Hakai Passage

Hakai Passage, originally uploaded by macatay.

Last year, we went north up the Inside Passage, the waterways that are protected from the open ocean. As we passed by the Hakai Passage, a big swell was rolling in from the Pacific, accompanied by fog. It seemed wild and mysterious, so we did some research. We found that the Hakai Passage area is a mecca for fishermen and kayakers, so this year we made a beeline to explore the area.

Moored safely in a protected bay, we found we could go ashore and hike the mile across to the Pacific beaches, and that a network of trails went on from there to more beaches to the north and south. We also discovered that we could launch our Michelin Man kayak out through the surf, and paddle to dozens more beaches and coves. This photo shows the red kayak in one of our secret coves.

We also discovered that paddling back in through the surf was more difficult, and we have yet to make a surf landing where we haven’t rolled out of the kayak and into the shallow water. This might be even more fun if the water were warm. But we couldn't possibly laugh any harder.