Blueberries, the Benjamins, and more Perfect Days
On August 4 (Sunday), we started paddling at 8:15. We had a break on a cobble beach on the north side of Amedroz Island (yet another limestone island) before reaching Croker Island and then the Benjamin Islands. Both Croker and the Benjamins are pink granite, with gorgeous scenery and some interesting channels and bays that probably harbour great campsites - but every spot that was near deep water had at least a dozen big boats anchored in it.
Ron suggested that we paddle along the more exposed west side of South Benjamin Island to see if we can find a spot that the big boats haven't taken over, and we got lucky in a shallow, sheltered bay with lots of flat spots. As soon as I had set up my tent (and Kasia and I had a beer), I slipped on my sandals and went for what I thought was a short little exploration behind the site.
I hadn't counted on finding ripe blueberries, and since I had an empty Ziploc baggie in my pocket, I kept wandering from lush to lusher patch. Before I knew it, I was high above the site and wishing I'd put on better shoes, but my Ziploc was full in no time and I took the shortest route I could find down the bluff to show off my berry-picking prowess.
Oh the pride! It was infectious, because soon after, Kasia, Ernie, Joe and Len all disappeared into the bush in search of berries. At least I think they went in search of berries…
Later on, while Ron and Bill circumnavigated North Benjamin Island, I went for a fun scramble on the bluff to the north of our site (this time with proper footwear) and picked some more blueberries. Though there were no fewer than four dozen big boats anchored nearby, their captains and crew obviously had little interest in berry picking, since I met no-one and none of the patches I came across had been picked over.
I got back to the site in time to get the full benefit of Kasia's espresso maker, and then later she cooked me pad thai for dinner. Oh, and she had filtered water and filled all of my bottles as well. I was left with no choice but to fill the afternoon with napping, reading and swimming… To show my appreciation, I did dig out the port flask and decided that we would simply have to empty it - particularly so since it had sprung a slow leak.
Monday came, and so did the northwesterlies (coincidentally, the direction we would be heading). The forecast called for increasing winds throughout the day, and we promptly left the site at 8 a.m. and headed out towards the northern tip of Eagle Island and then through McBean Channel to a narrow passage called Little Detroit. Little Detroit marks the eastern edge of the Whalesback Channel. I'd heard a lot of wonderful things about the Whalesback Channel, and was a little disappointed that the north shore of Aird Island was full of cottages (which weren't on my map) and the chain of islands beyond that offered nothing in the way of good campsites.
But it was still early, and (for the most part - with the exception of a couple of forays out to play) we took shelter behind islands and had calm water. Len remembered a site he'd camped at once on Klotz Island, but when we got near it, we saw a beautiful beach in the distance. We merrily headed out for it, only to see about a hundred kids as we got closer. Kasia asked one of the kids what camp they were with, and when he said "the John Island Camp", we quickly deduced that we were in fact on John Island! This had been the "if we can" goal that Ron had set, and we were here, two and a half days into an eight day trip… We had earned our C-3 rating that day, and - since we were so far ahead of schedule - Ron declared Tuesday to be a "day of rest".
       
Next: Day of Rest