Reply To: Haida gwaii

#20537
George Prevost

Hi Sandra.  I highly recommend Moresby Explorers.  They can arrange pretty much everything you might need, from airport pickups and B&B stays to boat rentals and water taxi pickups.  As for difficulty level, the Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of BC rates most of the southern portion where you’re planning to paddle as “Class III: Exposed water, sparsely populated areas with more committing crossings, moderate to strong currents with turbulence, moderate to strong wind effects, ocean swells, difficult landings, surf beaches.”  The rest of the southern portion – the west coast and the southern tip – is rated as Class IV.  As for length of days, etc. the SKGABC guide doesn’t include a classification for that.  However, but I’d say it’s a B in terms of length of days – campsites are fairly frequent so you don’t necessarily have to paddle for a full day to get to the next one – and a C in terms of length of crossings, time exposed, etc.

Unless you have some experience with your own self-guided trips in relatively remote areas with some open coast line, surf and current, you might want to consider hiring a guide or joining a guided trip.

I’d be happy to chat with you about this if you want.