Welcome to British Columbia

Just before crossing the border into Canada, I ran across a bunch of commercial fishermen. A few had installed floating platforms in the waterway, part of Misty Fjords National Monument, so they'd have a place to tie their boats up. One, I'm told, is trying to homestead there, undaunted by the homestead act having been repealed in 1986 or the area's designation as a national monument. He's got a mailbox on his floating home, but I'm not sure how much luck he's had getting the Postal Service to deliver to it.

The good weather held and crossing the Portland Canal, known for variable conditions, was straightforward. Once across, I headed up Work Canal to the ruins of an old cabin. Unfortunately the current in Work Canal was strong and, after paddling upstream for a while, I ended up just shy of my destination. Walking along the steep rocks and pulling my boat behind for the last 500' took another hour or so, but I made it.

I camped on a grassy ledge well above the water. Or so I thought. In the wee hours of the morning, I noticed that the ocean sounded surprisingly close, and looked out to see that the water was a couple feet from my tent and still rising. I quickly picked up all my belongings and moved to a higher ledge.

Tides and currents in British Columbia are more extreme than in the parts of Alaska I've been travelling. Today was a gentle reminder to pay attention.