The Outside Passage

As weather warms and ice melts plans for Summer trips are alive and well. In the Pacific Northwest much of that planning is around routes on the BC coast.

“Will BC be open? Let’s go to Alaska instead”.

Sharing that disease I revisited some trip reports that have inspired me over the years and re-read Oregon paddler, Jonathan Walpole’s 2006 account from Ocean Kayaker Magazine of his solo trip from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy via the Outside Passage. I repeated his route in 2009 and have become pretty familiar with many of the features and sites that he so eloquently described in his article.

It’s a good read and if you are looking for inspiration or just an enjoyable way to pass a bit of time please take a look. His descriptions of the trip are accurate of what one typically experiences in paddling this route.

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Thankyou!

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This is awesome, thanks for sharing.

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Thanks, a very enjoyable read!

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I have only been in the Outside Passage on a ship. The swells are often 6-12 feet or more which makes even a 950 foot vessel roll quite a bit. On whale watch, we did not see the usual humbacks or orcas, we were out with the blue whales.

It is not for everyone.

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