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Power and light

Orca Camp had power at the tents to charge from. Not every camp does, and a battery pack means you are never waiting on an outlet either way.

Portable battery pack For cameras, phones and anything else you will want working on day three.
Headlamp or a small, decent torch For the walk back to the tent after dark.

Packing items laid out on grey gravel: a steel water bottle, a black cap, a tube of mineral sunscreen, a headlamp, a battery pack, a can of insect repellent and a paperback — Most of this list, on the beach it was packed for. Bottle, cap, sunscreen, headlamp, battery, repellent, and something to read.

Water, sun and heads

Bring a hat for the sun and a hat for the cold. On this coast you will use both, sometimes in the same afternoon.

Water bottle
Sunscreen Glare off the water works on you from underneath as well as above.
Sunglasses
Sun hat or ball cap
Warm hat, wool or fleece Mornings out there often start foggy and cold. Bring the beanie.

Two guests sitting back to back on a driftwood log on a pebble beach, one in a ball cap looking through binoculars, the other in a grey wool beanie — Ball cap and wool beanie, both on the same log. The binoculars are optional. The hats are not.

Clothing

Days run warm or cool and the forecast is a suggestion. The rule is simple: when you are on the water, stay warm and stay dry. Synthetic layers do that. Cotton does not, so leave it at home or accept it is for camp only.

Summer clothes Shorts, t-shirts, a swimsuit. Orca Camp has a wood-fired tub and a sauna, and the swimsuit earned its place.
Warm layers Long pants, a fleece or wool sweater, long-sleeve breathable shirts.
Rain jacket
Warm socks More pairs than feels reasonable.

A paddler in a mustard rain jacket, red life jacket and cap holding a Wildcoast paddle across his chest in front of driftwood and a green kayak — A rain jacket you actually like wearing, because on this coast you will.

Footwear

You are rowed ashore and step out into the shallows, which is why the operator tells you to wear water shoes. Two pairs: one for that, one for camp.

Water shoes Sturdy strapped sandals, neoprene water shoes or rubber boots. Anything that stays on and does not mind being wet all day.
Camp shoes Runners or trail shoes. Dry feet in the evening are worth the space.
Kayak gloves optional Paddling gloves help on longer days.

A raft of red sea kayaks holding position below a forested shoreline under low cloud, every paddler in a hat and a red life jacket — Rafted up under the rock wall. Every hat in this frame is doing a job.

Personal

The things no one can lend you.

Your medications and toiletries Toothpaste, the lot. Nobody can lend you these.
Insect repellent
Fast-dry towel, or two One for the sauna and tub, one that stays dry.

A guest on a pebble beach wrapped in a fast-dry towel after a swim, with the camp sauna among the trees behind her — Fast-dry, and yours. Wildcoast does not supply towels, and I would not assume any base camp does.

Worth the space

None of these are required. The book and the binoculars came along and earned it.

Book or journal optional For the quiet hours, of which there are several.
Binoculars optional Whales at distance are still whales.
Fishing gear optional You will need a BC tidal waters sport fishing licence, issued online by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Sort it before you leave.

Checked against: Wildcoast Adventures . Operator limits, especially helicopter baggage weights, are theirs and change; confirm with your booking.

What to pack for a sea kayak base camp