The Broken Islands (Clarke Island)

I slept like a champion, but had to leave the tent as it started to heat up under the warm morning sun. British Columbia was caught in the grip of a heat wave and we were experiencing it even on the coast. Our breakfast consisted of oatmeal, raisins, nuts, and brown sugar. We all watched in awe as Randy busted out an epic breakfast of meats and eggs.

We broke camp and set off in the direction of the Pacific Ocean. We intended to camp at one of the last islands before the Pacific. We stopped again several times to rest and eat at various enclaves and beaches. As the tide was out, we dragged our boats through a small isthmus on Turret Island. Our final push across a channel before reaching Clarke Island, our destination, was a real gripper. We stuck together as we crossed. I was closest to Matt. He was just a few yards in front of me at one point but I nevertheless lost sight of him for a few moments when he disappeared behind a large swell.

We compared the two outermost islands, Benson and Clarke, and were glad to have chosen Clarke for our campsite. We made camp on a point of white sand beach which afforded us views of both the rising and setting sun. Unfortunately, there was still no sign of Brooke. There was a large chimney structure still standing on the island, one of the few remnants of early settlers that tried to make a living there. We hiked through the forest and climbed around on the rocks on the opposite end of the island. I went for a dip and rubbed the sweat off my body with the salty water. Three other campers, a Swiss, a Swede and Italian showed up on our island. They were fun to talk to. Dawn had planned to prepare polenta for dinner. I helped. It was delicious. (I know I sound like a broken record.)

We took the kayaks out again for an evening paddle. We planned to paddle around the west side of Benson Island, which would give us an unimpeded view of the ocean. But the breakers around that end of Benson were high and choppy, so we opted out. We watched a whale roll around from a distance for a while before returning to camp where we smoked some Captain Black cigars to celebrate our good fortune.

Kook had only to deal with mice while he slept the previous evening. He was a little more gripped about the night ahead due to the two minks that had been running around the perimeter of our campsite.