The Second Rule of Kayaking: Always Wear a Hat That Fits.
We are in a heat wave here on the We(s)t Coast. This weekend, we are having record-breaking temperatures in the mid-30s. For some of you, that may not sound bad, but for this part of the world, we're cooking. This is our third scorching day, and we expect another tomorrow. But thank god George says that there is no such thing as climate change, and that's good enough for me! What do 99% of the world's scientists know, anyway?
Once again, it was Louise, Paula, Alison and myself. We put in early on the Inner Harbour, just south of the Johnston Street Bridge. The plan is to paddle under the bridge and up The Gorge waterway.
Even before we started, the animal sightings began as...
...Paula found a stegosaurus.
And away we go! Under the Johnson Street Bridge...
... and into The Gorge proper.
The harbour and The Gorge are working waterways, so one has to be aware of traffic, like this barge...
... or this dragon boat.
Look! A raccoon! No, really! I know it looks just like a brown smudge, but trust me -- it's a raccoon!
There's still some heavy industry along The Gorge...
...even though much of it is being redeveloped.
A harbour ferry beats us to the Galloping Goose bridge. We'll see him again.
Paula goes under the bridge...
... and heads with Louise towards this interesting vessel.
It's home made, with aluminum bars for the body, and PVC pipes for the pontoons. What a great idea! (If Bernie had been with us, we would have been stuck here for hours.)
We continued up The Gorge.
The heat was getting to us and Paula was looking around for the Ice Cream Boat. There was no sign of it, alas.
Hey, this goose isn't galloping!
We reach the end of the road: Tillicum Bridge. The last time we were here, we caught it at a slack tide and were able to go under. This time, no such luck. The tide had turned just as we had launched, so we knew we would not be going under the bridge today.
It's nasty whitewater, big rocks and strong currents. That doesn't mean that we weren't going to go play for a bit!
Paula hangs back, while...
...Alison takes over in the assisted-suicide department from Bernie.
Alison wasn't the only one to go play in the whitewater.
Am I hot or what? Yes. I am hot. Baking, in fact.
And we begin our way back.
Ducks off the port bow, sir!
There was only one way to end a great paddle on a hot day like this...ice cream!
My pictures are here.
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