Day 2

We were up at 5:30 am this morning, cooked some oatmeal and coffee, cleaned up the cabin, and launched at 7:04 am. The water was calm, the sun was out, and we were elated when we passed our furthest point south, from last summer's trip, Kwakiutl Point. Today is my 39th Birthday and what a place to celebrate life!

We paddled 19 miles and camped on a long tropical type sandy beach, just south of Orchard Point in Brooks Bay. The sand and sun were very hot so I took a little dip and attempted to body surf the tiny waves.

The beach and the green mountain slopes behind reminded us of the north coast of Kauai.

BC Parks Info: Explorer Captain Cook called Brooks Peninsula, the "cape of storms", ... The unique geography of Brooks Peninsula offers everything from inter-tidal marine life to a sub-alpine mountain environment. This peninsula is distinctive in that it is the only part of Vancouver Island unaffected by the last ice age. Today, this coastal glacial refugium is home to a variety of rare plant species and unique geologic formations.

Visitors can see a variety of marine mammals in the area, including Gray whales, sea lions and sea otters. Seabirds, including Rhinoceros auklets and Marbled Murrelets, are found in abundance in this park, which features miles of remote, uninhabited sandy beaches and an old growth coastal rain forest.

Al and I hiked along the beach looking for glass balls, and after dinner paddled up a river inlet into what seemed like the Amazon. The crystal clear water magnified the huge boulders, which appeared to be only inches under the surface. The temperate old growth rainforest, (balsam, hemlock, Douglas Fir, Sitka Spruce, and red cedar) that surrounded us, was landscaped with huge sword fern, skunk cabbage and bracket fungus mounted like toad head trophies on the sides of fallen trees. We eventually ran out of water depth and retreated back to our beach where we capped off the day with a spiced cider, a little "Birthday Brandy" and a sunset that lit the sky on fire!

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