2nd whale sighting, and 3rd, and 4th....

Well another weekend of complete bliss in Haida Gwaii. We took a 7 hour paddle down Cumshwa inlet to Louise Narrows and camped on Louise island yesterday. What an amazing place. Louise narrows is maybe MAYBE 6 feet deep during low tide and absolutely covered in life. Anenome, sea cucumber, stars, oh my goodness the stars... There must have been at least 25 differerent variety of starfish. No kidding, bat stars, sun stars, both in at least 5 colors. Stars with arms over a foot long.
So you want to hear another whale of a tale... listen close me hearties....
True story
After we set up camp, Jo and I went for a paddle down the inlet to see if we could snag a salmon for dinner. After a good hour or so, and no fish we started back. We met some locals that said 'expect to catch many fish with the whales around?' Well that explained a bit, but I was slightly concerned about the whales. He said they followed 10 orcas into the channel.... so, I'm ok with this.... really, I'm ok... Jo is pissed that we missed the whales as they must have gone right below us, so we head for camp to see if they saw anything. As we start paddling back, PFFFFFF.... right beside us and no word of a lie a 8 foot black fin follows right behind the spray. This HUGE bull orca goes right beside us and 2 cows are right beside him.
So, after I finished shitting my pants, jo wants to go chase after them. I played cool and said, well, they're probably already gone.... not willing to paddle anywhere but home. As soon as we give up on the whales PFFFFFSTT.... right beside us again. 2 more cows fly right by us, a little more curious, but still not concerning my friend. I was at a heart rate of 185 by now and definitely ready for shore. We're talking about 30 foot eating machines.
So, these two pass and we end up finally paddling home, when we get back to camp, you guessed it PFFFSTT... in the Narrows! I'm serious at high tide it can't be more than 20 feet deep and 30 feet wide, I have no idea how they got past. Two more juvenilles showed up and took their time to pass us not 10 feet off shore.
Absolutely blessed to see this display of nature and be part of it. Thank you powers that be.

North side of Moresby Mountan from the kayak. We'll be ascenting the face in 2 weeks. The last posting is from the south side.

These Anenome at low tide. There were thousands on this particular rock bed.

Moby and the Dick

Sorry, no pics today, the blogger thingy is not working so well. Ok, so you have to read my stories for a bit; I'll try to keep it lively. I've actually got a pretty good one...

So things have mellowed out a bit since the wilderness first responder course. I really had no idea of the extensiveness of this course being able to administer a variety of drugs (some of which I haven't had opportunity to try). We were also taught how to clear a potential spinal injury for obvious reasons that carrying a 180lb man on a makeshift spineboard for 3 days in the bush may not be the best option. All in all, a wilderness setting makes your questions and answers very complicated.

I laugh to think of this 'wilderness setting' as they describe it as "greater than 2 hours from definitive care". Right... I live in a wilderness setting. Outside of spraining my ankle, I'm guaranteed a helicopter ride if anything goes wrong in my head, moreso than it has already. Childbirth on the island is a non-existence. Operations are a non-existence, we don't even have doctors around all the time. As sure as Dolly Parton sleeps on her back, we're 2 hours from definitive health care.

The fundraiser for the Haida Language center has also given me a bit of a reputation for the 'funny guy' in town as well. As part of the fundraiser I was the host of the 'Haida Dating Game' and it was a hoot. We set up a surfer from north beach with a bunch of horny nanees (nanees are grandmas) and I worked it! Funny times for all and many compliments in the paper this week.

So, the good story....
Well, I went to Rennel sound on Sunday night in search of some surf and those california surfer dudes who were apparently in town. Didn't find them or surf, so settled down to a smokey fire, some sweet smoke and a few smokies, listened to the radio in the truck for a bit and then off to bed. Thought I'd fire up the engine to charge up the battery before nighty night and clickkkkkkkk.... shit I ran out the battery and I'm at least 50 miles from anyone. And I mean ANYONE... so I have to think about a 18 hour trek back to town. So, I goes to sleep and wake up ready for the hike in the morning. As soon as I start, the surfer dudes show up. They were completely useless and the biggest dicks I've ever seen. And I don't mean that in the good sense of the words big dick. Apparently they're here to exploit the spot, get the pics and story and sell it to the highest bidder. Oh well, we had a good run in paradise.

So after they did nothing, they said they'd check back after their surf, so I started my pilgramage again. Luckily some local boys were coming down to fix a broken bridge and gave me a boost. I gave them beer and the world was right again.!! Yay Rednecks!

So what about the moby....
After the episode at Rennel (absolutely amazing place with mountains, ocean, red turban snails everywhere) I needed a surf. It was up back home so I went out with some others and hooted it up for a bit, everyone catching good rides. As I was paddling over to the main peak I saw a huge black fin not 50 feet from the other crew. I heard my buddy Chris yell "SHARK" and we were paddling like a mofo to get out of the water. We all made it in and watched this fin circle around and around and then a big PFFFFF of a blowhole came out. We thought... porpise, naw, orca... maybe... but the fin was a little over a foot and didnt' seem to look like an orca. We guessed it must be a shark feeding on a whale. We figured something was going to die right in front of us.
So, we continue to watch in knee deep water....

Chris start's getting curious, grabs his camera and paddles out (crazy fuck). And as he gets out into about 10 feet of water the fin comes up right beside him and it's a humpback whale swimming on it's side. I followed him out and we were litterally sitting beside the whale on our boards, watching it feed right below us through the water. This went on for a good half hour until she was on her way up the beach. By far the most amazing moment of time when wilderness and my reality shared the same medium. I'll never forget that story.
So, that's the good one for the week. Hope you all have an amazing experience like that soon. Have a good weekend!

9 days in the bush

The omish have landed... I repeat, the ohmish have landed... ok, so this one clears... Chris is a righteous surfer and a energy specialist. If you want wind, or solar power, this is the guy to know. What an amazing time..
I'll divide this into two times since I haven't been able to blog for a while. The first is the show at the haida language building. The second is from a wilderness first responder course. I feel very fortunate to have been participant to them both.

The frog and the bear. Both of their enviroment.

A dance that would have hyptnotized the dead.

Mother of pearl comes from some of the most beautiful shells.

Not real. What a great simulation. For further roport on what to do with a dead body check out www.kilcollins.com and you'll find out.

Snow surfing. Larz is catching a sweet ride. Fun is always around the corner.

A beautiful erection. Whoa, What a great totem. Standing in front of the magnificent longhouses is Raven, Haida Princess. She probably wouldn't like that title, but she deserves it. Copper covers the ends of this glorious cedar. To think it was a lesser wood. Niave, or Evian, you can see it both ways.

A matriarch. The bone in the lip is a huge trend going on right now with the kids and their liprings. As a former nosering wearer (6years), you realize that feature vs. function has a whole new meaning. Who is the matriarch to your family?

A view from Qua'laxxannaaaa'haaennn or something like that. I've found a new appreciation for the sound of 7 which doesn't sound like you think it would. Try gasping a huge breath of air. That's 7. Howa'a to you alll.

Always smiling at the top of the totem.

Giving a needle is probably more painful than getting one...