As we cruised North up the Sound, we came across numerous waterfalls. These falls come from the top of the mountains, so if you look carefully, you can see them traverse over majestic drops. At each place we found one, we marked it on our GPS with a diamond for future exploration.
Reaching the North end of the Sound, you find there to be several great locations for temporary moorage. We decided that even given the call for 0 – 5 knots of wind out of the Northwest, we would play it safe and anchor at “Oyster Cove”, which is approximately one quarter of the way from the top of the Sound. The cove is actually unnamed, however in Anne and Laurence Yeadon-Jones book “Desolation Sound & the Discovery Islands” name it due to some of the unique natural wonders. (Note: we have found this book to be a great reference on anchoring throughout our trip) On the Southeast corner of the cove is a small island. This island is a steep squat island, with nothing but a few trees. Ideal for a stern tie. So we backed GONE WITH THE WIND down on her anchor, climbed a cliff to find a tree, and tide tight. We were approximately 100 – 125 feet from shore in 25 feet of water. Plenty of room. After ensuring we were secure, we dropped the kayaks in the water and headed to the North side of the harbor. Per our reading material, we understood there was a lagoon you could kayak to in mid and high tide. As we approached the shore, we noticed something quite strange. There were oysters covering every square inch of the beach area. There were big and small oysters, literally laying there for you to pick them up, shuck them and eat. What a shame neither of us enjoy raw oysters! Alabama jumped ashore, stepped on an oyster and looked back with a “what have you done to me now look”. With some difficulty, we picked our way to the lagoon. As it was low tide, the lagoon was only connected to the Sound by a small stream. This stream was draining the lagoon, but as the tide would come in, it would refill again and the cycle would continue. Just as we made it to the lagoon, we noticed the loud sound of water running, and noticed what appeared to be a granite quarry to our left. As we walked back into the woods we were met with massive devastation. It appears that this past Spring, there was a massive landslide. Trees and rocks are strewn everywhere. In an attempt for a little adventure, we decided to climb the face of the land slide and see if there were any pools to bath in. As we ventured farther, it became apparent that we would not meet with success. The landslide was so new that there were trees which were acting as pipes routing water in ever which direction. At this point the water was not winning, but over the years we both believe it will become a great place. The actual “new” falls are extremely high, and as stated, will develop into quite a site with minimal amount of effort to get to them.
After leaving the rock slide area, we went back to the lagoon. The water in Pendrell Sound proper is about 78 degrees and this was even warmer! I (Bob) pushed Cae in, then Alabama. Cooper would have nothing to do with me
On our way back to the boat we picked 12 small oysters for dinner, and headed back for dinner. When we got to the boat, Cae stepped on the boat, waited for me to step on the transom, and then had her revenge as she pushed me back into the water. With all the swimming and excitement of the day, Ali, Coop and Cae took a short nap, while I explored the small island behind us. Cae brought smores fixins with us, so she really wanted to have a fire. So while they slept, I went about scoping and preparing for an evening of smores roasting. The location of our fire was 8 feet up a rock which jutted North into the Sound. To our left we had Mt. Bunsen, our right was Mt. Addenbroke and directly North was Mt. Whieldon a 6,000 foot pointed beauty. As the sun went down, we made smores and watched the world float on. The only problem was…the minpin…he did not bring A ball, but managed to find a way to get two out to the island. So the game of the evening was watch Mom fetch the ball out of the Sound as I drop it down the side of the rock. This went on until Cae looked at me with ball in hand and said throw it. I looked around and had nowhere to throw it but up a 20 high, very steep, “hill”. I threw, minpin climbed like a goat. Up, up, up he went. Through the bushes to the ball. It was quite a site and really entertained us. We later found out it was against the rules to have a fire, but was worth it this once.
As the sun went down, we decided to migrate to bed for the evening. It was 11:00PM and we were both tired. Now the only problem is that it was still dusk. You know the hazy light you have just before sun up or after sun down? That was it at 11:00PM. We endeavored to sleep anyway, and at 3:30 were awakened by one of the kayaks hitting the boat. It then hit us both. The sun was still in that “not really down” faze. We estimated it might have been dark for 3 maybe 4 hours, but not much more. This is a very strange area of the world.
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