Roscoe Inlet Sum It Up Sunday

Sum It Up Sunday: Inlets and Outlets

Sunday, October 26, 2014TheCambrians


Half the joy of cruising the Inside Passage is what you see along the way and making a run down Bullock Channel, east of Yeo Island, turned out to be a really nice start to the week.  For some reason, it doesn’t get a lot of credit for being anything other than the best route to the top of Spiller Channel from Bella Bella, but it’s a quiet and beautiful stretch of water that’s a real pleasure to travel.

It’s also the easiest way to reach our next destinations: Briggs and Roscoe inlets. 

We’d never found a reason to visit Briggs, but Sylvia and I read about a trail that leads to a lake and were instantly persuaded by the opportunity to take nice walk – a rare event north of Desolation Sound.  So, it came as a real surprise that there was more to it, Emily Bay in particular, than just a walk:  It’s also a scenic area surrounded by tree-covered hills and steep granite walls that, despite being located in one of the more popular stretches of the Central Coast, offers peace and solitude.  


David and Sylvia walking through the bush to the lake.
The lake in Emily Bay, Briggs Inlet.

With more places to see and rain quickly moving in, we didn’t linger and upped anchor after our walk, making our way back down Briggs Inlet and further east into neighbouring Roscoe Inlet – our true destination – stopping in Boukind Bay for the night.  As luck would have it, the weather cleared and we were able to motor to the head of Roscoe Inlet the next morning – an experience akin to travelling through an Ansel Adams photograph. 




It was a calm day and we were able to anchor at the head of the inlet for the night, where we promptly launched the kayaks.  The sun was out in full-force and the water temperature was a balmy 72°F (that’s 10 to 15 degrees warmer than most of the Central Coast).  David, Bill and Skookum spent the afternoon floating in the shade trying to keep cool while Sylvia and I went out to explore.  We didn’t discover much but it was a great afternoon and felt like summer for the first time in quite a while – Bill and I even contemplated going swimming.

David, Bill and Skookum keeping cool in the shade.

Paddling around the head of Roscoe Inlet with my toes in the water to cool off.

After an amazing night with nothing but stars filling the sky, we upped anchor and went back to Boukind Bay for a short hike over to Briggs Lagoon, which backs the anchorage – something I’ve wanted to do since our first visit to Roscoe Inlet but haven’t had the opportunity until now.  The lagoon is large and beautiful, but the real attraction was getting off the boat and stretching our legs – that’s twice in a row . . . we were on a roll!    

Briggs Lagoon.

From there, we moved down to Clatse Bay, still inside Roscoe Inlet.  It looked like an interesting anchorage on the chart, so I set off in the kayak to explore by myself – everyone else opting for a nap.  They didn’t miss much, though.  It’s a pretty spot and a nice place to paddle around the shore in the sun, but we like Boukind Bay better . . . and the head of Roscoe Inlet even more so.

Salubrious and Cambria anchored in Clatse Bay.


By Saturday morning, there was a change in the wind direction and smoke from forest fires that had been burning along the interior for months started to fill the inlet, so we decided to move down to Shearwater to see if we could escape the irritating smell.  But there was no getting away from it. Fortunately, the wind changed back overnight and it was clear again in the morning, but the damage had been done.  Both David and I felt like we’d been hit by a truck – our sinuses were on fire and we had sore throats and heads.  It was another hot, summer day, one begging to be enjoyed, but we ended the week by hiding out on the boat and taking long naps in the afternoon in hopes of feeling better when we woke up – little did we know it would be the last taste of summer we’d see for awhile.  

Leaving Clatse Bay as smoke fills Roscoe Inlet.

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