North Coast Trail Video from March 31

MEC Paddlefest Sunny But Not Well Attended

We had a beautiful sunny day at the MEC Paddlefest in Victoria, BC today, but attendance at this event is waning. A lot of the old diehard paddlers were there and a few new ones, but there may have been a third to a half of the people as last year. It's too bad, but people are finding other things to do. Anyway, it was good for us to be out in the sun at the beach.

Quite a few people did take part in the on-water stuff, including some free mini-courses and boat/paddle demos. Hoping things pick up next year!


Photos:

MEC Paddlefest this Saturday in Victoria, BC

Coastal Bliss will be at the MEC Paddlefest at Cadboro Bay on Saturday, June 5. We will be highlighting our tours and letting people try out our Swift Paddles. Come ready for fun!

A little professional development for Coastal Bliss: sea kayak guides in BC who are members of the Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of BC have to attend a guides exchange each three years. We just spent the weekend carousing with our colleagues from other companies on Salt Spring Island at the Spring 2010 Exchange. There was a lot of play and training in currents in the local passages, navigation games, and marine biology talks by local expert David Dennings. We hope to have some video of some of the action up soon.

Rain, Wind, and Hail on the North Coast Trail!

Just back from a 7-day trip on the North Coast Trail as a pre-season warm-up (cool down?). It was pretty darned wet and chilly. Three of us braved the weather after having our water taxi to the trailhead postponed by a day due to hurricane force winds. The trail was soggy and muddy, and sometimes just downright WET. We saw it all, from crashing waves the size of giant submarines to rain, to sun, to hail. But we made it through all the way to the lighthouse for coffee with Harvey and Todd, the lightkeepers there. The walk out was relatively uneventful. All in all, it was truly AWESOME! Check out our photos here.

Food Glorious Food!

Back from Terrace and straight back to work. Georgia has spent this weekend dehydrating veggies, beans and jerky in preparation for backpacking the North Coast Trail and Cape Scott at the end of the month.

The Sun Is Out!!

As we move into spring, the light has begun to return. The days are noticeably longer and the number of clear, sunny days is increasing.

It is time to drag out and dust off the sea kayaks to get paddling again. Trips up and down the highway, looking out at the water of the Gulf Islands along the way, have started the kayaking blood flowing again.

While Gary has been busy mostly inside this winter, Georgia has been able to paddle the river a couple of times and get up to Mount Washington (for North America's best snow this year). Right now, she is in Terrace coaching a group of archers at the BC Winter Games.

Both are looking forward to picking up their activity levels. So far, we have plans for the Ladysmith Paddle Festival, doing our annual lead guide scout trips hiking the North Coast Trail and Cape Scott Park, paddling in the Southern Gulf Islnads, and assessing trailheads on the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail.

The Maple Mountain hikes have continued to get their legs into shape. Next will be practicing paddling strokes.

Don't forget to visit our Tips for Trips page. This month, we are giving you great information on many aspects of hiking and backpacking trips.

So much to do.........Ah, Beautiful BC!