The morning often brought storms–as it did here on Chatham Strait. We took our rest days mainly when the weather was threatening.

Our comfortable pace of  8-20 miles per day allowed for frequent rest stops...

Making camp was easier with an outgoing tide.  The pyramid tent is our cook shelter–we usually pitched our sleeping tent in the woods.

Footprints mark the morning’s business.  Beaches were often sandy near the open Pacific...

Humpback whales were our daily companions up north.  These huge, 30-ton mammals are spectacular to view  from the seat of a kayak.

There’s been a revival of NW coastal art, evidenced by this modern pole in Ketchikan.

But  mornings could also bring mystic light, and the promise of gentle seas and a light breeze.

...And gear drying when the sun came out.  It could be a week before it was out again!

Communities along this coast are days apart by kayak.  We waited out a long storm  in tiny but friendly Meyers Chuck, Alaska.

...But more frequently those found on our route were made of cobbles or boulders–a difficult landing in a loaded wooden kayak.

Shy but curious Northern sea lions would sometimes tag along for miles, snorting and splashing behind us.

A few older poles still stand. We visited a pair called the “Watchmen” near Waglisla.