Day 6 - To Hand Island
Dave goes mink hunting with his camera only to be in turn hunted by the mink.
Expedition Fishbait: In May 2001, five friends embarked on a kayaking trip through the Broken Islands group of the Pacific Rim National Park off Vancouver Island. This is the journal of that trip as kept by me. To see all the photos from this trip you can view the associated photo gallery.
Day 6 — Friday
10am Friday — We wake up. No one has been eaten by animals or each other yet. It is a beautiful day, the sun is shining, the air is warm. All thoughts of a speedy getaway from Turret Island vanish like the morning mist. Not that any of our previous attempts at getting away have broken any land speed records.
11am — The Flag Bearer climbs to the highest point on Turret that he can find risking life and limb to raise the expedition flag above the camp site. A photo is taken and breakfast (brunch) is had.
12–4:30pm — Laziness sets in. Haseena and Santhi take baths and go swimming in the freezing cold ocean and afterwards sun bathe reading about Joey Smallwood, ah Newfoundlanders. Dave goes mink hunting with his camera only to be in turn hunted by the mink. Aaron and Dups walk around the beaches and back to the cedar tree with the cameras. We now have two rolls of film dedicated to a blue heron and two rolls dedicated to a gigantic cedar tree. You would think we spent a week there. On their return, packing (which actually started at 11am) begins in earnest. In all this time we say adieu to the three ladies, Janet, Linda and Tina and swap e-mails. They promise to meet Aaron, Santhi and Haseena in Operation Dawson City.
6:30pm — Much to our surprise we are packed and on our way before dark. Could this be start of a trend? Too bad this is our second-last day. We quickly make a detour to pick up some oysters for supper despite the dark, threatening clouds. After all we must keep our priorities. Even if we are shipwrecked we will eat well. It takes and hour to portage out of Turret — we also pick up mussels. None of us are 100% sure if the red-tide warning included mussels. Oops. Oh well.
8:30pm — With threatening skies and dark setting in, we make landfall on the crowded island of Hand. We find a campsite and Dave and Dups set about putting up the tarp while the others get a fire and dinner ready. The Major and Private draw up various schema and spend 40 minutes planning before spring into action and putting up a unique tarp. The others vow to never let them put up anything again. Supper is had (again amazing), tents are up and finally sleep is had on this our final night among the Broken Islands.