Hiking to Casson Peak.. Carrying 30 Pounds of Toddler

Ben and RJ at the top - with the 150th Anniversary Canadian flag 

Casson's Peak, marked on the Canadian charts as Frazer Bay Hill, is a moderate uphill hike that is a bit difficult even without 35 pounds of toddler and gear on your back! Ben was a trooper though and carried RJ to the top, stopped to pick blueberries at many points along the way, and all the way back down to our waiting dinghy. We have the Osprey Poco Plus backpack carrier, and have used it since RJ was around 6 months old and it's still holding up great at 2 years old. He loves hiking on his own, but for a steep hike like this, we had to keep him safe in the carrier the whole time. Luckily it's very comfortable and he loves the view! The blueberries helped too :-)

The closest anchorage to the marked path to Casson's Peak is Marianne Cove in Baie Fine. We did the hike ourselves a few years ago, but this was the first time we tackled it with RJ. We definitely would not have attempted without a group of friends to back us up! It helped to have some extra helping hands along the way as there are some pretty steep sections in the hike. Click to read more about our last hike to Casson Peak 

Up up up

Happy hikers

Still climbing :-)

Our group for the day were our friends from Orca (Paul, Jamie, Bogdan, and Sara), Ceiba II (Brett and David), and the Happy Dance Crew (Geoff, Nadia, and their son Zen).  Funny story I forgot to mention in my previous post... when we arrived in Marianne Cove, our friends said there's someone here in the anchorage from Indiana and knows you! Turns out we spoke on Facebook years ago, and they live just 10 minutes away! We got to hike on an island in Canada with neighbors :-) 

Casson Peak family selfie

Making new friends in Canada... who live 10 minutes from us in Indiana

View of Baie Fine and McGregor Bay from the top

Our group from Geoff's drone

Rafted up in Marienne Cove, Baie Fine

Overhead drone view of Marianne Cove - Seapickle is on the right side of anchorage rafted with 2 other boats. Photo © Geoff Wendt

Thursday - Saturday, July 27-29

Marianne Cove is a popular anchorage in Baie Fine, as well as the closest anchorage to the start of the hike up to Casson Peak/ Frazer Bay Hill (more on hiking with a toddler in an Osprey backpack in the next post).  This was our 3rd visit to Marianne Cove, but our first rafted up for the night with other boats! (Actually, our first North Channel raft-up)  We were happy to join Orca and Ceiba II who were already tied to shore when we joined them from Little Current.

RJ and dada aboard Orca

The "Christmas in July tree" aboard Orca 

RJ's Christmas in July gift from the Orca crew

Our first order of business after rafting up to Orca was to hop aboard and open RJ's "Christmas in July" gift! RJ is such a lucky little guy to have friends everywhere he goes (especially ones who bring presents!) :-)  Seapickle usually finds her own little space close to shore, but we tried out being social and rafting up with TWO other boats this trip, and we had a great time! (haha I swear we're not antisocial, but who wants to raft up to a toddler boat?)

Swimming with mama in Marianne Cove, Baie Fine

Snacks are ALWAYS necessary

Second order of business, cooling off with some swimming and then fueling back up with some snacks! Life sure is tough on our boat vacations. ;-)  Let me just say, if I forget to post the pictures of some of the meals we shared... we have never eaten so well on a boat as we did hanging out with the Orca and Ceiba II crew!  Fresh baked bread, daily charcuterie board... we were definitely not roughing it.

Just a toddler on a dinghy (RJ 1 1/2 years old)

Finding rocks to climb is a favorite activity

This was our first year with a dinghy at Marianne Cove, so we took the opportunity and a chart marked by folks we'd met some years back, to find new coves along the shore of Baie Fine that might be less populated.  We found some great locations and contenders for anchorages for future years, and spent some time exploring the shore in the process!  Maybe we just got lucky that RJ loves riding in the dinghy and going hiking, but I hope that we're setting him up for a lifetime of adventure. :-)

This kid is so much cooler than us ;-)

Happy rafting Seapickle (always the little boat)

Exploring Fox Island, North Channel

Dana out for some dinghy exploration on Fox Island

Introducing Lil' Pickle

We were searching for a dinghy to use on our up coming North Channel trip this summer, but couldn't find one small enough to stow. Our boat just doesn't have the room to comfortably stow a dinghy, gas can, and outboard motor so we needed something we could paddle easily, be rugged, and be able to inflate/deflate quickly. We decided on a Sea Eagle 420 Explorer inflatable kayak and, as luck would have it, found one posted locally on Craigslist at 1/3 the price of new!  It inflates in less than 10 minutes, fits in a custom carrying bag, and has a 900 lb capacity!

Dana picking her spot and practicing her paddling technique 

Unloaded and inflated in just a few minutes!

It may be January and the water only 35 degrees, but we couldn't wait til spring to sea-trial our new inflatable kayak. We stopped at two lakes prior to the marina to test our new toy only to find they were frozen! The marina has a switching current that keeps it from freezing a little later than other bodies of water.

While paddling around our marina we saw our friends from D dock Ron and Kelly, as well as Greg from B dock! This really came as no surprise to us considering we often take walks throughout the winter at the marina. I guess we do whatever we can to fight off this depressing time in a boater's life called winter.

The kayak tracks straight, paddles with ease, and feels unbelievably stable. We look forward to many hours of enjoyment from our Lil' Pickle.

Links:
Sea Eagle Inflatables