By Rob Mohle - Special to the San Luis Obispo Tribune August 8, 2003

"Look," I said, pointing to the sky, "I see blue." "That's not blue," laughed Mary-Anne our guide, "That's a sucker hole." After four days of rain we were all ready for some sunshine. But in the Queen Charlotte Straits off the west coast of Canada, sunshine can sometimes be a rare commodity.

It has been said that in British Columbia the sky has more shades of gray than you could ever imagine. At the same time, the forests have more shades of green than you could ever imagine. All in all, it's a worthwhile tradeoff. In all my life I have never visited a place with fresher air, clearer water and a more peaceful setting than the coast of British Columbia.

My adventure began at the Vancouver airport, where I caught the one-hour flight to Port Hardy, a small fishing village located at the northern tip of Vancouver Island. From my window seat, the view of snow-capped peaks, narrow fjords, and endless miles of green forests was captivating.

Vancouver Island is 282 miles long, 60 miles wide and is separated from mainland Canada by the Inside Passage, a system of glacier-carved fjords and waterways that extends all the way from Vancouver to Prince Rupert, Alaska. Ever since my father gave me the book, Cruise of the Blue Flujin, a true story about four Sea Scouts who paddled the entire length of the Inside Passage in 1936, I have always wanted to kayak these waters. Now, the opportunity had finally arrived.

Early the next morning, our tour group of nine assembled at the Government Dock in Port Hardy. Following introductions by our two guides, Mary-Anne and Paul, we boarded the 40-foot Hurst Isle for the one-hour shuttle to our final destination, God's Pocket Resort.

God's Pocket is located on Hurst Island a remote, otherwise uninhabited island in the heart of God's Pocket Provincial Marine Park, a chain of small islands just off the northern tip of Vancouver Island. The rooms are rustic yet very comfortable with private baths and delicious meals are served in the 100-year old lodge. If you are interested in kayaking the Inside Passage, but have no interest in camping out, God's Pocket is the place.

After a brief but thorough safety orientation, we set out for a leisurely paddle along the shoreline of Hurst Island. A light rain was falling but the water was smooth as glass. The air was cool and had the fresh scent of pine. Bald eagles soared across the sky, a curious harbor seal eyed us warily and white-tailed deer grazed along the rocky shoreline.

Next day we got an early start on the water and headed southeast around the island chain that comprised God's Pocket Provincial Marine Park. The Park is noted for its extreme clarity of water and is a favorite for scuba divers as well as kayakers. The sky was overcast with intermittent showers and the air temperature was in the sixties. We stopped for lunch at an ancient village site of the Kwakwaka'wakw speaking peoples who first occupied the area 8000 years ago.

On our third day we spent the morning hiking through the rain forests and kayaked to the Scarlett Point Lighthouse for the afternoon. To reach the lighthouse we had to cross Christie Passage, a narrow waterway with strong tidal currents. In British Columbia, tidal fluctuations of up to 17 feet can generate tremendous currents through the narrow channels and straits. To navigate safely through these currents requires skill and planning.

Two couples staff the remote lighthouse alternating the twelve-hour shifts. Darlene, who gave us a tour of the station, and her husband Al have resided at Point Scarlett for twenty-eight years. Darlene seemed to love the seclusion of the remote outpost and explained that to "get away", she and her husband spend their vacations at a cabin they built which was about a mile away.

A hot shower followed by the evening "happy hour" and a satisfying meal left me just enough energy to crawl into bed. I fell asleep listening to the soft rain and gentle sound of waves lapping on the shore. It was at that moment that I realized why storm-weary mariners referred to this protected cove as God's Pocket.

We spent the next day exploring Browning Passage a narrow waterway with a vertical wall of granite rock along the western shoreline. At low tide the Browning Wall offers a fascinating display of inter-tidal sea creatures. The wall is also a favorite spot for scuba divers.

Our final day consisted of three relatively short excursions, culminating with a night paddle. Since we were so far north, it didn't get totally dark until about midnight. The sea was calm and only the occasional screeching of an eagle broke the evening stillness. As the darkness progressed, the water splashing from our dipping paddles erupted in a shower of glowing phosphorescence.

Early next morning we boarded the Hurst Isle for the return to Port Hardy. I focused my binoculars on the passing shoreline-so many places to go, so many things to see. Someday I will return.

Rob Mohle lives in Shell Beach and is author of the book Adventure Kayaking, Trips from Big Sur to San Diego.