Tatchu, a 40 min. water taxi from Fair Harbour, will be the first backpack for the season. This outing will take us to Yellow Bluff before returning for our pick up, 6 days hence. On the southern reach, we’ll set up camp for 2 days and day hike to the Bluff. (click information button, top left, for map)

Every day it rained steadily in the early morning and relented a bit for the rest of the day and on the 3rd day, it barely relented at all! Going along the beach was slow in loose sand and rock, dangerous on the slick pillow lava. And there were the tides to contend with.

All was well until the 3rd night at Tatchu Cr. - where we setup for our 2 day camp - rain seeped in my poorly pegged tent and trapped a puddle on the groundsheet under my tent. I asked to stay behind as Janet and Mike left for Yellow Bluff. During my idle time, I whiled away the day drying up gear, shooting the scenery, reading the weekend Globe and Mail (I assure you, that is arduous on its own), and gave some thought to the multifaceted nature of misery.

They returned after dinner, for them, it was a day of bushwhacking in salal on a cliff edge, waist high in water fording a lagoon, and 6km on logging road! They said they would never do that again, I was somewhat sorry I missed it.

A few more days of wet, I had to confess to my friends that this has been the most miserable backpack I’ve ever been on - I was almost labeled a fair-weather backpacker! I can’t call myself much of an adventurer, survivalist, or a great navigator, but merely a photographer. Here’s what I managed with my little Sony α6000.