Solo Kayak Journey

One day, a lonely man got in a 1997 Solstice GT to paddle to Knight Inlet. Through persistent rain and mosquitoes, he journeyed from camp to camp, driving his Werner Shuna paddle into the sea, hoping that every stroke of its beautiful carbon fibre blades would take him closer to inner peace. That first evening, he beheld a mystical sunset where the sky turned golden pink with a rainbow across the sky. The next day he finally reached the entrance of Knight Inlet, his goal being to paddle 35 km into it to look for the mythical grizzly bears that inhabit the great bear rainforest at Glendale Cove. 

When he reached the Martin Islets to set his camp, just south of Tribune Channel, he looked into the vast inlet, with its endless steep walls with nowhere to land, and contemplated the possible hardships ahead: nowhere to land for miles, grizzly bears, nobody to call for help at night even with a radio, possible high winds that could kick up at any moment, at least 2 days each way...as he made his decision, to turn back and paddle west instead. As a mighty humpback whale took a breath which echoed from the steep slopes, he made peace with his decision. The journey ahead would allow his mind to ponder life's big questions. What is the purpose of this life? Does destiny await him, or will he find random harmony in the waves and currents of the sea? 

Pondering his decision to abort the quest and change course, he paddled west, wondering if it made him any less of a man, or if his decision was simply wise. Seeing many salmon leaping from the waters all around him, and wanting to catch one for himself, he cast his lure to troll. Repeatedly, he would hook one, then it would shake off the hook and escape. He kept paddling through wind and rain. Passing the ruins of an ancient village, he carried on. He was so locked in that the paddle strokes became an endless rhythm, becoming one with the sea and he lost all sense of time. 

At last he reached a suitable island to make camp for the night: Flower Island. Extensive efforts to catch fish did not pan out. He went to sleep, a lone man on an island. The next day his persistence was rewarded with 2 salmon, a pink and a coho which he ate and shared on White Cliff Islet. He left the next day but as he was paddling among some islands, a black triangle appeared on the horizon, heading towards him, then disappeared. A few minutes passed. He sat as still as could be in his boat, in the open water. He looked down. Without a single ripple, a massive black and white form passed under him, swimming on its side with powerful strokes of its wide tail. The full-grown male, swimming at full speed and looking up at him. It surfaced a long way off to join its pod off in the distance. What a mighty breath it must have taken! He took it as a sign from the universe that he should not leave this place just yet. He returned to his camp and stayed 2 more nights - he could not so easily leave this paradise. 

He was no longer in solitude, he met many travellers on this island and exchanged many stories, as well as fish and wine. He had a lot more ground to cover. On the 8th day he finally reached his starting point, Naka Creek, criss crossing the mighty Johnstone Strait and spotting killer whales from great distances and hoping the many extra miles paddled would be validated with another magical close encounter. But such life-affirming moments cannot be conjured through will alone. They must appear when they choose to appear. 

What did the man learn on his journey? In the end, he returned to exactly the same place where his journey had started, but a slightly different man. More tolerant of long moments of solitude. At peace with the rain and the frigid waters, the mosquitos and the the tidal currents that did not always run in his favour. The man had a particular objective in his life, a sequence of events that had consumed his thoughts for months. He thought about it day and night. Then realized that what he wants to be might not entirely be in his control. It may come to be, or it may not. Everything will still be fine and life will continue and life's journey will never stop providing unexpected moments of glory to a man, as long as he has a genuine spirit, an open mind, and gratitude.