Oh and did I mention they have their own brewery too? Baranof Is Brewing Company and mighty good beers they are too. So very much appreciated after the nine days paddling from Petersburg.
The weather continues its dream run though we have had some of the inclemental type slowing us down on the East Coast of Baranof and some interesting seas off Cape Ommaney.
Getting around the Cape was such a classic sea kayaking day. A cruisey warm up, some tension and excitement and amazing scenery.
We left Port Alexander with just enough flood tide for us to get to the Cape at slack water. The local fisherman at PA had mentioned that the current virtually always flows south between Wooden Is and the Cape irrespective of the state of the tide. It seemed prudent though to be there at slack water as rounding the Cape sounded tricky enough without adding further complications. The forecast 15kn Southerly was less than half that so we slid smoothly through calm water for the 10km.
A classic day, as rounding any feature like this always generates an element of tension. Despite all the local knowledge and our own decisions you still have no idea what actual conditions lay ahead. The tension builds as you get the first glimpse of the horizon, no lumps! Looks good. The horizon looks straight and level, no really big swells or big lumpy seas.
But of course our eye level view is from barely 80cm above water level. The nervousness mounts as inexorably the kayak gets closer to the action, the first white water is spotted, at first the odd splash of white off to the east, close to Wooden Is, not a good sign. Then within a couple of km our horizon was filled with white water, as predicted the Southerly current hitting the open sea, steepening the waves and causing them to break.
As we got closer and could actually see the final rocks of the Cape the seas ahead didn't look inviting, at all. The waves looked very steep and very close together but it looked like we could get behind them by heading around the outside of Wooden Is.
Once around the island the conditions didn't look too bad so we turned Northward and into the mess of steep waves fringed with white.
Once in the middle of it there's nothing else to do but keep paddling. The seas were really messy, no rhythm, just chaotic big lumps yawing the kayak through 45degs and lurching us up and down with stomach clenching force, all to the sound of white water breaking all around us. Concentrating like mad on the waves to be prepared to brace if necessary and snatching quick glimpses of the Cape off to our right, lining up the rocks with the cliffs behind to ensure we were heading where we wanted not drifting SW with the current.
The confused seas abated but it was still uncomfortable going for an hour or more as the tide, the rebound from the cliffs and the SW swell all combined into a sea where suddenly your arm can be up to the elbow in a wave or conversely your paddle skips through fresh air as the water drops away suddenly from the side of the kayak.
Such going is hard work as it is impossible to get into a rhythm but despite this we seemed to be moving along nicely.
With the excitement over for the day we started appreciating the wild rocky coastline, precipitous hillsides dropping from snow clad peaks, thickly forested fjords cutting so deeply into the mountain range that they almost cut through to the east coast. Kayakers sick of waiting for suitable conditions to get around Cape Ommaney have been known to portage the 1.5km gap between Port Lucy and Puffin Bay.
Slowly conditions eased and the usual paddling rhythm returned; now to find somewhere to land for lunch. It didn't look easy and our map was useless for such minute detail. We turned into one or two bays which were far too rocky, then cutting in between two small islands into a haven of mirror calm water a tiny jumbled bouldery cove enabled us to step ashore. There was no way we could land the kayak but the water dropped away deeply enough to enable us to simply tie up the kayak as if alongside a jetty.
A little under four hours from Port Alexander and we were starving.
The rest of the west coast of Baranof Is has been equally wild and remote. Landings weren't easy to find but something always came up after a little hunting around. It's great how quickly we start reading the coast and its geology to start getting hunches on likely landing and camping spots.
As we neared Sitka, NWesterlies were forecast, slowing us down a bit just when a beer, a shower, clean clothes and a food stock up were near. Not far out of Sitka though we did find the true meaning of bliss - Goddard Hot Springs.
The last shower had been at Petersburg eight days before, so it was absolute bliss to strip off and slide into a natural hot tub!
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