r/PNWhiking • u/trashpanda1333 • 5d ago

Question on Willapa wildlife refuge

Anyone do the kayak trip to Long Island and hike the Center Road trail to the Don Barker Cedar Grove? I have a tiny inflatable packraft/kayak and am wondering if this is a sea-worthy enough vessel for the crossing. Finding a day where I can cross at the high tides while the sun is still up, with calm winds expected. It really won't deal well with waves over 1ft. I've only taken it on lakes before, so this would be the first saltwater crossing.

Has anyone done this trip? Any advice/recommendations?

4 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

5 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/MayIServeYouWell 5d ago

I’ve done this. If you can’t handle 1ft waves… I wouldn’t do it. Conditions can change while you’re out there. Do you really want to be nervous the whole time that you’ll make it back? 

Also, it’s not just “high tide”, but you need to know how the tides affect the currents around the island so you’re not going against the currents. Like if the tide is coming in, there are going to be currents against you when you’re paddling out. If memory serves, you’d want to be paddling out with the tide, and paddling back when tide is rising. 

If you are planning to spend a few hours hiking, that needs to be factored in.

1

u/trashpanda1333 5d ago

What type of craft did you have?  

Also, appreciate the input. I really wasn't sure about the water crossing. Looking at aerial maps it looks like such a short crossing, but from how you describe it, still pretty tricky. 

I saw the trail in the Olympic Day Hiking trail guide and it looked cool. Would be nice to get out there one day...

1

u/MayIServeYouWell 5d ago

I had a 2 person kayak, and we did it as an overnight trip. 

It is short, but the landing is a bit on the other side of the island. 

1

u/trashpanda1333 5d ago

I mean the landing directly across, like 500 ft. Is this the one you mean. I know there is one about halfway up the west side of the island too.

2

u/MayIServeYouWell 5d ago

Ah, I just looked at the map again. I think the trail system has been expanded since I was there - ha. We paddled to Smoky Hollow, which at the time was the only landing.

Ya... if you're just going across to the Long Island Boat Landing, you're probably ok. Heck, you could probably swim it. That said, still be cognizant of the currents, when the tide is moving, there will be a decent current in that channel. If you're able to time it to cross at a high/low tide, it should be less of an issue.