Waves, Whales and Wolves

View from camp behind Chekacklis Island in the Bunsbys  

After a hiatus of over five years we managed to take two weeks off in high season to go kayaking. This was all made possible by divine intervention in the person of Linda, husband Gerry and their daughters Lauren and Danielle. Linda made the pitch: "If you want to go kayaking this year I would love to house sit for you." What actually happened was Linda looked after the house, took care of the cat, took my work to market, processed my sales, baked a loaf of bread and a quiche for our return and left the house in tip top shape. I know - your jaw has dropped.

Wet launch at Kyuquot

Leaving my whole life in Linda's capable hands Doug and I left in full confidence that we had made the right decision. We hadn't been out in a while so we decided to take on an easier route that we had already done a few times. We booked passage on the Uchuck to take us out from Gold River to the village of Kyuquot; on the way we saw a huge raft of sea otters and a grey whale. Off to a great start.

From Kyuquot we travelled to Spring Island, made camp then left the following day to make our first 3-hour open ocean crossing to the Bunsby Islands. The waters were the calmest we had ever seen on that crossing and we were able to enjoy every minute on the water. The mountains lining that coast had been clear cut in the 80s but now they are all greening up again. Very encouraging. We reached one of our favourite little white sand island in that group and set up camp. The next day we were surprised by a relentless 24 hours of pelting rain. We left the tent twice! Once for the lunch bag, the second for the supper bag. I knit socks while Doug read short stories aloud. Not a bad day at all!

A bear had strolled past our camp in the early hours

When the storm finally broke we made a dash to the Brooks Peninsula where upon landing we spotted a wolf in the shore grass. We watched him as he made a fairly hasty retreat into the woods. Magnificent animal and one that we rarely see. The beach was covered with wolf, bear and other myriad critter prints.

Greenling destined for dinner

Doug caught his first fish of the trip outside the bay and we had our first beach bbq in 6 years.

Later in the first week we made our way back to the Bunsbys and were hoping that Lucy and Leonard would be back at their cabin on Checkaklis (on the archaeological site of her family longhouse), but they hadn't been out that year. Lucy is a Checlesht elder and the sister of the hereditary chief of the First Nations who had once lived in the Bunsbys ( now on the reserve in Kyuquot). Our visits with those two over our previous visits were highlights in both of our lives. We learned that Lucy's struggle has been worthwhile; the Bunsbys are in the process of returning to the First Nations as a result of her and many other people's hard work.

We didn't photograph our visit to one island that is the traditional winter territory of the Checleseht nation.  There is a decaying watchman post laying at the entrance of a path with another totem pole nearby. Just past these poles is a small area surrounded by granite cliffs with massive trees growing off the edges. If it had been a set design it would have been just a little over the top and maybe a tad fantasy-like. A lost world. The site is all but fully grown over with vegetation but there are still shards of crockery on the beach showing very recent occupation. It's all a very sad story, but it is turning around.

View from the open ocean side of Twin Island

After we said goodbye to the Bunsbys, we headed south to Rugged Point which is a giant stretch of open ocean beach. On our way there we were met by a grey whale who surfaced about 20' away and treated us to a full wave of his giant tail. We also paddled through stands of cliffs with hundreds of gulls, cormorants and other sea birds.

Floating rock at Rugged Point

Strong off-island winds made for some challenging big ocean swell and surf. Fortunately there was a little crescent behind a rocky outcrop where we could land safely. This was the only camp to have an open coast so we walked the entire length of that big sandy beach that afternoon. Despite the fact that we live on an island with a large beach, Doug and I rarely take the time to enjoy it together. So this beach walk was due.

Our next stretch of ocean crossing around Tatchu Point was a bit epic lasting five hours and finishing in the fog with navigation by compass. We landed at Twin Island at the mouth of Esperanza Inlet north of the Nuchatlitzt island group.

Finally the winds that had been blowing hard off shore made it to our area. That evening we heard the gale force wind warning and so we decided we would leave at dawn for the Nuchatlitz (traditional home of the Nuchatlaht) before we got locked in. We had done that crossing many times and I was not looking forward to doing it in cresting waves. Those crossings always end with me making deals with higher powers and cursing myself for not remembering the words to the Lord's Prayer. Once a Catholic.... As it turned out, it was a beautiful calm dawn with perfect conditions and full sunshine. The winds hit hard right after we had landed safely. Thanks again Poseidon.

Our final couple of days were spent in the Nuchatlitz Islands where we hiked around our little island in a bay that completely emptied out at low tide exposing clam beds as far as you could see. It's not hard to see how this rich area supported the Nuchatlaht for thousands of years.

We had scheduled a pick up with the Uchuck in Flynn's Cove at the far end of Esperanza Inlet from where we were and had heard there were cabins there. Learning from the Environment Canada weather station that there would be more rain on our final night we thought we'd treat ourselves to an actual bed and a shower before our return to the world. So we paddled into Flynn's Cove exploring the sea caves while being accompanied by a humpback whale. We were met at the dock by Ann Thomas, the owner of property. She offered us a generous deal on the cabin, invited us in for hot tea and later brought by some fresh eggs from her chickens. People are so accommodating in that region.

We showered, slept soundly and then prepared for our last day on the water. At 10:15 the Uchuck had us paddle out into the inlet to meet them. They lowered the pallet over the side of the vessel and hoisted us up out of the ocean onto the deck where we were greeted by an applauding group of people on board. The Uchuck delivers goods and services to and from rurual communities but it has also branched out to include tourism as part of its business. People book passage on the Uchuck and are treated to the local scenery, an overnight stay at Kyuquot Beach House and then head back to Gold River the next day. We were the only kayakers on this trip so our launch and reentry were a bit of a hit with the other passengers. Rock stars for 20 seconds...      

Our last hours were spent cruising up the inlets on deck of the Uchuck on its return route. Our car was safely sitting where we left it in Gold River; we caught the 7pm ferry back onto Hornby. Fresh bread and quiche were waiting for us, thanks to Linda. We sat in our house with our cat Sterling Silverfoot (who we missed terribly) and our dream house-sitter Linda and raised a toast with our Phroag Gin G 'n T to what a great life we have!