Teakerne Arm and Von Donop Inlet

By Nicole

Teakerne Arm

 

One of our guidebooks said that if you were lucky, you could claim the spot right next to Cassel Falls in Teakerne Arm.  After doing a drive-by and feeling the mist from the falls, we figured we’d let some other boat claim the prized spot – it was almost low tide and the stern-tie rings in the cliff wall were way out of our reach (and to be honest, tying up to the cliff seemed a little nerve-wracking).  With depths nearby reaching 100’ or more, we decided to continue on in search of a more suitable anchorage.

Von Donop Inlet

Von Donop Inlet is, as Aaron described it, one of Desolations Sound’s many dead-end roads.  The narrow channel winds two miles into Cortes Island, nearly dissecting it, and terminates in a lovely mud-and-shell-bottomed cul-de-sac.

As the crow flies (or the raven, as we’ve seen frequently around here), we’re actually only 2 miles from our last overnight stop.  But as we actually travelled, the distance stretches to 21 nautical miles – including the short detour up Teakerne Arm to check out Cassel Falls.

Climbing up a hill to get a better view of Bella Star

After taking the dinghy to shore, we slogged through the low-tide muck to hike the short trail over to Squirrel Cove (our anchor loves the muddy bottom; our hiking boots, not so much).  The following sign was posted at the trail head:Shoot, we’ll have to return all that wolf chow we bought.

On the trail to Squirrel Cove (I carried a wolf stick most of the way)

Von Donop has been relaxing and quiet (we had the anchorage to ourselves for a night), but we’re moving out tomorrow morning bright and early to catch the ebb tide to the Octopus Islands.  Our friends, Carol and Livia on s/v Estrellita, might be there – what a treat it would be to run into them!  I hear they have wine aboard…