Surge Narrows in December? Couldn’t have planned it better if we tried.

It all began while Gregg (my paddling partner) and I were surfing the tidal rapids in the discovery islands known as Surge Narrows during Thanksgiving. We were staying at the Discovery Islands Lodge www.discovery-islands-lodge.com, and came up with the hair brained idea to camp on one of the tiny little islands right at the Surge Narrows wave. After hummin and hawin about going, we decided to just pack up and go. It was early Wednesday morning and we were on our way. Two ocean kayaks, and three white water kayaks later, the Warbird was trucking north along the Island highway like a gem. What a god-awful sight it was! As we left Nanaimo in the rain, the further north we went, the sunnier it became. In all of my times at Surge, I have NEVER had sunny weather. Always rain. So we were expecting rain for the entire trip. However,this was not the case. As we drove past Courtenay, nothing but sunny skies were   of us. About an hour later we were in Campbell River and rolled right on to the ferry. This was the beginning to the theme of this trip. We couldnt have planned it better if we tried. After rocking out the ferry , we made our way to the put in. The put in is just past the driveway to the discovery islands lodge, and it not exactly the friendliest put in in the world. A wicked 25% gradient down a wet gravel road, with five boats on the roof was a little exciting to say the least. Not sure if the car would make it back up the road, I decided to just go for it and deal with going back up when the time came. After unloading the boats, the gear and everything else, the Warbird flew up the road like it was a walk in the park. Good ol warbird, never letting me down. 

  Two ocean kayaks loaded with tents, sleeping bags, paddling gear, ropes, white water paddling gear, and most importantly, a 3$ bottle of Tequila stowed neatly in the hatch. We paddled the 35 minutes to Peck island and set up camp. Showing up on the ebb, we geared up and went and played in a small hole that forms during the ebb. It was nice to get in the boat for a bit after the long journey to camp. That night we started a fire and drank  all of our beer that was to last us for 3 days. We woke up to sun the next morning and rocked out the wave during the flood for about 3 and a half hours. Check out some of my pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregmuirhead. That afternoon, after the surf, we headed back into town for more booze. Getting back to camp just at dusk, we started another fire and sat around talking about the day’s surfs. That night we heard a lot of rain fall on the tent and camp. We knew that it was going to be a wet morning, but what we were in store for was something that we hadn’t counted on.

Gregg- “Hey Greg, take a look out the tent and tell me if its still raining.

Greg- OK. Good news, its not raining anymore. 

Gregg- That’s great!

Greg- But, it IS snowing.

Gregg- SON OF A BITCH!”

However, the wave made everything worth it. Starting off at about a 2 foot, green, crystal clear wave, forming up into a beautiful, 3 foot green wave with perfect shoulders and a super sticky foam pile. Sticky enough for Greg to throw down his first ever successful front loop! Long epic surfs, clean spins, attempted air screws, and way too many laughs made this one of the most fun trips I have ever done.  The drive that had taken only a few hours initially, took over 4 hours to get home. Why you ask? Because of the FOOT OF SNOW on the highways. Sure was an epic drive! We must have looked like we were out of our minds with a car load of boats in the snow, freezing temperatures and huge simles on our face. There definitely is something wrong with us. 

So, there you have it. A hair brained scheme to camp at surge narrows turned out to be one of the most fun trips i have been on in a long long time. I woudl recommend this trip to anyone. But, if you want a nice warm place to stay at night, I would suggest spending your nights at the discovery islands lodge for about 30bucks a night. 

-Greg Muirhead