Our Vargas Island Kayak Trip, Day 2 – Ahous Bay Campsite

Bob and I, with Claire and Martin, had no sooner pulled our kayaks on shore to make camp in Ahous Bay, Vargas Island, than we found giant wolf tracks made by a Sea Wolf.

The tracks provided evidence of a Wolf’s daily patrol in search of scraps left behind by campers.  All conscientious visitors make certain to leave nothing behind!

With all of the gear stashed in the holds of the kayaks, there was much to unpack and sort through.

As the afternoon was marching along, we got right down to setting up camp.

Our little 2-man tents didn’t take up much space and were quick and easy to pitch.

Cocktails were enjoyed as we relaxed on an exposed hump of rock.

Every inch of space on the sides of the rock were jammed with oversized Mussels and Barnacles.

We also savoured the sensory pleasure of rinsing our feet in the warm water of a tiny tidal pool being mesmerized at the same time by the undulating tentacles of Sea Anemones.

The rays of the late afternoon sun eased our weary bodies.  The day’s leg of the trip took about 6 hours, covering a distance of about 20-25 kilometres, maybe more.  It was only during the last hour that I felt somewhat fatigued due, in large part, to the fact that I had become terribly over-heated.

After our lunch break earlier in the day, I had donned my coat because the cold air associated with the fog had chilled me down.  Further to being overheated, my sunglasses kept fogging up making it difficult to see Claire in the lead kayak.  Like a mother duck encouraging her ducklings, she patiently and confidently led the way with each of us following in a neat row.

Piles of logs were washed up against the forest, but little portable driftwood remained for firewood owing to the popularity of the beach.  We diligently gathered branches in the woods and scrounged for small scraps in order to ward off the evening chill as well as the mosquitoes.

It was flat rocks that stood in for our cooking platform with several logs arranged as benches.  Claire’s forethought resulted in another hearty meal, chili with pitas, crudités and wheat berry salad.

Martin’s explorations along the rocky shoreline were fruitful;

he returned to camp proudly displaying a huge orange Starfish.

Many more similar Starfish were attached to the rocks on one side of the bay.

The starfish ranged in colour from orange to brown and purple.

Martin was not the only one beach combing!

Bob hastened me over to see a beautiful collection of purple Sea Anemones stranded above the water line.

As Claire waded into the water to rinse some dishes, a shrill squeal emanated from her lips as Shrimp began to nibble at her toes.  Likewise, when Bob went to wash his feet before donning dry socks and boots, the bold Shrimp tickled his toes.

As we sat around a roaring bonfire, Martin suddenly realized that his swim shoes were missing.  He had inadvertently left them on the rocks by the tidal pool, and those rocks were now almost completely covered by the incoming tide.

A hasty search along the shore did not turn them up, so Martin took to his kayak to check the bay before all daylight faded away.

Quite miraculously, he plucked first one, then the other, from the debris patches that had accumulated in one corner of the bay.

When it came time to retire, everyone swept clean of wolf tracks the sand around the tents.  Martin predicted that the wolves would return to case out our campsite while we slept on Vargas Island.

Frame To Frame – Bob and Jean