Day 6

Llewellyn Inlet to Sloko Island rest stop. Left camp 8 am. Arrived at Wind Break Island 9:30 am. Departed 10 pm for Bastion Island crossing, arriving midnight.

Awake at 5 am, out of tent at 6 am and started paddling just before 8 am. Morning bugs manageable. Relaxed pace packing up & breakfast; which was exactly what we needed.

Once out of bay and around the point, to start crossing over to Sloko Island, we hit large swells. Initially this raised some worry but we learned it's possible to just sit in big waves and be okay, even to take a breather. You just end up rolling up and down more or less in place. An important lesson, sometimes the best thing to do is nothing for awhile.

We crossed in only 22 min, big swells the whole time but no wind.

Once across we paddled between Sloko Island and a medium island beside it. We passed by the most popular camp site on Sloko and it was full. No one was awake yet. We made it to the small island at north end of the Sloko Island straight. The small island had a nice camp here, with a fire pit nestled out of wind. There was a strong north wind now, whipping up big white caps in the main lake. This small island end up being a great place good place to stop and wait it out. We christened it Wind Break Island. However it's clear that sometimes this very bad place to camp: there are wave lines of small stones and detritus 10m (30ft) up the beach from water's edge.

Arguably this could be the most beautiful camp of our trip. It certainly was the right thing at the right time for us. Hot, sunny, bug free. Nothing to do but wait out the wind, enjoy each other's company, skinny dip in the hot sun and cold water, and do a little exploring. We accidentally found a geocache whose logbook shows has been maintained for some years. Unfortunately the contents got wet and many items were rusted up or slimed. We considered paddling two minutes to the other side of the straight and find the island lake we could see on the map but decided to just enjoy where we were. Save that excursion for another time.

At 10pm the wind died down and we began debating whether to take advantage of the lull. In short order decided better to use what we have now rather than wait to see what else might develop. So we starting paddling across to Bastion Island at 10:30 pm.

It took an hour to make the crossing. Small swells, stunningly beautiful sunset the entire time. Paradise mountain was living up to its name, the light picking out the red and orange colours of rocks and gravel, bringing the massif alive. On the frequent pauses to see the view behind us we watched the sun set over Cathedral Mountain, lighting up the sky in yellows and orange. What a way to paddle!

At Bastion the bugs were bad again so we left the canoe mostly loaded, covered with the spray skirt, and unpacked only essentials for the night -- tent, sleeping bags, tarp. This allowed for a fast setup and take down, decreasing the losing war against the bugs.