The start of the “primitive trail” to the lookout
Just south of Cape Caution is a set of glacier-carved inlets that collectively extend about 100 miles into mainland Canada. In some places more than 2000 feet deep and a mile wide, these inlets hold a lot of water. All of this water is subject to the tides, so every six hours water is pulled in to the inlet by high tide, followed by a flushing out by the low tide.
Hard to see the trail
The entrance and exit to this inlet is a bottleneck that is about 300 yards wide and only 40 feet deep. This small entry/exit point for such a large body of water is like the nozzle on a hose. Called Nakwakto Rapids, it’s one of the fastest tidal flows on the planet at up to 15 knots on a large tide.
Tremble Island – the handmade signs are left that boats that have visited over the years
We anchored nearby (out of the current!) and took our dinghy to the rapids. After a tour of Tremble Island (named because the island reportedly vibrates with the flow of the water), we pulled off to the side and hiked to a small lookout platform on the side of a cliff overlooking the rapids.
The day we were there, the tidal flow was a relatively calm 9 knots, but it still ferocious to us.
Watching the tide flow from the lookout platform
