The Baja Paddle

Sunday, October 17, 2010

After a good night’s sleep, I was up with the sun. The wind was a little stronger than yesterday. I had a good breakfast and felt fit again, so I decided to tackle the volcano, which Antonio had told me is about 1000ft high.

I packed a little rug sack with water, snacks, some basic first aid, my PLB and cameras and off I went. Initially the going was rather easy; big rocks and certain foot holds. It got somewhat more challenging the higher I got and there were some spots where I was nearly on hand and feet trying not to lose my footing, or slip down the slope because of the loose rocks and scree. I noticed that the sea was rather agitated, especially to the west although the wind was not very strong.

Close to the top the slope became very steep but I found a small track which led around the most challenging points; others must have been there before me. It took me about 1.5 hours to get to the top which has various levels but which are mostly flat. The view was stunning, as expected. One can see all the surrounding islands. To the southwest Pata, Iota, Jorobado,Flecha, Llave, Cerraja and Ventana. To the south Calavera, Rasita, Cabeza de Caballo and Los Gemelitos and as far as and beyond Punta El Pescador. To the southeast one can see Piojo. I took my time exploring and walking around the edges of what must have once been the crater rim, enjoying the 360 degrees views which looked so familiar but also so different from up high. Earlier visitors had left cairns and even a book, surprisingly enough about the development of the financial system in the USA.

I found it interesting to see that there was more vegetation on the top of the volcano than there was on its slopes; on the way up, I had also noticed some small lava tubes below the rocks and stone rubble. On the top itself was no ash; I only found that on the lower slopes and around the foot of the volcano.

Going back down was more challenging because of the loose rock and scree. I was very careful to take small steps and have a hand hold before making the next step, especially in the few sections where there was a lot of loose rubble. Despite that, I took two heavy falls; the first one flat on my back which was broken by the camera case and which caused no bodily damage. The second one was on my butt, pretty hard and painful on one of my sitting bones; this one still hurts when I sit on it. I had another few near misses but made it back substantially without damage, but extremely hot and tired.

I did not even bother to strip. The sweat had been pouring freely down my body so my clothes needed washing anyway. I took off my boots and socks and walked straight into the water. And then I stopped dead in my tracks. Not two feet away from me was a stingray. I had not expected this at all. I had been very careful everywhere there was a sandy bottom and faithfully done the “shuffle” to avoid stepping on one, except at this beach the shore was nearly all rocks and I had not expected to ever see a stingray at a spot where it could not dig itself into the sand to hide. Anyway, I chased the ray away and put on my rubber booties to have a surer footing and then went and wallowed in the water until it started feeling cold.

My energy level was low at this point. I took some food and drink and found a spot to relax and read a book. I rested for about two hours when I felt I had enough energy to load my kayak and paddle to the designated camp site at the south east side of the island.

By late afternoon I was established at my new camp site. Not very comfortably; the best on offer was small pebbles, but at least I had found a level spot in one of the tidal ridges about three feet above the high water mark for that day. The paddle to this spot took about one hour in increasing winds, from which I was mostly somewhat sheltered. The winds varied from west to north and were strengthening but the white caps started to appear only after I had landed.

This spot was as windy as below the volcano. I had expected to be able to find shelter behind some of the rock formations that are here but that turned out to be an illusion. The wind was getting stronger all the time, but it was also changing between directions, varying from northwest to northeast and swirling around the rocks. It made no difference where I went, the wind was there, varying from strong to very strong. Once again, not at all as forecast.

I settled on a spot at the northernmost point, unloaded the kayak and then carried the kayak to another tidal ridge, higher than the one I had chosen to sleep in. Dinner was mashed potatoes with cabbage. I made a big portion and loved it .For the first time during this trip the dinner tasted great. I finished with a small package of cookies and chocolate milk.

Trying to get to sleep was another matter all together. The wind was so strong than it defied all my efforts to put down a groundsheet. I ultimately had to lay on top of it and load gravel all around the edges to keep it down. My sleeping mat and sleeping bag also kept flying away and I had to put a load of pebbles on them to stay put until I had myself organized and I hoped that the wind would abate somewhat after the sun had set.

The sun set by around 6.00pm and the light was fading. I had no desire to get into my sleeping bag, yet. I found the most sheltered spot, put on my head lamp and started to read a book. The temperature had dropped noticeably after the sun went down and I put on my neoprene swimming top to keep warm and I wore my PFD so that I could lean against the rock without hurting my back. By 7.30pm I was ready for bed. The wind was still blowing as strong as before.

My ground sheet was still held in place by the ring of pebbles. The process of getting into the sleeping bag went as follows: I took my sleeping mat and put it on the groundsheet, then I put my sleeping bag on top. I was in the process of putting my sleeping bag liner in the bag when the whole caboodle flew off, taken by a gust of wind. I got the gear together again and sat on the mat while putting the liner in the bag. The mat and bag were now on the groundsheet but it was clear that they were not going to stay there very long unless I secured them somehow. The somehow was to put another groundsheet on the top and line the sides again with pebbles. This went quite smoothly. The next step was to get into the bag,inside the liner. This did not go very well at all with the result that at some point I had the liner around my neck while I was holding on to the bag to make sure that it would not fly away again. All of this happened by the light of the moon. To cut a long story short, I was not able to get the liner in the bag the right way so in my frustration just pushed it in any old way and followed myself. I had the liner around my feet and that is the best I managed to do. I was now in the bag myself but needed to weigh the groundsheet down again because in the commotion a lot of the pebbles had fallen off and the sheet was flapping. Half in and half out of my sleeping bag I was able to weigh everything down sufficiently to try to get some sleep.

I was in the bag but wide awake. The wind was driving me a little crazy because it swirled around all the time and no sooner did I think that I had things under control when something else would pull loose and start flapping. I threw a whole lot of pebbles on and around my feet and then wrapped the rest as best as I could around my shoulders and head. Most of the time I use my sleeping bag as a blanket which is far more comfortable; I find the bag very restricting and no warmer anyway. I could not do so on this occasion since everything went flying off in all directions all the time and only me being “in the bag” provided enough weight to keep it in place. It had become pretty cold and I was shivering. The only warm piece of clothing I had with me was my neoprene vest which I use for swimming and snorkeling. Wearing this kept my body nicely warm, but my neck and head were unprotected. I wrapped my life vest around my head and pulled it into my sleeping bag as much as possible to give my neck some warmth. This way I spent the night. I do not recall that I slept at all because I had to hold on to the groundsheet with one hand to keep it from flying away while constantly adjusting my life vest to keep it in place and somehow keep it bearable as a pillow, a function for which I can now vouch it is totally unsuitable for.