I'm hoping to get up into Bute Inlet next spring, it's not a friendly area for paddle craft due to the mountain winds, and beaches are few. Scares me a bit actually, I've friends on Quadra Island who homesteaded up there in the early 70's and hand-logged for a living beyond that. The life they describe is of isolation and discomfort amongst awe-inspiring wilderness. Since then, Stuart Island, at the mouth, has become a fishing-getaway/Disneyland for corporate CEO's and the uber-wealthy. The camps up near Homathko are for the most part closed, or have been bought up by speculators. Other than a few intrepid fisherman, and summertime paddlers, the outer Discovery Islands, and the Coastal Inlets, like Bute, Toba, Knight see very little traffic.
Doubtful I'll ever be skilled enough to paddle the river down, but I am wondering how far up the Homathko River I could pole. A local legend by the name of Snaar used to run purpose-built riverboats up there. There's a great story I've been told of Mr. Snaar wanting one of them fancy new rotary engines for his boat, but Mazda wouldn't sell him one, so he bought the car, drove it home, and yanked the motor. I love the Quadra island characters, and have heard many great stories over a beer at the Heriot Bay Inn, or a coffee at Cafe Aroma.
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