49 km. That's how many km my partner and I paddled on Monday on Indian Arm near Vancouver, BC.

We started from Barnet Marine Park at 8 am and paddled in glassy water against the tide all the way to Granite Falls. There we took a quick shore break and a refreshing dip in the pool at the base.

Back in the canoe, we paddled to the estuary at the far north end of the arm before heading back south against a stiff headwind to Bishop Creek. 29 km done.

At our favourite site in that campground, we were welcomed by a woodpecker hard at work. We tiptoed in, but our presence didn't seem to disturb it. We spent the next few hours recovering, (eating and napping) and waiting for the afternoon winds to subside.

We started back up the arm at 5 pm in a slight headwind, which mercifully completely abated within an hour. But we were against the tide, again, and we also had to battle constant waves from dozens of pleasure craft heading up and down the arm. At Deep Cove, just as the sun was beginning to set, the waves intensified accompanied by a stiff headwind.

As we passed Admiralty Point and could see the end in sight, the wind, but not the waves, died. After eight and a half hours of paddling, we pulled up to the shore of Barnet having circumnavigated Indian Arm in a day.



We paddled a Kevlar Clipper Tripper.

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Nice push! Imagine how far you would have gone if you launched at 5am! Must have been a nice relaxing sleep after that day. I personally am a big fan of covering as much ground as possible and I try to do routes that should take longer in the shortest amount of time. I did the Steel River last year in 5 days but only because it rained the whole time and now I plan speed routes often, typically to scout future fishing spots and adventures.

Nice paddle! We did roughly the same distance on Slocan Lake in three days. But we were distracted by the scenery, the hiking, the fishing, the camping, the pictographs.....

That does seem a more human pace--but we did stop. Lots. We paddled 8.5 hours out of 13.

Among our short stops is to look at the walls of tiny mussels growing in the gajillions on every rock and rock wall and are visible at low tide. This is as a result of the almost complete die off of their main predator--ochre sea stars. Although they are making a comeback, there are not enough to keep the mussles in check and they have multiplied. They're a wonder to see.

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