Pacific Rim Paradise

The next day it was time to explore some of the outer islands, so we squeezed between Turtle and Turret Islands and crossed Coaster Channel. We found some “culturally modified” trees at Gilbert Island, which is just fancy talk for cedar trees that have had bark stripped off and planks cut from their trunks. West Coast natives used cedar trees for everything. They cut planks from the trees to build longhouses, and they used bark and roots to weave blankets and clothing. From the largest cedars were carved gargantuan dugout canoes—some more than 40 feet long—that were used for hunting whales in nearby Barkley Sound.

Gilbert Island is where we saw our first sea lion. As we discreetly followed it around a corner, a loud chorus of barking echoed across the water, and we knew that we weren’t far from the outer rim. Hundreds of the ornery creatures lolled in the surf or basked on rocks.

We stopped for lunch at Dicebox Island, which was once the site of a Nuu-chah-nulth village and also is a fine place for exploring tide pools. We spent nearly two hours poking around on the outer edge of the island and basking in the sun. We then packed up and paddled back across Coaster Channel, skirting the edge of Turret, Trickett, and Lovett Islands before heading out onto open water. The wind had picked up, and so had the swells. They were midsized at most, but large enough to offer some excitement after an otherwise relaxing day. As we paddled, the waves would lift the tail ends of our kayaks, rolling down the length of the boats before slipping out from under the front ends. The front ends would then drop into the water with a sploosh! It was like being a slow-motion bronc rider at a western rodeo.

As it was our final night, we gathered some driftwood and built a small fire. Tallina brought out some bananas, which she parted with a knife, stuffing each of them with marshmallows and squares of chocolate before placing them on the hot embers to bake. There is nothing quite like a beach fire on the last night of a trip, and the chocolate-marshmallow banana splits only made it more memorable.

Matt Jackson/Canoe & Kayak Hand Island offered an ideal lunch spot, but the starfish wasn't on the menu.

There was even a final surprise. Everybody had gone to bed except for three of us, and we were dousing the last embers of our fire when we noticed a strange phenomenon that Robert had mentioned earlier in the trip. Every time we touched the water, it would light up with brilliant green phosphorescence. We dropped a rock in, and tiny green waves would radiate out from its center. We would skip a rock, and little green ping marks would flash across the surface. We would spook a fish, and a green lightning bolt would streak through the shallows.

After we’d entertained ourselves for many long minutes, I finally said good night to my colleagues and retreated back toward my tent. They weren’t far behind. As I slipped my boots off, a sudden and bizarre idea struck me. I stopped what I was doing and listened carefully. I waited for all the tent zippers to stop zipping, and for the sleeping bags to stop rustling. Then I quietly slipped from my tent and tiptoed back down to the water to take a pee.

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