Today 6 of us we went kayaking with Casey to Woody Island. Casey is the kayak guide who has been staying at our place for a month. She is a guide with Orcas Unlimited, a local kayak guide business. She wrote the following narrative for her MySpace Blog and I asked her permission to use it on our blog.
Kayaking with The Girls-By Casey Hale
So I just had the most fantastic day with the most unlikely group of people... five other women!!! As I may or may not have already told you, I have been staying with a family, the Saltonstalls, for the past few weeks until I can move into a different cabin in the mountains. Patrick Saltonstall is an archaeologist and outdoorsman extraordinaire who is absolutely busting with positive and enthusiastic energy. His wife, Zoya, is a beautiful and gentle soul who is a licensed physical therapist who also leads spin classes. Together they have two children- Nora, who is a very intelligent spitfire 3 year old, and Stuart (aka, Stewie), a 1.5 year old who is just learning his legs and loves being tickled.
At the beginning, Zoya and I got to spend a lot of time together getting to know one another as her husband, Patrick, was out on Lake Karluk for a site dig/survey. We very quickly discovered that we have a ton of things in common and we get along FAMOUSLY. We already have inside jokes... the alfalfa has sprouted... hahaha... total nonsense, I know, but if you had been there you would have CRACKED UP! :-) Ok, getting back on track... so after some talking, we decided that as payment for letting me stay with them I would take Zoya and a group of her friends out on a kayaking trip.
Our original intention was to head out to Anton Larsen Bay, but due to schedules and whatnot we decided that rather than driving the 45 minutes to the Bay that we would just embark from St. Paul's Harbor (where the Celeste is docked and the kayaks stored) and paddle over to Woody Island. In preparation for the trip last night Zoya, being the cool chick that she is, picked up four 20s of Mike's Hard Lemonade (among other variations) for the occasion. lol
The six of us, who will be featured in the up and coming Girls' Day Out album, met up at Harbour Side Coffee and worked on getting everything in place. Prepping boats for six people was quite a feat! I quickly became very grateful for having 5 additional able-bodied women there to lend a helping hand. As sketched out as I was at the prospect of hanging out in an essential estrogen pool, my doubts and fears quickly subsided as every single one of them pitched in tossing kayaks and gear around the dock. Very quickly we were all laughing and giggling, busting the balls of the fishermen who kept making their rounds trying to figure out what this group of pretty young women were up to.
Once we were all finally in the water... *Side note: Rather than eeking into the kayaks off of the transom, which would have put us much closer to the surface of the water, every single one of these girls (experienced or not) dropped themselves into the boats off of the bull rail that stood at least three feet above the water. Impresivo!... so once we were all in the water, we headed around Near Island and Popof Island and then crossed Woody Island Channel to... you guess it!... Woody Island. The sky was not nearly as clear as it was for me yesterday. As a matter of fact, the fog never really lifted.
There was also this strange film of some petroleum product on the water that was degassing much of the time. That is REALLY bizarre for the Kodiak archipelago. I informed the Harbor Master, Marty Owens, after we got back and he put a call in to the Coast Guard. I'm not sure what came of it, but I saw one of the CG helis fly by Dog Bay.
But I digress. So we paddled against the slightest breeze and the incoming tide, but the water stayed flat and the air temperature warm. It must have been in the mid-50s for most of the day. As we paddled the channel we saw porpoises, puffins, a couple of otters and harbour seals (and a bunch of the other usuals). Still no whales. We reached the western shore of Woody Island right around noon where we hauled out on a black sandy beach for lunch. Zoya broke out the hard stuff, lol, and we sat around for about 30 minutes laughing, eating, drinking, and cutting up.
Then we all decided to go for a little walk. We scrambled up a little grassy knoll into this old, moss-covered, old-growth spruce forest. After a short walk in the woods, we ended up on a berm between one of the Woody Island lakes... Lake Una, as a matter of fact. A beaver had created a dam between the lake and its outlet to the beach. We continued on up a hill that was littered with blooming shooting stars, lupine, dandelions, and some other butter-cup looking plant.
Erin, one of the girls in the group, suddenly shouted, "Oooh look! A buoy swing!" We all looked up into the trees, noting the old crab pot buoy hanging between two large spruce trees, and got excited at the prospect of getting to try 'er out. I lowered my eyes back to the path I was walking, trying hard not to trip over anything or step in the random oddly-shaped turds that spotted the path. Then... out of no where... I hear this shrieking scream coming from above me! I look up and out comes Erin barreling through the tree tops riding a white crab buoy between her knees! We all started laughing and clapping, applauding her brazen behavior especially since we all were a little doubtful of the integrity of the old trap lines holding her weight.
On a personal side note... I was a little bit jealous (ok... VERY jealous) that she had gotten to it first. lol Lisa and I ran to the top of the hill, exhilarated at the prospect of jumping on this impromptu ride. The swing was set up where we had to get up on a platform, grip as high on the rope as possible, and then jump on to the buoy. As Lisa and I were deciding who was to go next, we suddenly realized that we had to pee... not a good thing when you're about to jump off of a cliff. So we made a break for the ladies restroom (i.e. the woods), evacuated our bladders, and ran back to the platform. It was SO MUCH FUN!!!
As scared as we all were, each one of us had at least one turn, screaming on the way down (haha... and up). We laughed until our stomachs cramped! The only one who did not take a ride on the crazy train was Alexis... but she was three and a half months pregnant. Likely excuse. lol Kidding. Totally kidding.
Afterwards, we all walked back to the yaks and got back on the channel. From the beach we traveled along the coast of Woody Island up to the old ice house and pier, then we crossed back over Woody Island Channel, paddled back around Near Island and into the Harbor. Come to find out this evening, Patrick saw us paddling under Near Island Bridge and took some pictures. We chatted it up with the guys working on the boats and docks along Cannery Ro'. Then all of the girls helped me put the kayaks back on to the racks. It was such an amazing experience!
To be quite honest, I wasn't sure how the trip was going to go. I knew that all of the women going on this trip were cool as I'd spent a little bit of time getting to know each of them at some time point earlier in the season. But it was SO GREAT hanging out with a group of intelligent spunky girls who are just as open to a knew adventure as I am. I so hope to spend more time with these girls. Zoya and I are already talking about the prospect of taking a kayaking camping trip. We're thinking about paddling from St. Paul's up to to Anton Larsen Bay. Patrick tells me that there is this amazing camping site about a mile from Kizhuyak Point on the eastern side of the Bay.
Pictures will be added soon! In the meantime, the good times are never ending. Each day is an adventure.
By the way, I'll finish my other blog about the Mecca incident very soon, too. Sorry to keep you hanging! I miss you guys so much!
-Casey
Photos: Casey helping Melissa and Karen board their kayaks at St. Paul Harbor.
Panoramic of view of the beach during our beach picnic lunch on Woody Island.
Alexis and Melissa walking along the beach, headed back to the kayaks.
My tandem kayak partner, Alexis, in action.
(left to right) Alexis, Karen and Melissa headed back to town.
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