Arcly and Elo 2019

Arcly and Elo 2019 - Nuchatlitz and Nootka Island

Year 8! This is the eighth annual Arcly and Elo trip since we met in Kelowna BC in 2010. Ahh yes,  2010, when we were young and pretty. Now we are old and haggard. This trip was originally scheduled for June, but I came down with tonsillitis a few days before the trip and had to cancel last minute. Fun fact about air travel, airlines do not like reimbursing you for missed flights! This has become even more evident since COVID19 disrupted all of my March travel. Gurrrr.

This was Leo's year to host, so I flew up to Vancouver BC in early September. This year we kayaked the western side of Vancouver Island, near the small town of Zeballos (yes you are probably pronouncing it wrong). We took the ferry to Nanaimo and drove north until we needed gas, slept in the truck until morning, gassed up and continue another few hours to Zeballos.

Our first day was long and we started a little later than we had wanted, around 10am. If you know anything about us, it might be that we are incapable of packing light. This trip was no exception. Since there is no portaging on a kayak trip, we took everything! When we launched the tide was low and we had to haul the kayaks 50feet along the "beach" (crushed sharp rocks and shells) which was a real pain in the ass!! Lesson learned. Next time we will bring the kayak wheels/cart.

Map of our trip.

This was my (Arcly) first kayak trip. I'd like to think Im in okay shape, but I am terribly inflexible. I never sit upright with my legs extended. Who sits like that beside Barbie! Sitting like that is SO uncomfortable! WELLLLL kayaking is hours upon hours in this position!!! ahhhhh. I cramped up pretty badly and every time we debating stopping for a break or lunch Elo (who had no leg cramping) would see something cool like humpback whales or otters and we would have to keep going. We ended up doing around 20km that day before we found our own personal island and beach to make camp on.

humpback whales 

Well, it was a tad foggy. And by a tad I mean you could not see more than 50 feet in front of you. Also lots of rain. So I would say typical Vancouver Island weather.



One of the trip highlights was building a sauna. This was my first DIY sauna experience and I will be repeating it on future camping trips. We dug a pit, reinforced it with sticks, then rolled some large logs over for benches. Then we fiddled around for a half hour building up the walls with plastic tarps and sticks. Once we had a tight seal, we took some large piping hot rocks out of the fire, dumped them in the pit, sat on the benches (clothing optional ;) ) and poured water on the rocks. It worked SO WELL! We did this a few times, jumping in the cold ocean after. I cant wait to try this in Ontario and jump into some fresh clean lake water after. I love the ocean, but you sure don't feel clean after a swim. More like a salty deli pickle.

Elo and the DIY Sauna

On our last kayaking day we were still buried deep in fog, so we paddled as close to the shore as possible to avoid getting lost in the open ocean. Only problem was, except for the lack of visibility, it was low tide and we got stuck in some mud. Elo made the mistake of taking her foot out of kayak and stepping down, only to have her foot suctioned into the mud. The suction was so strong that she lost her shoe. Pretty much it was a near death experience, or so she tells me. I watched from the safety of my kayak as she struggles to pull her foot up sans shoe.

Elo eating cake for breakfast while wearing one shoes, having left the other in the mud. Why is it everywhere we go looks like a homeless encampment the minute we sit down?

Arcly in her borrowed kayak

We decided to leave a day early and camp on Vancouver Island in the back country. If you have a 4x4, there are endless logging roads to explore on the island.

Vancouver Island, back country logging road camp site.

Overall it was a great trip, even if the weather was crap. This year, 2020, is my year to host the trip. Who knows when and where that will be given the COVID19 pandemic. But we will make it happen!

Arcly and Alex do Donald Lake

Alex and Arcly after arriving back in Sudbury. 

In early July Alex and I went back to Ontario, Canada for a visit.  While there we set three days aside for a northern ON canoe trip in the Chiniguchi waterway. As you may recall, Elo and I were up there a few years ago. This trip was earlier in the summer and we did a smaller loop because we only had three days. However were were able to shave off some time by TAKING A FLOAT PLANE!!!

2019 route starting and ending in Donald lake. Two nights, three days.

DAY 1

We had planned on flying out of Sudbury Aviation at 9am Friday morning, but there was no visibility and we couldn't take off until closer to noon. That meant our first day on the water was rushed and long. The first day we paddled 7 lakes, which included 7 portages (120m, 150m, 230m, 60m, 340m, 170m, 180m).

The float plane dropped us off in Donald lake and we made our way clockwise to Rice lake. It took around 5-6 hours, and we did not stop for any breaks. I think this lag of the trip took Leo Elo and I twice as long. Canoeing with a proper portage pack and a big guy who survives the bombardment of mosquitoes by not talking and not stopping, makes you more efficient. Seriously, the mosquitoes were BAD!

Alex with the Langford enjoying the barrage of mosquitoes  

After passing through some nice rapids near Karl Lake (there is a really nice camp site here), we were pretty spent and just wanted to find camp. I knew the camp spot on Rice was really nice, Elo and I camped there three years ago. Luckily it was free and just as nice as I remember.  ahahahahah no one in their right mind would camp up north this early in the year. BUGS!!!!

Arcly hiding in a bug net on Rice Lake

At Rice lake we saw lots of poopy pellets. We thought it was bear poop, but after some googling we determined it was moose poop. .. which is maybe even more scary! 

Moose poop.

DAY 2

Breakfast, Day 2: leftover sausage from dinner, potatoes, garlic, spices and eggs!

After a lovely night on Rice Lake we had a big breakfast (sausage, eggs, potatoes), then made our way through Donald Creek. This part of the Chiniguchi Waterway was new to me and seemed to be a lot less traveled. The portages were tough to find and not well cleared at all (see Alex below). At one point the trail was flooded and we had to walk along a narrow ledge to access the lake. The ledge was so narrow we had to both one-hand carry the canoe.

Alex with the canoe somewhere along Donald creek. 

Just after Defile Lake we stopped at some rapids for a quick break and snack. There is a camp site here at the top of the rapids that I would highly recommend. It was a fairly bugless spot and the rapids were beautiful (see below).

Top of the rapids ("natural waterslide") Donald creek, Chiniguchi Waterway. 

Alex, Donald Creek rapids 

Once on Donald lake we went to a nearby campsite for some rock jumping. The water was really nice this time of year. I expected it to be colder. This first campsite was really nice, but overrun with ants. Otherwise we would have made camp. Instead we headed over to the campsite in the north west inlet. this spot was so hot! It faces the setting sun, which we thought would be nice, but it was unbearable. The days are LONG in Ontario in July and the sun sets really late. We didnt even make a fire (aka mosquito repellent) until around 7-8pm.  We killed time by swimming and fishing.... and eating.

Dinner: coconut rice with fried veg and tofu with coconut/peanut butter sauce. Soooo good!  

Day 3 

On day three we woke up early, made coffee, oatmeal and packed up. We wanted to make sure we were ready for the plane when it arrived. Sure enough it arrived exactly on time.

Arcly and Elo 2018 - The Lost Coast Trail

We haven't posted anything here in a year! It's been a busy year, and a lot has happened. We've done lots of learning, adventuring, and not blogging, but we still managed to pull off our annual Arcly and Elo trip. This year is our seventh!

Arcly was hosting this year and is still in California, so we stuck to the west coast and did the Lost Coast Trail in northern Cali between September 14th and 16th. I assumed that because it was California it would be jam packed and busy, complete with movie stars and homeless encampments. But in fact there were just a handful of hikers who started the trail with us, and we were alone to enjoy the beautiful coastline most of the way. 

We started bright and early Friday morning in the Black Sands parking lot, where we got picked up by the shuttle from Lost Coast Adventure Tours. The shuttle ride took about an hour and a half and was perfectly decent. 

Black sands beach on the morning of our departure. 

We started the trail at (I'm guessing here) 10:30am (?), and we knew we were in for some bad luck with the tides. There is an impassable high tide section between the start of the trail at Mattole beach and our first destination, Randall Creek. The hiking window for us along that stretch was going to close at 1pm, and we knew we were not going to make it through the 4 mile high tide stretch before then. And we definitely didn't want to rush, because we weren't alone on the beach. 

Arcly with a colony of elephant seals. Arcly is the one in the front - the one with the blue bag. To the right of the frame. 

We were lucky to spot (what I believe to be?) California's northernmost colony of elephant seals, who were lounging in the sand by the lighthouse. The sighting prompted us to give up on the possibility of pushing our luck with the tides, and to just sit and relax awhile. The females were generally inactive, save the occasional stretch and scratch or a scamper away from a male. The young males were jockeying for their position in the social hierarchy, near as we could tell, and seemed to do so by leaning against each other and stretching themselves out to see who is taller, much like Arcly and me. That's how we came to agree that I would be the dominant female if we ever get a harem of males together. 

The laziest form of fighting I have ever seen. They literally lean into each other, stretch up as tall as they can, and drift off into sleep. Eventually they seem to remember they are fighting, shake themselves awake, and groan at each other. 

We were caught on the northern side of the impassable section for a few hours, so we got down to the serious business of eating. 

A pretty good looking trail lunch. We brought shelf stable sausage, small packages of olives, and a package of sundried tomatoes (dry, not in oil). All available from Trader Joes

That first day on the trail we passed through some upland stretches and learned about the real danger of the Lost Coast Trail: Poison Oak. It's everywhere. See how Arcly is wearing shorts in the below picture? Don't do that. We both wore shorts because we come from Canada where only the animals want to hurt you, not the plants. So, take our advice. DO. NOT. WEAR. SHORTS. We bathed with soap after that first day and neither of us had a reaction, but don't take the chance, and do take to heart our warning. Poison Oak is everywhere.

Arcly surveying the coast from an upland stretch of the trail.

After lunch and after letting the tide drop for awhile, we picked our way through the impassable-at-high-tide section and found our way to Randall Creek, a very picturesque little camp spot.

The amazing geology along the Lost Coast Trail. Makes the coastal hike very different from anything you can do in BC. 

Cormorants take off from their poopy perch as we pick our way to Randall Creek.

Our campsite at Randall Creek.

The next morning we got up pretty early and headed off, but not before we spent some time watching a family of otters get on with their morning routing.

A family of river otters at Randall Creek

We were undecided on whether we would stop at Miller Flats or push on through the next impassable section. We had been advised that the last day is mostly beach walking so is quite difficult, and pushing past Miller flats for the second night might be a good idea. Additionally, our tide schedule was bad - the low tide for the following morning was supposed to be around 3ft, which is supposedly the cutoff for doing the next impassable stretch. It seemed to make sense to push through that section today, if possible.

For the first bit of the second day, we stuck to the beach rather than taking the upland trail. That's the funny thing about the Lost Coast Trail. There is an upland trail for quite a bit of it, and if you want to cover a lot of ground, you can just stay off the beach. But then how do you get to poke dead things?

Our first poke-able dead thing, and possibly our second elephant seal sighting?

That second day ended up being pretty foggy, and a good mix of beach walking and upload trail (aka poison oak maze) walking.

Dropping down onto the beach for some pebbly walking.

Walking the upland trail. It doesn't look like their would be much poison oak danger here, but trust us. There is!

By the time we got to Miller Flats we were pretty exhausted by the beach walking we had elected to do. We hummed over whether to go on. Other hikers we had met along the way decided they didn't want to risk the high low tide the following morning, and decided they would push on after the late-afternoon high tide of today. Arcly and I figured we quite liked Miller Flats, then Arcly poured some whiskey and it was decided. We'd risk the tide the next morning.

Dinner on our second night. A rehydrated chickpea tagine. I'll put the recipe in a separate post. 

We had a great night at Miller Flats watching rich people fly in on their private planes to surf for a couple of hours. We got up early the next day to make the most of the falling tide, since we knew it wouldn't fall too far. Online resources said that the upcoming 4 mile stretch of trail was impassable above 3 ft, and we knew that our low tide was supposed to be just below 3 ft. To be honest, it was never a problem. There were a couple of sections we had to hop around, but otherwise it was completely passable, and we felt pretty smug about our decision to not push through in the dark.

Last day of hiking on the Lost Coast Trail.

Overall, a great trip. My bits of advice: 1) wear pants, 2) do it in four days, not three! With just three days to do it, you end up electing to do the upland trail more often to save time, and then you cut your beach time short. Which is too bad, because there is lots of good poking to do on the beach.

Arcly and Elo (reversed), still going strong. <3

Arcly and Elo 2017

Better late than never! This year Elo and I (and Nana and Julie) hiked into (near?) Stein Valley in mid September. Stein Valley is about 150-200km north of Vancouver, British Columbia. Although the Heritage park is relatively close to Vancouver, don't expect to see humans while you are there. That is the beautiful thing about Canada. You do not have to travel very far from a city to get utterly helplessly lost.

Elo (left) and Arcly (right), Stein Valley

The entire travers takes 8 days. We opted for a three day dip in dip out.

Day 0
I fly from SFO to YVR. Much shorter than ON to BC!!

Above is some meal prep. I had to make one breakfast and one dinner. For my dinner I did a mac and cheese (pictured above) and for my breakfast I made strawberry pancakes. For the pasta I used cheese powder from my good friend Janet (she is a food scientist), dehydrated broccoli (Trader Joe's), Chorizo salami (Berkeley Bowl), sun dried tomatoes (Trader Joe's) and Italian seasoning. It was good. I would make it again. I would probably dehydrate my own broccoli in the future. Side Note: Elo and I are obsessed with making camping food.


Day 1
On the Friday we drove from Vancouver to the trail head (near Pemberton). From the trail head it took about 6 hours to hike to Lizzie Cabin. To be honest, the first 4 hours are a real snooze. Its an old logging road and not very scenic. But after Lizzie Lake the scenery really picks up its game. We camped near the cabin and enjoyed the liter of wine that Elo was nice enough (guilted, pressured..) to carry in for us.

Arcly and Nana, Somewhere past Lizzy Lake

Day 2
Hiked 1-2 hours to Long Lake (off the Traverse) and set up camp. I really liked this camp site, but finding a bear hang was a real challenge (notice the lack of trees with branches).

Long Lake

We dropped our packs and head up the Tynemouth mountain peak for lunch (2-3 hours to the top).

The view from Tynemouth. You can see long lake in the distance (our camp site)

Day 3

We knew the weather on Day 3 was going to be variable. So we packed up early and headed back to that sweet cozy rodent infested Lizzie Cabin.  Again we dropped our packs and went for a day hike. We aimed to get to the top of Tabletop mountain. 

On the way to Tabletop

Before we could get to the top the weather turned and we decided to head back. It was snowing and then raining as we made our way down the mountain. We were soaked by the time we got to the cabin, but we got a fire raging and dried right off.  This final night we were tasked with finishing off all our booze and food. Se we spent the next six hours eating, drinking and chopping wood in the rain. 

Crazed lunatics plotting death in Lizzie Cabin (left to right: Julie, Nana, Arcly and Elo)

Day 4

leaving the cabin. Time to walk out and back to the car

The next morning we woke to a beautiful scene. Big fluffy snowflakes floating down. We took our time eating strawberry pancakes and drinking coffee and milk tea.

Elo, Lizzie Cabin

The hike out took us about 4 hours. Much faster than the hike in, but the snow covered rocks proved difficult.

Alex and I do Frontenac Park

In early September Alex and I spent three days in Frontenac Park.

Frontenac Park

Frontenac park is a short drive from Kingston ON. I felt like a pro during this trip because 1) I did not have to carry the canoe and 2) I had all the Donald Lake loop experience from the week earlier. Speaking of which, I distinctly remember Elo telling me that she would carry both the canoe and me on that trip, which did not happen. I was forced to do an almost equal amount of lifting on that trip.

Alex and I did the outer loop of the park. Each day took about 3-4 hours of canoeing and portaging, and the portages were all quite long. Lucky me, I did not have to pick up the awkward heavy canoe.

On Day one we paddled from Salmon lake to Devil lake. Devil lake had quite a bit of traffic, and our camp site was noting to write home about. Still, we had a nice fire and dinner.

On day two it rained. Oh boy did it rain. We packed up the tent in the rain, we paddled in the rain, we portaged in the rain. It was miserable. But, the campsite that night was great and after about 3 hours of work, we managed to get a fire going.

The final day was short and sweet, the portages were long and steep, but we managed.








Here I am carrying a proper portage pack. It has a head strap for support, that I am not wearing in this picture. Its terribly uncomfortable and lacking in support, and also not waterproof. BUT, it holds all our junk and means portages can be done in a single trip. 

Proper portage pack. I took the stuff and alex took the canoe. 

Some stud carrying a 60lb canoe. I can assure you he did not look so happy after 1000m. ha ha

The portages were long, but they were well marked and mostly clear. There were a few steep hills though.

pesto, pasta, sausages and rehydrated brocoli 

Buttermilk pancakes in the morning with real maple syrup and coffee