Monday, October 3, 2016

The Opposite Perspective

We have anchored in Blind Bay and Indian Cove on Shaw Island countless times.  But other than the obligatory trips to the Shaw Island General Store for ice cream, we have never been on Shaw Island.

There was one exception however, when we took a hike from Blind Bay over to the campground at Indian Cove.  Now Shaw Island is not big - the hike is almost exactly 2 miles long.  When we did that hike, we promised ourselves that we'd repeat it some day, with backpacking gear and spend the nite at the campground.

We took the occasion of our 45th wedding anniversary to do just that last Thursday...


Backpacking on the ferry

When hiking on Shaw Island, you are likely to run into some of the residents...  residents who will not gracefully surrender right of way to you or car traffic.

On the way, you will pass this charming little hut, where someone is selling locally gathered seeds.  On the honor system, of course.

The campground is lovely.  There are 10 sites, most of which are on the edge of a 20 foot high bluff directly above the beach.  All are supplied with picnic tables and a fire ring (firewood is available).  Water spigots are not far.

And then there is the beach at Indian Cove, one of the nicest beaches in the Islands.

The view begs you to just sit and contemplate. 
So we had the opportunity to see the anchorages we are so familiar with, but from the opposite perspective - from land.



Finally, being the gadget nerd that I am, this trip provided the opportunity to try out some neat things that I had received from my son and daughter-in-law as presents...

Backpacker's beer - No one wants to carry the weight of a six-pack when backpacking.  But most of that weight is water.  What if you removed that water?  Yeah, that's the ticket!  It's real beer, with a real head, and it is as cold as your water source.  You won't believe how good it tastes!

Heating water for coffee... and charging my phone!

Unlike almost all of our backpacking campsites, This one on Shaw Island has cell service.  But the battery in my ageing iPhone 5s is failing and needs frequent transfusions of electrons to stay alive.  Imagine my delight then, at receiving this backpacker's pot!  Yes, it does indeed have a wire attached to it...  You see, the base of the pot is a thermoelectric generator, and creates electricity as long as there is enough temperature difference between the bottom of the pot and its contents.








Share/Bookmark

4 comments:

Rick said...

I was going to accuse you of being hardy folk, backpacking, sleeping on the ground, cooking over the open fire. . . Until I read the rest of your post and realized that you backpack with all the modern conveniences.

Congratulations on your wedding anniversary!

Robert Salnick said...

Oh yeah, guilty as charged.

I love the terrain that backpacking can get you into here in the Pacific Northwest, and I believe in making the experience as pleasant as possible. So YES to the conveniences!

And this trip didn't even qualify. It was only two miles... on a road!

LittleCunningPlan.com said...

Backpacker's beer? Who knew? That looks like a fun Christmas gift, so thanks for the link. Your photos make me want to give Shaw Island a try. We've not been there, even for ice cream.

Jason said...

Love this post. We did the same hike last summer. Stella dominated it as a young 5 yr old!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...