Jon called this evening from Klemtu. Given the unrelenting cold and wet, they decided to seek shelter in Klemtu. They have found a facility where they can clean up, sleep, wash their clothes, and prepare for the rest of the journey.
Today was the first day they saw another person since leaving Prince Rupert. They have seen boats in the distance, but this is the first time they have been close enough to speak. This person was doing some kind of survey of potential dive sites.
On their way into Klemtu they saw a Grizzly Bear at Meyers Passage. It was very close to the water. They got a good look at each other.
As we have speculated, the weather has been terrible. They have ridden out two major storms. For the first one they were well protected in old growth, but it still sounded like a jet engine outside the tent. They had intense downpours that lasted 36 hours. Their kayaks had 6 in of water inside just from the rain that came in the cockpit area. It rained a lot in that 36 hours!
For the second storm they had very good shelter from the wind created by the topography of the little island on which they were camped.
They continue to battle the huge tides in this region.
They have seen a lot of wildlife. They have seen humpback whales, orcas, porpoises, and 20 to 50 eagles a day. They have also seen a wolf and a grizzly.
They have seen many signs of the rich history of the First Nations in the area, including fish traps.
Jon was in very good spirits, but they are ready for a change in the weather. If I am correctly interpreting the long term pressure forecast, the weather will probably improve as a high pressure builds in the gulf of Alaska in the next several days.
The plan to leave Klemtu about 6:30am tomorrow.
The kmz files are all in this directory:
http://web.cecs.pdx.edu/~hook/Pilgrims/
This includes today's entry:
http://web.cecs.pdx.edu/~hook/Pilgrims/110707Pilgrims.kmz
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