A Day on the island, Part 1

John and I had just spent the past two days paddling to Ruby Beach from La Push. The southern portion of the Roadless Coast, it is an area I had somehow managed to avoid, even though I’ve been paddling the coast – primarily the north coast, from Cape Flattery to La Push – for a dozen years now. The last two days have been awesome, in the true sense of that word, but today we have returned to the beach with a different goal in mind: an out-and-back paddle to Destruction Island.

After another fifteen minutes, we get our first positive sighting of Destruction Island. Within another quarter-hour, we are approaching the extensive kelp beds on the northeast side of the island. We see our first otter, then our second, and soon there are far too many heads to count, inquisitive eyes and Wilford Brimley whiskers. They circle our kayaks, some of them, while others wrap themselves in mantles of kelp to keep from drifting. Others push themselves up from the water to get a better look at us as we slowly move along.

On the beach to our right are seals, about a hundred of them, laid out on the sand like tree trunks. A few others are ensconced in the rocky nooks that abut the beach, and these sentries are the only ones who notice our passing. We are well off the beach though, and we represent no threat. The seals stay where they are.

The tide is low when we come ashore in what was once the landing cove. A rickety rail line and walkway is mounted on trestles and leads to the interior of the island from the rocks where the dock once stood. The chains that would have been used to stabilize the supply boat as it offloaded its cargo to the island, those chains are still there, embedded in the rock on the far side of the narrow channel. We haul the boats well up onto the gravel beach and eat lunch before setting out to explore.