After a busy Christmas we headed to the Living Forest Campground in Nanaimo to bring in the New Year. This is our annual "US" time that lets us recharge so to speak. A couple days ago the weather was stunning (and still is) so we geared up and launched in the Nanaimo River which is right at the campground and headed out towards Duke Point also known as Jack Point.
I found this little bit of information on the City of Nanaimo website. Jack Point is named after Jack Doholt (1819-1905) who was a resident on the point for 40 years (he supplied Nanaimo with milk and hay). Jack Point used to be an island at high tide, but is now connected to Duke Point and Biggs Park.
This is interesting because from our campsite we can see the lowest point in the peninsula where the tide would have flowed through.
The tide was high as we paddled across the shallow estuary over to Jack Point in search of crabs. Yes we attempted to catch craps again without any luck but we did however find a couple of really nice oyster beds and I was able to harvest a dozen really clean small ones which would be great for lunch back at camp.
I found this little bit of information on the City of Nanaimo website. Jack Point is named after Jack Doholt (1819-1905) who was a resident on the point for 40 years (he supplied Nanaimo with milk and hay). Jack Point used to be an island at high tide, but is now connected to Duke Point and Biggs Park.
This is interesting because from our campsite we can see the lowest point in the peninsula where the tide would have flowed through.
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| Taking our trusty relaxing Delta 15.5 Expeditions out for a tour around the Nanaimo River Estuary. |
The tide was high as we paddled across the shallow estuary over to Jack Point in search of crabs. Yes we attempted to catch craps again without any luck but we did however find a couple of really nice oyster beds and I was able to harvest a dozen really clean small ones which would be great for lunch back at camp.
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| Paddling across the estuary out towards Jack Point. There would be no water here on our return. |
One of the things about Jack Point is some of the amazing sandstone galleries that can only be seen from the water. They are actually pretty amazing and we love visiting them every time we stay at Living Forest.
Paddling to the end of the point I dropped the crab trap (no luck) and we continued along until we could see the Queen of New Westminster as she was departing from the Duke Point BC Ferry Terminal. The bulk carrier Trade Vision arrived a couple of days ago and is anchored between the tip of Duke Point and Protection Island.
After only a couple hours we noticed the tide dropping pretty fast in the estuary so we headed back towards the Nanaimo River looking for the channel that would take us to the campground. If you look on our track, the route we took out was now high and dry.
Paddling in only a couple of feet of water (sometimes inches) we made our way towards the campground and located a channel that flows along the shoreline right to our put in. It's kind of like a puzzle trying to figure out which channel will let you through without having to portage over sand bars. :-)
Paddling in only a couple of feet of water (sometimes inches) we made our way towards the campground and located a channel that flows along the shoreline right to our put in. It's kind of like a puzzle trying to figure out which channel will let you through without having to portage over sand bars. :-)
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| Nobody home at the Purple Martin houses today |
It is interesting to see how the gravel bars have moved since the Google Earth image on our track was taken. If you look at our 4nm point it looks like we paddled over a gravel bar but in fact we paddled around it. The bar has moved south and is now situated between the 4nm and 1nm points.
This will be our last post for 2015 but there is lots more Nuchatlitz trip blogging to do in January. So from Robyn and I we wish everyone and very HAPPY NEW YEAR and all the best in 2016!!
2015 Paddle #42 - Living Forest
Distance: 5.75 nm (10.65 km)
YTD: 256.15 nm (474.39 km) Needs editing once Nuchatlitz blogs are complete.
YTD: 256.15 nm (474.39 km) Needs editing once Nuchatlitz blogs are complete.
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