Johnstonstrait

[soenke]

Hey,

we like traveling by LandCruiser or/and Kayak (mostly foldboat)

Next summer we plan on kayaking the Johnston Strait area. We hope to bring our Feathercraft with us (or rent a f/g on Vancouver Island). Anybody here knows the area well ?

We have done some tours in Afrika, Baltic Sea, Greenland and Iceland, still I think we are more tough then skilled kayakers...

and we are not used to bears .... does anybody have some experience on camping in that area? How did you find the places, how did you prepare the camp?

thanks ...Sönke


Lake Malawi

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[Carlyle]

Johnstone Strait is a great place to kayak and see tons of sea life. Make sure you learn how to read a tides and charts, your life will depend on it in a kayak there. There are some great books to start with on the area as well, "Coastal Kayaker" comes to mind. Have a great trip and go in June or early July to see the most Orcas.

 

[soenke]

thanks,

found one book "KAYAKING the INSIDE PASSAGE" wich deals with Johnston Strait.

Tides are strong...we won´t go against them :elkgrin:

What about camping ...have you been there ?

 

[jeepmedic46]

Take lots of pics:arabia:

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

Johnstone Strait is a lovely place to paddle, although campsites can be hard to find in high season. Much of the shore is heavily overgrown with brush, and clear spots get snapped up early. I did a chapter on J.S. in Outside Adventure Travel: Sea Kayaking. (Did a chapter on Lake Malawi too!)

The bears there are black bears, and don't often cause trouble if you practice safe food handling and storage.

 

[soenke]

Thanks Jonathan, I ll try to get the book here

 

[soenke]

Jonathan, got your book today...you are very unpretentious, you made quite a few formidable tours !

Thanks, I have to read now...:coffeedrink:

 

[Beachboyy]

I have been through Johnstone strait many times on a boat (not Kayak) and it is absolutely beautiful. I agree with pretty much what everyone else said about the tides....dont fight them, let them work for you. Have a great time.

 

[T.Low]

I have wanted ot get to Johnstone straight for years now, but there are always so many places to go and different things to do! I find myself going back with my white water boat to surf the amazing standing tidal wave at the Skookemchuck Narrows whenever I want to head in that direction.

Sites to check for paddlers with experience in that area may include:

http://www.wakekayak.org/ My locals.

http://www.washingtonkayakclub.org/ Out of Seattle.

http://www.westcoastpaddler.com/ I've known about for years,a nd have actually seen post on Expo.

http://www.mountaineers.org/ScriptContent/default.cfm A solid organization with a broad scope of expertise and strong survival skills in general.

I've read your Land Crusier build and loved it. Feal free to stop by Bellingham if there is anything you need or just to say hi. Even if you'd like to get some paddling miles in before hand, we have some good paddling here 10 minutes from the house (and can watch the sun set over the Strait of Georgia from the back deck while you make final preperations over a good micro brew).

Cheers, and best of luck,

Tom L.

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

Jonathan, got your book today...you are very unpretentious, you made quite a few formidable tours !

Just saw this - thank you for the comment!

 

[soenke]

Thanks a lot Tom,
didn´t do any more planing in the moment, had to much to do. We have to book the flight soon though and decide weather to bring the feathercraft or rent a boat on the island...