I recently got elected club president for the Port Moody Canoe and Kayak Club and so I set about organizing a schedule of interesting paddles. One of the first club events I decided we would go from Rocky Point to the Twin Islands in Indian Arm for a 2 day paddle. It was our first overnight paddle/camping, so within the few weeks prior to the event we had to obtain suitable camping gear that would fit in a kayak.

We got a small enough tent, and sleeping bags and some of those self-inflating mattress pads. I already had a small stove, from the last time we visited the island. We just needed some pots and pans. We got some cheap mess kits at Walmart.

We left Rocky Point at around 11am. There was one cancellation, due to car trouble, and perhaps some club members were more into day trips than a multi-day trip. At this point, it was just two of us, but we had arranged to meet up with two more friends, Julie and Sandy, at Belcarra Park who were going just for the day. From Belcarra, you can visit the Twin Islands as a day trip. But from Rocky Point it is about 5 hours paddle each way.

It was slow going at first, because the wind was against us as we came out from Rocky Point towards Barnet Marine Park and turned the corner into Indian Arm. Whenever we paused, the wind would blow us backwards, so we tried not to pause too much and kept paddling at an even pace. It took us more time than we expected, and we arrived late at Belcarra. There was a message on my cell phone that our friends had left about an hour earlier. We had a quick lunch and then moved on, in the hope that we could catch them up.

The scenery in Indian Arm is always amazing. It is like a huge lake, surrounded by mountains. There was even snow on the peaks in the far North.

This area is a natural habitat for seals and we saw them popping their heads up out of the water to see us pass by. There were also lots of other kayakers out, but we did not see our friends. There were also lots of big pleasure boats going by, which created some waves for us to deal with.

We met up with Julie and Sandy at the Twin Islands. It was nice to see familiar faces as we arrived. They had to leave soon after we arrived, to get back to Belcarra.

We set up camp, and moved our kayaks up near the tent. I talked with Gordon on the marine radio, when he called to check in on us. He said that he had met up with Julie and Sandy on their way back. It is one of the things I like about a club where the members look out for each other.

The next day we packed up camp and paddled south. The wind and the tides were with us, and we made it back faster than the day before. When we returned to Rocky Point, our friend Brent was there to meet us.

I have more photos here.  I look forward to reading your comments below.

Duncan

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