Shoulder Season in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest

Kayaking in front of Chatterbox Falls, B.C.

  After a successful and exciting summer season in Alaska I am guiding trips through British Columbia and the San Juan Islands for a little over a month. It is a wonderful time to be boating and adventuring in the area because most of the other summer cruisers have left the area. But we still have some chance for amazing weather.

Victoria, B.C. lit up

   The trips included some culture and town time like visiting the Royal B.C. Museum and having high tea in Victoria as well as touring around San Juan Island and the whale museum in Friday Harbor. But aside from these stops we spend the majority of our time out in the wilderness exploring marine parks, deserted islands. and a beautiful fjord called Princess Louisa Inlet.

High Tea at the Empress in Victoria

Robert Service Tribute Bar

Transient Orca Encounter

Pacific White Sided Dolphin

  The food and drink onboard are top notch and the fact that we focus on the wilderness experience means that we draw a certain kind of guest who is likely to be interested in the outdoors, adventure, wildlife, and immersing into the wilderness around them. So in other words, they are my kind of people. I try to educate them on the area and the wildlife with different presentations at night as we travel from place to place. And it is always amazing to see the bonding which naturally happens on these trips.

  Part of that bonding happens because the guests can push themselves to try new things and have new experiences that they share together. We sometimes have groups that come out already knowing each other but for the most part the are independent travelers who enjoy similar interest. By the end of the week it is not unusual to see a few tears and to have people stay in touch with each other and come out on future trips with us in different destinations.

Hidden Waterfalls: Chatterbox Falls

Bushwhacking Obstacle Course

  If we are lucky we get some great wildlife thrown in as well. This week we had a close encounter with a pod of transient killer whales. These are the mammal-eating orca that have pretty huge ranges so its always lucky to come across them. Bear, dolphin, porpoise, and a load of different bird encounters can also be had in the area that we cover.

Polar Plungers

Hot Tub Time

   Its amazing that this area is so close to Seattle yet it seems to still be quite the secret. I think it can stay that way for a while longer and I'll take full advantage of having these places all to ourselves in the meantime.