[Sealions on Solander Is]
As we got near the island, the sealions jumped in the water and approached us.

Day 3

Small surf launch this morning, at 7:45 am, and we paddled west along the north side of the Brook's Peninsula. Two hours, and 8 miles later we reached the northwest tip of the peninsula, Cape Cook, and due to the calm conditions, decided to continue a mile west of the Cape to monolithic Solander Island. Solander is off limits to humans as an ecological reserve for marine birds, such as the tufted puffins and rhinoceros auklets, and it's also a favorite spot for sea lions as we soon found out!

As we approached its jagged cliffs, we could hear, and distinctly smell the colony of sea lions. Al paddled in front of the barking creatures so I could snap a picture, and as he paddled off to safety the groaning creatures crashed into the ocean, and swam towards me! I took off and they followed us as we circumnavigated the lonely rugged island; yelling, groaning, splashing and barking!

[Sealions]
That's getting a little too close!

We continued south down the West Side of Brooks, and weaved our way through the swells and breaking surf. We landed at Amos Creek, near the Brook's southwest end, filtered 10 liters of water, and ate lunch, which consisted of a Cliff Bar, beef jerky, some nuts and dried fruit.

We rounded Clerke Point, at the south end of the Brook's Peninsula, and we're helped along towards Peddler's Cove by a nice following swell, and a gentle northwest wind. We stopped briefly at Jackobsen's Point, and we're amazed at all the people that had been float planed or boated into paradise. We continued our idealistic, solitary journey, and pretended that we hadn't come across the affluent vacationers. We crossed 5 miles southeast to Kutt's Island, where we found an ideal spot on the small islands southwest side. I set up my Dragonfly stove and cooked Al and myself some tasty grub; pasta and roast beef stew, followed by a little of Al's chocolate for dessert. We had paddled exactly 28 miles, but still had enough energy to hike around the island. We climbed the cliffs just north of our site, and then continued around in a clockwise direction. We ran into a nice kayaking couple from Victoria, who had arrived by float plane the day before, and we're amazed to hear that they had already encountered Orcas, Gray Whales, and a swimming elk; hmmm... we thought to ourselves, when will we see such things? As the sun set I scrambled back up the cliffs, sat on a comfortable perch, and watched the day end as a family of sea otters clapped and splashed about below me; what an evening!

[Eric chased by sealions]
The sealions followed (chased??) us halfway around the island.


BC Parks Info: Ecological reserves are areas in British Columbia selected to preserve representative and special natural ecosystems, plant and animal species, features and phenomena. The key role of ecological reserves is to contribute to the maintenance of biological diversity and the protection of genetic materials. Scientific research is one of the principle uses of ecological reserves in British Columbia

IBA of Canada: Solander Island supports two species in globally significant numbers. Approximately 70,000 pairs of Leachs Storm-Petrels were recorded during surveys completed in 1989. This represents about 2.5% of the estimated Eastern Pacific population and 12.7% of the national eastern Pacific population. Large numbers of Cassins Auklets were also present, with a total of 34,000 pairs being recorded during these surveys (about 1.9% of the global and 2.5% of the national population). For Leachs Storm-Petrels, Solander ranks as the third largest colony in British Columbia, and for Cassins Auklets it ranks as the sixth largest colony.

In addition to these globally significant populations, four other species are present in nationally significant numbers. These species include Pelagic Cormorants, Tufted Puffins, Glaucous-winged Gulls, and Pigeon Guillemots (7.2%, 7.9%, 1.5%, and 1.1% of their national populations, respectively). The Pelagic Cormorant colony, which contains as much as 1.4% of the continental population, is the second largest in British Columbia. In addition, Black Oystercatchers nest on Solander Island as well as on the rocky shores of the other islets within Brooks Bay. Collectively the area supported at least 9 pairs, which is just under the 1% threshold. Bald Eagles and Peregrine Falcons (ssp. pealei nationally vulnerable) are also recorded in the area.



[Amos Creek]

The southwest coast of Brooks Peninsula, between Cape Cook and Clerke Point, is probably the most inaccessible part of the coastline. Very exposed to the wind and the ocean swells and studded with innumerable rocks and reefs, it is not easy to land there. Even under the ideal conditions that we encountered, we had to be careful to avoid breaking waves. We would wait until a set of five or six large swells would pass under us, and then approach the shore quickly, before the next large set would overtake us. We landed near the mouth of Amos Creek, which gave us an opportunity to wash our salt-encrusted t-shirts.
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