In the News

A Pocket Full of Adventure, by Dennis Arp 2009

By Dennis Arp, travel contributor for Veterinary Practice News

And on the fifth day in God’s Pocket, we rested. But just long enough to add a big hairy legend to our already rich Canadian adventure.

Our intrepid group of 10 was hiking in the misty rainforest of Hurst Island, in British Columbia’s God’s Pocket Provincial Marine Park, which in less than a week had come to feel like the perfect home base for outdoor exploration. On previous days, we had kayaked with porpoises, otters and whales, combed shorelines rich with native history and watched bald eagles tumble through the sky in their mating embrace.

Now, sitting cross-legged in eerie sunlight filtered by the dense canopy of fir and pine tree branches, the plot thickened.

Serina, one of our two guides from Sea Kayak Adventures, the outdoor company that had organized our six-day trip, shared stories of how for years sailors plying these waters had shunned the east side of Hurst Island for fear of encountering “a wild, hairy man.”

Later, a little research revealed this excerpt from “Cruising Beyond Desolation Sound,” John Chappell’s book on sailing the Northwest:  “Strong evidence points to the existence of a Sasquatch family on the island. … Indian residents of nearby Balaklava Island have had similar experiences and now refuse to go to (Meeson Cove or Harlequin Bay).”

So of course we had to go looking for evidence.

Rudderless Bliss in Baja: A Novice Kayak Tourer Revels in the Rhythms of Life on the Sea of Cortez

"We will paddle double kayaks into Loreto Bay National Marine Park, and visit Isla Danzante and Isla Carmen, both uninhabited wildlife sanctuaries declared as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. We will be off the grid—no email, cell phones, hot showers or flush toilets. Instead, we’ll reset our priorities to paddling, snorkeling, hiking, swimming, and, at the end of each day, reward our burdensome diligence with happy hour.... ... We look out over the sea. Three pelicans fly overhead. The distant echo of dolphins and whales leave an imprint on my heart. Slowly, we make our way back to the laughter of the group—another day in this unforgettable Baja paradise."

God's Pocket Resort, by Rebecca Agiewich July 2009

By Rebecca Agiewich, Writer, Editor, Blog Consultant Photos courtesy of Paul Malboeuf Day 1: We arrived at God's Pocket Resort after a bracing boat cruise through the Queen Charlotte Strait, on a tour organized by Sea Kayak Adventures, which has exclusive use of the resort for lodge-based sea kayak tours.

I've been curious to see the God's Pocket Resort because my boyfriend Dave used to stop here with his father in their boat enroute to Alaska from Seattle. He raves about how friendly and quirky it is, and how beautiful - set in a little pocket cove that's protected from the elements in the strait (hence the name God's Pocket).

An Orca Odyssey off Vancouver Island, Edmonton Journal June 2009

By Donald Mallon, regarding Johnstone Strait BC, Edmonton Journal, June 27, 2009 "Orcas!" I said. Lexie and Caleb, our Sea Kayak Adventures guides, were asking me and seven others about our overall objective for a six-day kayaking trip. My co-paddlers and I were attending a night-before, planning-and-get-to-know-each-other session at the Haida-Way Inn in Port McNeill on the northeastern tip of Vancouver Island.

Carbon-free Kayaking in God's Pocket, Calgary Herald April 2009

By Lisa Monforton, Calgary Herald April 22, 2009 Kayaking British Columbia Adventurers have punished their minds and bodies on human-powered odysseys for centuries. Every week, it seems another modern-day Thor Heyerdahl embarks on a feat that most of us can't even fathom, and often for the fame that comes with success.

Paddle alongside whales, sea otters, seals and porpoises while kayaking and camping around some of Canada's most stunningly beautiful and remote waters and islands in the Queen Charlotte Strait.

Baja Beauty, The Globe and Mail March 2009

By Darryl Leniuk Special to The Globe and Mail (Canada's national newspaper) March 28, 2009 With each paddle stroke, sea spray pelts my face like driving rain. In the past five minutes, I've barely moved along the limestone cliffs of the shore. My guide Terry Prichard - my partner in this two-man kayak - yells at the nearby boats, "Paddle back to shore!" We've taken too long a lunch break and the wind has picked up: we're fighting a strong headwind.

But I don't mind; the sky above is a sharp blue, and this morning three bottlenose dolphins passed close by our beachfront camp.

Mexico Paddle Power, TravelAge West Dec 2008

By Mark Chesnut TravelAge West, December 6, 2008 Baja sunset Green. Eco-friendly. Carbon-neutral. These terms are thrown around all the time in today’s evolving travel industry, but what exactly do these buzz words mean for travelers, and how does one small tour operator make its own footprint even smaller?

Kayak in God's Pocket, Smarter Travel Dec. 2008

by Molly Feltner, SmarterTravel.com Staff - December 8, 2008 Sea Kayak Adventures has a great itinerary for veteran sea kayakers seeking for a new destination to explore or beginners who want to try a multi-day excursion without having to rough it: A six-day trip in British Columbia's God's Pocket Marine Provincial Park based out of an island resort in the middle of the park.

Not only will you get to experience a spectacular region seldom visited by other kayakers—at the end of a good paddle you can unwind with a yoga session and a hot shower followed by a made-from-scratch meal in the comfy God's Pocket Resort to which the company has exclusive access.

Absolutely Killer, The Spokesman-Review Sept. 2008

Sea kayaking with orcas is up close and personal

By Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review Posted September 23, 2008 While some people are content to simply watch killer whales, sea kayakers have a yen to experience them. The payoff for investing a few days and a little muscle power can be huge, as another eclectic group of adventurers learned this summer in the fabled orca waterways off northeastern Vancouver Island.

From the cozy cocoon of a kayak cockpit, the paddlers felt the forceful channel currents that govern the movements of salmon and the orcas that prey on them. View Photo Journal

Whale Watching by Kayak in British Columbia, National Geographic Traveller August 2008

By Norie Quintos, a senior editor at National Geographic Traveller Magazine August 2008 Kayaking British Columbia Whale-Watching by Kayak in British Columbia Senior editor Norie Quintos edits Traveler's annual Tours of a Lifetime issue, which selects the 50 best guided tours of the year. So what did she do on her family vacation? She took two tours out West. This week she blogs about sea kayaking in British Columbia; next week, rafting on Idaho’s Salmon River. And the following week, she'll share tips on planning a great family trip. It took three flights and an hour-long boat ride from northern Vancouver Island to get to Hurst Island, in the heart of one of British Columbia’s newest provincial parks, God’s Pocket. There, a charming seven-room lodge at the water’s edge served as our base for exploring the area by kayak.