Swinomish Channel Swing Rail Bridge

You've read a bit this week about our cruise to La Conner through the Swinomish Channel. As we passed the swing railroad bridge at the north entrance to the channel, the sky to the north started to brighten.

The bridge remains open for boat traffic to pass unless a train comes on it's way towards Anacortes.

Tucked along side the bridges over the Swinomish Channel were some classic work boats.










And a funky little community of homes or cabins along the water's edge. One had a big for sale sign if you are interested. -- Margy

Misty Beach

On our way back from our quad ride to Marg's Manor, we stopped at Misty Beach on Haslam Lake. It's a site that has been developed and maintained by the Wednesday Trail Crew. This group of dedicated Powell River ATV riders has built many trails, bridges, and campsites for everyone to enjoy.

The trail down from East Haslam Main was a bit steep, but it levels out as you near the water. On the way you pass a classy new outhouse, well away from the watershed into this lake that provides drinking water for the City of Powell River. Dave (supported by Marg of course) is instrumental in many of the Wednesday Trail Crew projects such as this.

Misty Beach is a beautiful spot for lunch, or an overnight stay. On the point there's a picnic table with a dynamite view. The nearby creek adds a calming effect, and the lake invites you to take a dip on a hot summer day.

This ride was perfect for me. It was easy, yet had some challenging spots. And visiting Marg's Manor and Misty Beach for the first time reminded me what a great place Powell River is to live.

Want to read more about back country adventures in and around Powell River? Wayne has written two books on the subject. The first to be released in 2006 was Up the Main. That was followed by Farther Up the Main this year. Both books share stories about places to ride and explore, and are available in print, e-book and Kindle formats. -- Margy

Up the Main to Giavanno Lake

This year I haven't been able to ride my quad much. In fact, my last ride was in May 2010 with our friend Jeanne who was visiting from Bellingham. That's fourteen months. So Wayne and I called our friends Dave and Marg from the Powell River ATV Club and invited them to join us for an easy ride.

We started at the parking area near Edgehill School on Abbotsford Street. This is a great place to begin a ride right in town. And on this partly sunny Sunday, we had it all to ourselves. That one we never did figure out. Usually it's pretty full on summer weekends.

The Edgehill Trail System leads from town right into the bush. Within ten feet you are enveloped by green forest and lush ferns. The intertwining trails lead to Duck Lake Forest Service Road which connects with logging roads that lead farther inland. Is that Wayne telling one if his fish tales?

From Duck Lake Bridge we headed east on Duck Lake FSR Branch 1. This transitions to East Haslam Main then Giavanno Main. At this point, there is excellent signage posted by the PRATV Club. The trail down to Marg's Manor on Giavanno Lake is unmarked, so you'll have to watch your mileage (see below for information about purchasing a local ATV Trail Guide). The trail was a bit challenging for this rusty rider, so Dave gave me a hand at the worst spot.

Marg's Manor is a wonderful little campsite on Giavanno Lake. Poki's place is on the north end. Marg's Manor is on the east shore where it gets lots of sunlight.There's a tent platform and a covered area for relaxing and cooking if the weather doesn't cooperate. And yes, it's named for my good friend Marg.

Giavanno is a beautiful lake surrounded by towering forest. A dock lets you get out to deeper water to cast a line for waiting trout. Or you can use one of the boats, but please leave them and the oars for the next visitors.

Do you want to explore the great outdoors in Powell River? Would you like a book full of maps and trail descriptions with GPS locations? There's a great book written by Dave, the president of the Powell River ATV Club. It’s called the ATV Trail Guide and costs $25. If want a copy, you can contact PRATV at their website. They are also on sale locally in Powell River at Quality Parts and Guy's Cycle Works. All profits support trail maintenance and building activities. -- Margy

Through Deception Pass at Slack

We got up early to catch low water slack at Deception Pass on our cruise back to Bellingham. This is the other major route from the Puget Sound to northern cruising waters. Because the seas are compressed as they rush through the pass, the current gets very dramatic.

At max flood or ebb, it can exceed 8 knots. That's enough to create whirlpools, eddies, waves, and lots of speed. In short, dangerous waters. But at slack, it can be safely navigated. Thankfully there are tables to tell you when to go and when to wait.

The water at La Conner wasn't at slack yet, so we had a bit of current on our departure, but nothing unsafe. The weather was overcast like the previous morning, but not cold. As we exited Swinomish Channel, it narrowed and passed between higher rock walls.

It is at this point that silt buildup is more problematic. The center of the channel through the drying flats of Skagit Bay is well marked, but at low tide extra caution needs to be taken, especially by sailboats with deep keels.

We got to the Deception Pass area about half an hour early for slack water. We stopped near Skagit Island outside Similk Bay and floated in the calm seas to pass the time. There is one moorage float left, but it sure looked close to the island shore in the low tide.

Once we made it under the bridge we noticed several small boats and lots of people on shore fishing. They were waiting for low slack to catch some of the salmon running through the pass as well.

We dropped a line using Wayne's downrigger. Hope they had better luck than we did. -- Margy

Summer Cruise to La Conner

La Conner, Washington, is a fun travel destination. Of course, we've been to La Conner by car. But his week we made the trip by boat. Part of the attraction was to transit the Swinomish Channel that connects Padilla Bay and Skagit Bay.

Swinomish Channel is one of two main routes from Puget Sound to northern waters. It was just highlighted in the most recent Pacific Yachting magazine because of the problems with silt buildup from the Skagit River. Dredging is needed, but funding isn't currently available. We wanted to make the trip "just in case" the silt builds up before the funds start to flow.

We left Bellingham in the afternoon and arrived at the northern end of the Swinomish Channel under partly cloudy skies. The channel passes through the shallow flats of Padilla Bay, so following the navigation aids is important. Going aground would really spoil a nice boating afternoon.

Once we passed under the massive double bridge of Highway 20 the channel narrowed with depths between 20-35 feet on a high tide. We watched our GPS and depth sounder to make sure we had plenty of water under us. The channel is plenty wide for boats to pass in both directions, especially with the posted "No Wake" speed throughout.

By the time we reached La Conner, it was almost high tide, but you would never know it from the current. Wayne made an excellent approach to the fuel dock and the attendant met us to help. We decided to stay overnight at the guest dock. He recommended the inside because it gets less wave action from passing boats.

With the strong current, Wayne had to make a few passes. I can't leap ashore very well, so he got us in position and I manned the throttles just in case our position changed. It didn't and we were safely tied up. We were amazed on an August afternoon how much open space there was available. It was good for us, but a bad sign for boating in general.

The quaint town of La Conner is within easy walking distance. We first stopped at the Boater's Discount Center. It has a lot of things packed inside. Some are new, some used, and many unusual. The La Conner Marina has two sections, north and south. Both have long-term, short-term, and guest moorage. It's a lovely place to stroll and boat watch. After dinner it was back to the boat for a calm night on the water -- Margy

Let There Be Sun

Wayne is an avid amateur astronomer. He uses his 8-inch Meade Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope on the deck of our float cabin to explore the dark night sky. When the wind is calm, it makes a perfect platform.

Wayne also uses his telescope during the day for solar observations (with special filters and safety techniques to protect his eyes). And lately due to the 11-year cycle, we've been having lots more sunspots.

Using his small automatic digital camera, Wayne captured this image. Sunspots are predicted to increase through July 2013 so many more opportunities for observations should occur. -- Margy

Save That Nail

The saying, "save that nail," has come to symbolize our attitude towards sustainability at the cabin. When we first got our cabin, we were true city-folk. But living off the grid for several years has changed our ways.

It was such an important concept for us to learn that Wayne devoted a whole chapter to "save that nail" in his first Coastal BC Stories book, Up the Lake. You can take a look here. Everything we need up the lake has to get there by boat, and everything that needs to be discarded has to go down the same way. So you can see, recycling and reusing is really important for us beyond the economic and environmental savings.

Saving nails and reusing construction materials is also important to our good friend John who is constructing our new bathroom addition. Here are nails he's salvaged for reuse. Construction has slowed due to rain. But our roofing arrived today, so things should get going again. For now, my new compost toilet is residing in the kitchen (unused of course). -- Margy