Prince George and Princess Charlotte to accompany royals on tour of Canada

Is this a noteworthy event? Well, is it!?! I don't know. Being interested (or uninterested) in royals seems entirely arbitrary. Really, they are just someone else's family and they're rich. But not so rich that it is obscene and therefore worth rubbernecking. They are an old family with old homes and traditions and such. However, imho the best that could be said about them is that they let go of power and kept all their stuff. However, considering the personal hazard which comes with being a celebrity in the modern era maybe that wasn't such a good idea.

We live in an era with a lot of problems but it is likely that people living in every era have thought the same. Do wolves have an existential crisis when it becomes difficult to catch deer? Do they blame other wolves for catching too many deer? Do they research how much protein they could obtain by eating insects instead? Wolves survive or don't without much hand-wringing, which from my vantage point seems wonderfully simpler.

I think it is to our detriment that power must disguise it's raw brutality. Democracy was created to put checks on power and confront its arbitrariness but it really just pushed it out of sight. Now we have a system where the powerful spend a lot of effort ensuring lies are truths because no matter what, they're going to get what they want. What else do you do with power?

It is disconcerting living in this time of radical changes in communication. The world of the 20^th century was one where power could much more efficiently control what ideas were mainstream. When you owned newspapers and tv and therefore had a say about who got promoted in those industries it was your prerogative. Now, with the internet, a lot more ideas are on the table. For better and for worse.

This shows the inherent weakness in power. For all their think-tanks they weren't able to foresee what the unintended consequences of the technological revolution would be. The publicly funded US defence department developed the internet to prevent an attack at one location from disabling their entire nuclear arsenal. The most important design goal was robustness. This technology was transferred to the private domain for business to profit from (well played power) and led to our internet of today which is difficult to control (oops!) Technically, it would have been possible to create an internet which fit nicely into our existing top-down, hierarchical media model if that had been the goal from the beginning, sadly the cat's out of the bag.

This hasn't improved the lot of most people because power has simply shifted to the new mandarins; apple, google, facebook. But we can be assured that these organizations will also, eventually, fail to read the tea leaves correctly and fall from their lofty towers. And when they do, I'm sure we won't be interested in the fact that their descendants are visiting Canada. So bravo royals, way to maintain the ability to go nowhere without everyone looking and pointing.

Comox to Tofino - Day 18: Grant Bay

Raft Cove to Grant Bay: 13.2 nautical miles

It is hot. The beach here is protected from the wind by thousand foot high mountains, the sun is out and I am hiding in my tent to try and stay cool but it isn't working.

This beach is accessable by road and there is abundant evidence of human activity. There is what I believe to be the debris of a crazy, teen party; lots of beer and pop cans, a cheaply made, abandoned tent with pillows decaying inside and a fry pan in the sand. There is a shelter frame made from driftwood that is badly burnt on one side, a fire must have got out of hand. A day-use shelter made of driftwood and blue tarps is surrounded by garbage. Numerous fire pits line the beach with half-burnt logs, sand piled on top and littered with discarded cans and food containers.

I find it hard to believe how people are able to treat such an amazing place. I am used to beach flotsam but this is obviously brought by the people who visit and then just discard their waste and it is only May on a beach that would be cleaned by winter storms so this is just what they have done so far.

From what I have come to think of as the 'teen-party massacre', I was able to salvage some provisions:

• roll of waterproof, medical tape
• can of Chef Boyardee Lasagna
• 2 cans of Hienz Beans with Bacon
• can of Fresca (really looking forward to this once it cools)

There are also 3 cans of Diet Pepsi but I didn't take them. I am using the fly of the abandoned tent to shelter my boat and food from the sun. Later, down the beach I acquired four grape tomoatos from an abandoned lunch.

Today's paddle from Raft Cove was excellent; the swell is low, there was light wind was at my back and the shoreline was interesting with Sea Stacks and other features. I had lunch on a nice beach that seemed to be seldom visited. I looked for glass balls but found none. 

Comox to Tofino - Day 17: Rest Day

I had a rest day today and it felt amazing. I can hardly believe that I went over two weeks without a break but with the weather cooperating and being determined to have this expedition be a success, I was always pushing myself to keep going. I had thought when I did stop, it would be a awful, rainy day, but it was sunny and I couldn't have been more thankful.

I slept in, drank coffee and read my book. I felt I should be taking advantage of the sunny day more and exploring, the area up river looked interesting, but really what was best for me was just to do nothing.

I ate some of the canned food that was in the cabin and will probably take more with me; soups, beans and a chili sauce. I hope that is the right thing to do. I have a hard time imagining an emergency situation it would be needed for and I think it is there because the people who brought it didn't want to take it back with them. All of the best before dates are fine.

To balance out the karma books I swept diligently, cleaned all the ash (and garbage) out of the stove and cleaned up all the plastic trash in the yard with a big fire. Also, I thoroughly cleaned my body with soap in the river; fully lathering and rinsing twice. The less salty water felt great. Afterwards, I was actually nauseated from the smell of the soap. I wondered if this is how dog's feel when they get a bath. I considered taking the soap with me but decided against, it felt like taking to much from the cabin.

Comox to Tofino - Day 16: Raft Cove

Lowrie Bay to Raft Cove: 11.0 nautical miles

I departed Lowrie Bay at 9:30 am. I wanted an earlier start in case the wind rose later in the day but it was tough to rouse myself, it being my first time with a roof over my head in over two weeks. The cabin shelter here is rough but rodent free and functional. It was just as well because I had a light wind at my back for the entire paddle, ideal conditions.

I paddled in to check out Sea Otter Cove and there was a Sea Otter right there at the entrance! The Helen Islands also at the cove's entrance looked like they would be a nice place to camp.

I passed by San Josef Bay but did not go in because it was to big to explore. Hopefully, I can arrange a trip here with some friends at a later date because it would be great area to investigate. Next, Cape Palmerston wasn't difficult to paddle around because the swell is low today. I saw a very large pile of logs on one beach, as if made by a Lodge of Giant Beavers.

Raft Cove was a busy place; five to ten surfers in the water and another dozen people milling about on shore with tents along the beach. With so many people around, I didn't think I would be able to stay at the cabin. I brought my kayak onto the beach a ways away on the south side of the Macjack River and went to investigate. There was no one there. I doubled back, hauled my boat back into the water, paddled through the turbulent water where the river reached the ocean and moved myself in.

I don't drink coffee often but there was some left in the cabin and I brewed myself up a cup, cooking it up Slovenjian style.

Comox to Tofino - Day 15: Lowrie Bay

Experiment Bight to Lowrie Bay: 11.4 nautical miles

I awoke to a chilly morning. I was able to start later than what I have been and I enjoyed the lie in. The ocen didn't look as benign as I was hoping but it wasn't bad either. I packed up and was on the water at 9:35 am, only ten minutes before slack tide at Cape Scott.

Today, I was wearing my helmet because of the launch through the surf. Yesterday, I had watched and seen where the tide rip flowed out and away from the beach and I launched there. I plowed through a few small waves and then a bigger one and I was out to sea, riding the tide rip like a conveyor belt.

At Cape Scott, it didn't look bad but I knew I was unable to see all of it. I stayed well off shore but when I got there it was huge! Four meter swell going this way and that like a giant sloshing around water in a bucket. I forged ahead and before too long I had made it around. It wasn't calm seas on the far side but it was certainly less intense.

I tried to get a picture of the Cape Scott Lighthouse but it was obscured by the trees. I had a good view of Guise and Hanson Bays. The latter was very nice looking in the sunshine that was just beginning to break through.

I attempted to paddle in and see Hanson Lagoon but with the falling tide there was a current flowing out and also a strong wind blowing against me. I stopped at the entrance and took a few pictures, then it was on to Lowrie Bay. I passed a Humpback Whale on my way there. Lowrie Bay is awesome in the sun and I enjoyed relaxing there all afternoon.

Observation: I waded in the water and saw two schools of fish; herring and rockfish. The rockfish stayed safely in the seaweed. I tried to herd the herring by walking around them but they evaded me.

Comox to Tofino - Day 14: Experiment Bight

Cape Sutil to Experiment Bight: 15.8 nautical miles

...and then the sun came out, ahh! At about 5:00 pm, it cleared up and my cold, grey world turned into a tropical paradise. As I watch the medium-sized waves roll in on the beach, I can see Bull Kelp waving in the waves clean face.

Observation: While feasting on Pacific Blue Mussels, I noticed I had inadvertantly also steamed Shore Crabs that were inside the mussel's shell. The crabs had a very delicate shell and I think they were in the process of regrowing it after moulting. I wonder if Shore Crabs intentionally hide inside mussels when they are in this vulnerable state.

I woke to a calm, cool morning. I noticed a Raft of Sea Otters in the kelp off the beach. On this day's paddle, I would see them consistently everywhere in the near shore environment. It gives me a good feeling knowing they are back after a long, two hundred year absence.

The water was turbulent. This a a different beast to navigate. Christiansen Point was particularely big. Stellar Sea Lions were guarding the rocky shores where it was the worst, adding a layer of intensity to the day. They have an unnerving vocalization. One pride was about fifty individuals, all swimming in a mass blob. A loner swam behind me for a couple of miles. I yelled at him, "Go play with your own friends!"

I stopped at Nissen Bight for lunch and it was cold, wet and uninviting. No one was there. I saw a Grey Whale on the way in. I carried on by Nels Bight and saw campfires from a distance. I arrived off shore at Experiment Bight and sussed out where the best camping might be. There was decent swell here and I was happy to successfully land through the 1-1.5m breaking waves. It was cold, so I madea big fire but then the sun came out. Wearing just shorts felt so nice after a few days wearing many layers of clothes. I made a clothes line and gave all my clothes and gear good airing out.

Later, I noticed the moon. I started the trip during the New Moon phase and this is the first time I've seen it on the trip. It is already a day past the First Quarter phase. The sunset tonight was gorgeous.

Comox to Tofino - Day 13: Cape Sutil, Vancouver Island

Nolan Point, Balaklava Island to Cape Sutil: 18.6 nautical Miles

 It was a cold morning but the fire took care of that. I was up at 5:20 am (a 20 minute over-sleep) and on the water at 8:00 am. I paddled up the shore of Nigei Island and found it to be a very interesting shoreline with cliffs, caves and sea stacks. Also, there were a number of streams and small waterfalls. I topped up my supply of water. In the Kelp near Loquillilla Cove, I saw two more Sea Otters.

I crossed Goletas Channel aiming towards the far Northern end. The ebb tide should have been carrying me along, however the wind and swell were against me and it seemed I couldn't be making any progress. Then in no time, I passed Shushartie Bay the start of the North Coast Trail. I was tired and had been paddling for 3 & 1/2 hours but decided to carry on to Jepther Point for lunch.

Jepther Point is an attractive spot not accessable to hikers on the North Coast Trail and is a place I have wanted to see since I hiked it with friends a few years ago. While there, a pair of Common Loons swam around like a couple strolling a city park, going first this way then turning and coming back.

I paddled on, scanning the shore and seeing what I could remember from when I had hiked along it. I rounded Cape Sutil and made my camp in the same spot where I had camped with my friends on the third night of the trip. Having the kayak certainly doesn't make it seem as far.