Approaching Tree Point Lighthouse as I paddle up the coast at Dixon Entrance.
The NOAA was apparently wrong about the weather for today. At 5am, the wind was light and the waves were small and from the southwest. After 3 ½ days of sitting around and waiting for the weather to clear I could not wait to get back on the water and put some miles behind me. By 6:30am I had launched and was heading north up the coast. Conditions were favorable all day with even the current helping me along. I passed plenty of beaches that looked suitable for camping today. Partially submerged rocks however block most of them. These would be dangerous to try to pass through with any sizeable wave activity.
Entering Foggy Bay.
I made good time, reaching Foggy Bay at 9:50am. After paddling into the bay, I navigated through a maze of small islands, many surrounded by nice sand beaches, emerging at Kirk Point at 11:30am. Hundreds of small rocky outcrops in the bay provided perches for countless water birds that would scurry off as my boat approached.
Rounding Kirk Point at the north end of Foggy Bay.My destination for today was a beach at Kah Shakes Point that would put me in a good position to make the two-mile crossing of Boca De Quadra Inlet first thing in the morning. At 1:10pm, after paddling 24 miles, I reached a small island just offshore from Kah Shakes Point that looked like a great spot to camp. A large sand beach on its eastern side is out of the wind, smooth flat rocks provide a clean area to cook, and there are plenty of level campsites up in the trees. Others before me obviously recognized these same amenities, as there was evidence of heavy use by the native people.
Bark torn from Cedar Trees.
Many of the Cedar trees on the island had long strips of bark pulled off, which is something the indigenous people do to gather raw material for their native crafts.
My island campsite off Kah Shakes Point.
The wind had died down and by 4pm, it was dead calm. Flocks of birds in the nearby waters were feeding and calling to each other around the island all afternoon. A lone seal surfaced just offshore every few minutes to keep an eye on this strange new intruder in its midst. Around 5pm, I tried calling home on the cell phone and was amazed that the call actually went through. I was still 40 miles from Ketchikan and yet had a perfectly clear connection.
The sand beach at my island campsite off Kah Shakes Point.
