With less than a days notice two new paddlers enlisted in this lucky adventure. We already had a breeze so Troy, Eteban and I headed into the North West to put the wind at our backs on the way home. The North Bend Bridge is an impressive structure when you are in a little canoe and it towers over you. The seagulls made a lot of noise and warned us off of their territory with several near misses of whitewash. We were very lucky.We took the hint after a few pictures of the returning Coast Guard Cutter, Orcas passing in front of the North Bend Hanger.
Lucky again to see the Orcas returning to home port in front of the airport hanger with two birds in the foreground.The two dark birds in the foreground may be loons. One had a white neck band.
We paddled to this island and found a skull. It was about the size of an otter head and looked a little long for a racoon. I did not know if the otters had molars. 
Lucky to find an interesting skull to examine.
The wind shadows made a huge difference when the hills stopped the 25-30 mph gusts.
This crab molt was on a bed of Pickle Weed, which had little yellow flowers. We collected two trash bags of litter from the island and began the journey home in an overloaded 15'6" boat with three adults. The winds had generated white caps and 3 foot waves were building in the ship channel as the tide ran against it. Heading into the waves with a small angle we crossed the bay a quarter mile above our destination. At the crest of a lucky wave we spun around the canoe and ran with the wind. Using strong braces and rudder strokes we enjoyed the roller coaster ride back to the dock. Troy and Esteban were troupers and never complained. I did indulge their request for a bailer as the bilge water increased to ankle deep. The real test of their assurances they enjoyed the trip will be if they ever return for another adventure with the Happy Paddlers.
No doubt about it this was a luck day for a beautiful adventure out our back door.
1 comment:
Joe, Nice presentation. You are not only a highly experienced paddler but also becoming a nature photographer and writer. How about a National Geographic sponsored adventure to find the stone lodge? One week trips up the Chetco over several years. Hiking and paddleing. Kalmiopsis, largest wilderness in the lower forty eight? Endangered plants. Biscuit fire. Native American archeology. Frontier history looking for gold mines, homesteads. D.L.
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