseht princess. They lived here on Too-tah Island, which was eventually named Barney Island after his name. David also has a sister who owns a cabin on Checkalis Island near Green Head.

David talked more about the island, showed us where we could find huckleberries and wild onions, asked us to use their outhouse, and talked about nature and balance. Later, Jesse came over and introduced herself and offered us chunks of watermelon. They humbled us with their graciousness in light of our trespassing.

Later the evening as I was contemplating what David was telling us about the past history and nature of this beautiful place. I found myself looking at the slopes of Mount Paxton and the long steep mountain ridge leading south along Checleset Bay. The stunning verdant slopes looked untouched as the shadow of the setting sun gradually draped over them.

My mind went back to the early 80’s when I paddled by that same mountain ridge and how different it looked then. It was completely stripped bare of trees, it’s slopes were exposed dirt and crisscrossed with logging roads and landslides. It was a horrible mess and an example of some of the worst logging practices carried out on this coast. That year that same ridge made headlines around the world when National Geographic placed it on the cover of their magazine. Today it looks much better, but you can still see the scars of the logging roads and landslides if you look closely.

We enjoyed a calm, warm evening with clear skies and watched the sun disappear behind the clouds over Brooks Peninsula before retiring to the tent for a comfortable and peaceful nights sleep.

Day 4 Bunsby Islands to Jackobson Point

The morning weather of calm winds and overcast skies persisted as we set off with the goal of reaching Jackobson Point on the Brooks Peninsula. We retraced out route from the previous days exploration of the Bunsby’s and continued across Checleset Bay towards the Acous Peninsula.

When I visited the Acous Peninsula on a kayak trip in the early 1980’s there was still a carved house post standing. It was the only remains of a Checlesht summer village that was once located here. After 40 years, there are no remains that we could see from the water although I understand that while the pole has fallen and is rotting, some vestiges of the carvings on the pole still remain. Wood decays quickly on this coast! This time we chose not to land as we did not want to trespass without having permission.

We carried on around the Acous Peninsula and began crossing Nasparti Inlet to the Brooks Peninsula and Jackobson Point. Along the way we stopped for a chat with a fellow in a zodiac from Friday Harbour in the Orca’s Islands of Washington. He had his boat anchored in the Bunsby’s and was out on some exploration. He had been down Nasparti Inlet as far as Johnson Lagoon.

Johnson Lagoon is a very interesting spot with a very narrow opening to a large secluded lagoon cradled in the mountains behind.  The narrow opening with a large house rock at its center, makes a significant reversing tidal rapid. I still remember shooting through there 40 years ago and eddying out behind the rock in the swirling waters!

Jackobson Point, Brooks Peninsula

There are some beautiful sandy beaches on the north west side of Jackobson Point and some camping. However, you are much more exposed to potential winds and the possibility of large surf. The east side has a beautiful sheltered bay with a gravel beach, my preference to sand anyway!

There are some cleared campsites up in the forest on the right hand side of the beach. There was someone camping at one of these sites, but we were able to make ourselves a good campsite right on the beach with the tide levels as they were. This wouldn’t have been possible at spring tides.

Plane Crash

In April of 1988 a squadron of F18 fighter planes from CFB Comox were helping in identifying the location a fishing vessel in distress in Checleset Bay during a storm with winds in excess of 70 knots. The lead pilot of the group, sadly, impacted the mountains of the Brooks Peninsula just above Jacobson Point & Columbia Cove. You can read the full story here: The Story of CF18 Hornet 188773

Finding Fresh Water

We were low on water now, so once we had camp set up it was time to get back in the boats and go find a fresh water source. There looked to be a couple of potential streams running off the Brooks not too far away in the bay just east of us.

We poked along the shore of Columbia Cove checking out a small sea cave before crossing into the next bay. Here we found the entrance to a river estuary and after crossing a bar with some small surf,  paddled up into the river. The river twisted its way back a little ways before we got to the point where the stream was dropping down over some rocks where we could be sure to get clean fresh water that wasn’t affected by the tides.

Getting out the boats on the green slime covered rocks turned out to be more than a little treacherous, but we were eventually able to load up our water bags with crystal clear river water. However, no matter how good the water looked, we still filtered it once we were back at camp. There is no use taking chances with picking up a parasite!

Later that evening a zodiac showed up and anchored in the bay in front of our campsite. They were the folks camping at the far end of the beach. They were a husband and wife team with two young boys who were out exploring the area and surfing the beaches on the other side of the Jackobson Point. A very nice family…great kids!

There are a couple of rough trails across Jackobson Point which lead to one of the beaches on the west side. Brian and I used the last of the evening light to hike across and have a look, before heading back to camp.

Day 5 Jackobson Point to Vancouver Island

We actually had our first sunrise of the trip on this morning! While there was still some cloud around, there was definitely a lot of blue sky showing and thr warm sun rays were getting through to our beach! The winds were calm again…it was going to be a spectacular day on the water!

We departed camp and paddled out and around Jackobson Point to have a look at the beaches on the west side, spending a bit of time paddling through  rock gardens along the way. It was an absolutely beautiful morning with stunning views of the Brooks Peninsula! We poked around for a little while before turning around and pointing our bows towards the Acous Peninsula and Cuttle Islets.

As we reached the outer islets near the Acous Peninsula we caught sight of another large raft of sea otters and grabbed some more photos. We also met a trio of paddlers heading towards the Brooks and stopped a chatted for a bit before heading on.

We had at first planned to head back to the Bunsby Islands and camp for the night. However, the day was spectacular and since we had  already explored the Bunsby’s, we decided to carry on. We skirted the western edge of the islands before setting out across Checleset Bay. Our destination now, was a beach under the shadow of St. Paul’s Dome (mountain) on the Vancouver Island coast.

The day was warming rapidly as we crossed Checleset Bay aiming for Thomas Island. This time we were going to pass on the west side of the island and see what the sea arch looked like from the exposed side. Once again the tide levels were nowhere near high enough to allow an approach to the arch, so we paddled on by heading for the a west facing beach under St. Paul’s Dome.

Once there, we had an easy landing on the very sheltered sandy beach, but man, it was hot! The temperature was now up to 28°C! We had to break out the tarp for the first time on this trip for some desperately needed shade!

There wasn’t much to do that afternoon but to relax, enjoy the sun and warmth, wander the beach and have an afternoon nap. We had our first real sunset of the trip that evening and it was a spectacular show as the sun dropped behind the Brooks Peninsula.

Day 6 St. Paul’s Dome to Fair Harbour

There would be no sunrise to see the next morning even although the skies were mostly clear since we camped in the shadow of St Paul’s Dome. We set off after breakfast heading back towards the village of Kyuquot.

Rather than go out and around McLean Island, we turned into a narrow passage on the north end of the Island leading towards the head of Clanninick Cove. The nautical charts showed that this passage dried out at low tide, so we hoping there might be enough water to paddle through the  as this would save us paddling out and around the island.

It turned out there wasn’t. However, it was just a short gravel bar, about the length of our kayaks, stopping us before we could enter  slightly deeper water on the other side. The blockage was covered in a lot of kelp, so we made the decision to hop out and drag our boats across.

Unfortunately, after a short paddle, there was another larger bar at the other end of the passage blocking our way. However, in another case of impeccable timing we arrived just as the rising tide waters were beginning to flow across the bar. We just had to wait a few minutes for enough water to cross the bar to allow us to pull our boats across. I love it when a plan comes together!

While we were standing there waiting, I noticed a tiny squid that had been left high and dry on bar. I have never seen one on the coast before.

Clanninick Cove is quite stunning and I’m really glad we made the effort to paddle in there rather than go around McLean Island. Once we were in the cove, it was a relatively short paddle back to Kyuquot. This time we knew there would be no coffee, so after stopping to chat with a local resident who was working on his boat, we carried on past the village. We eventually worked our way back to Crowther Channel where we turned east and began the long paddle back to Fair Harbour.

We stopped for lunch on the west side of the peninsula on Union Island, opposite to where we camped on our first night out. On this side we were in the sun with great views back up the bay towards Crowther Channel and Surprise Island.

After lunch, we were back in the boats and ready the 7 nm run back to Fair Harbour. The paddle back to Fair Harbour was actually quite beautiful as inlet paddles go. The sun was out and very warm with a light breeze at our backs. The water was a beautiful aquamarine colour and we are surrounded by forested slopes fading to mist shrouded mountains in the distance.

Part way back we could hear the sound of a diesel engine roaring up behind us. Turning around we could see a Zodiac rapidly approaching us before slowinging down. It turned out to be Eric and family from Jackobson Point! They were on there way back to Fair Harbour as well. We had a nice chat before continuing on our way.

We were on the ramp at Fair Harbour at 3:15 and interestingly enough, the exact time of day we had left at the start of the trip.  We unpacked the kayaks, loaded the car and got back on the road, ready for the 6 1/2 hour run back to Victoria. As a side note, the only bear that we saw on this entire trip crossed the road in front of us about halfway back to the highway.

While relatively short, this was a great trip and great to be back on the water on a camping trip with Brian! It had been far too long! We had great weather the whole time, certainly a nice break from a few of the previous trips trip I have done. It was very pleasant being warm and dry the whole trip! And while Kyuquot Sound and area are much more visited and not as remote and isolated as some spots on Vancouver Island’s west coast and certainly the central and north coast, it is a still a spectacular area to visit and provides an awesome west coast wilderness paddling experience!

Trip Map