The Magazine of Adventure Travel and Outdoor Recreation
WILD COAST Magazine
Volume 1, Issue 1
Summer/Fall 2015
WATER TRAILS
Free inaugural edition at select locations and online. Or by paid subscription
The BC Marine Trails Network puts new emphasis on Quatsino Sound
FROM SEA TO SKY
Gondola breathes new life into alpine hikes in Squamish
PM 41687515
CYCLING NIRVANA
1 # e u Iss NOOTKA ISLAND For those who enjoy
The Gulf Islands by bicycle. And pub. And trail...
a good walk on the edge of the world
SUMMER/FALL 2015
WILD COAST MAGAZINE
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Locally Owned. Run by paddlers. On the water at 2020 Cliffe Ave., Courtenay, BC info@comoxvalleykayaks.com WILD COAST MAGAZINE
SUMMER/FALL 2015
INSIDE
Welcome to issue #1. Here is the lie of the land: COASTAL HIKES #1: THE NOOTKA TRAIL Take a walk on the edge of the world through a location rich in history.
Page 18
CYCLING TRIPS #1: THE GULF ISLANDS Relax and let the ferries do most of the work in an island-hopping adventure.
Page 34
ALPINE TRAILS #1: SEA TO SUMMIT The Sea To Sky Gondola has opened a whole new world of exploration in Squamish.
Page 8 North BC and Haida Gwaii
17 Skills: Spelunking 28 Base camps/accommodation 38 Education 42 Opportunities/events 43 Books 44 Gear 46
North Vancouver Island
Desolation/
33 Discovery Islands
27
West Vancouver Island SUMMER/FALL 2015
Vancouver Coast & Mountain
39 Gulf Islands WILD COAST MAGAZINE
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WILD COAST MAGAZINE ISSUE #1 Welcome to issue #1. Or is it #2? A few astute readers may remember an edition of Wild Coast Magazine that came out in Spring 2008. That was a good first try, but put on hold until the timing could be better. That time, of course, is now, but for the sake of simplicity we’re calling this issue #1. But who’s counting anyway?
Who are we, what are we? Wild Coast Magazine is the outdoor adventure and recreation magazine for the Pacific Coast. It is the evolution of Coast&Kayak Magazine, transformed to include all forms of recreation thereby reaching more readers sharing a common love: exploring the Pacific coast. For our kayaking readers, we will continue to cover kayaking skills, places and adventures, just with additional content, and so as the magazine grows there is no reason we can’t continue to have as much if not more kayaking content than we had with Coast&Kayak Magazine. Another goal is to attract new people to various possibilities by presenting interesting and provocative writing and photography about various topics. If you have never tried kayaking but are interested, check out the information we have online – safety articles, skill articles, destination information and much, much more at www.wildcoastmagazine.com or on our sister website www.coastandkayak.com.
If you want to find us, you’ll have to look hard Wild Coast Magazine is published aboard the MV Wild Coast, a motor cruiser that serves as the office and our on-water summer accommodation. Keep an eye out for us. We’ll be immediately evident by the cannon on the bow. Just beware of the boat’s security system, Yoshi, the boat’s skipper and alarm dog. He does his very best to thwart invasion by kayak. Even when he’s in one exploring. Oh, and if all goes well, we’ll be producing the Spring 2016 issue from Loreto, Mexico, as we did the Spring 2015 issue of Coast&Kayak Magazine. Hasta luego!
Take the test... Help us attract advertisers by telling us how wonderful you are. Take our 2015 readership survey and share what you enjoy doing. This will be hugely valuable in establishing future priorities. Visit our website and click the link. Online readers, click here.
Join our team! Wild Coast Publishing is seeking some talented and enthusiastic individuals to help the magazine move forward.
8 Marketing and sales
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We need someone to drop off magazines to select locations throughout the Lower Mainland. It is a terrible, thankless job (except from us, who are hugely thankful). It involves miserable miles driving around congested city traffic. It is a horrible, horrible thing to have to do. However, it does pay in real cold hard cash, so if you are, for some irrational reason, interested in doing this, please drop us an email before common sense kicks in.
8 Writers and photographers!
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WILD COAST MAGAZINE
COAST Magazine
Summer/Fall 2015 Find Us:
Volume 1, Number 1 PM No. 41687515
Online: www.wildcoastmagazine.com In print: We distribute to over 300 locations across British Columbia and the United States. In addition, you can subscribe to ensure you never miss a copy. Visit our website. In person: Um, we don’t really have an office. That’s because we work out of a boat or otherwise travel a lot. So email works best. Or paddle out to our boat, wherever it happens to be. Or drop by Loreto, Mexico in the winter. By phone: Same again, we don’t have regular office hours. We may even be out of cell phone range for days at a time. But feel free to leave a message at 1-250-244-6437. By fax: 1-866-654-1937. Contact Us:
General queries: office@wildcoastmagazine.com Editorial: editor@wildcoastmagazine.com Advertising: office@wildcoastmagazine.com Phone: Canada: 1-250-244-6437/Summer US: 1-360-406-4708/Winter When we publish:
Winter/Spring 2015: November 2015 Booking deadline Oct. 1, 2015 Summer 2016: April 2016 Booking deadline: March 1, 2016 Fall 2016: July 2016 Booking deadline: June 13, 2016 Winter/Spring 2017: November 2016 Booking deadline: Oct. 7, 2016
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Wild Coast Publishing requires a motivated people-person to reach out to businesses that can best benefit from Wild Coast Magazine. The job is part-time, seasonal, flexible and home-based, and so should be attractive for the right person. And fun! People in the ecotourism industry are friendly and fascinating people doing interesting things, and here’s a chance to help them tell their story. Email editor@wildcoastmagazine.com.
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SUMMER/FALL 2015
Wild Coast Publishing PO Box 24, Stn A Nanaimo, B.C., Canada, V9R 5K4 The world’s only magazine published from aboard a boat (that we know of, anyway). © 2015. Copyright is retained on all material (text, photos and graphics) in this magazine. No reproduction is allowed of any material in any form, print or electronic, for any purpose, except with the permission of Wild Coast Publishing. Some elements in maps in this magazine are reproduced with the permission of Natural Resources Canada 2010, courtesy of the Atlas of Canada. Also, our thanks to Geobase for some elements that may appear on Wild Coast maps.
Wild Coast Magazine is dedicated to making self-propelled coastal exploration fun and accessible. Safety and travel information is provided to augment pre-existing safety and knowledge. A safety course and proper equipment are advised before any exploration on land or water. See a list of paddling instruction locations at www.wildcoastmagazine.com
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ODDS&ENDS
No engines I
f you’re reading this in early June, several dozen teams of boaters will still be making their way up the Inside Passage to Ketchikan with one goal is mind: a $10,000 purse for the team that comes in first. After the winner’s purse, the incentives fall off drastically: a set of cheap steak knives for the team that comes in second and for the rest, well, maybe a beer. It all started on June 4 at 5 a.m. in Port Townsend for the first Race to Alaska, or R2AK. It’s not an ordinary race. The team names in the registration list will tell you that, with participants ranging from Team Terry Thomas Tailored Tomfoolery Twins to Team Soggy Beaver. The modes are as varied as the names: everything from Olympic-inspired racing sailboats to rowboats and even a stand-up paddleboard. The rules are simple. You start, you don’t use an engine, and hopefully you finish. It was an idea born out of the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival – at the beer tent, naturally. “Like all good ideas, it happened over a beer,” says Jake Beattie, executive director of the Northwest Maritime Center and organizer of the Race to Alaska. “A group of us were brainstorming how we could create something that promoted engineless adventures and at the same time highlighted the area to make it a Pacific Northwest event or something that celebrated the whole Inside Passage.” At the time the X Prize Foundation was offering $10 million for the first manned private space flight, which provided the inspiration, although on a more earthly scale. “I thought, let’s put $10,000 on a tree and see what happens,” Beattie says. The idea has evolved since – there won’t be money nailed to a tree, just an oversized novelty cheque – but the simplicity of the concept remains. “I hate rules,” Beattie says. “I thought keep it simple. That’s part of being on the water,
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WILD COAST MAGAZINE
But in the 2015 Race to Alaska, other rules are few and far between
especially engineless – you have no option to turn on the motor so you’re more in tune with your surroundings.” The race starts at 5 a.m. with the first leg to Victoria. That’s acting as a qualifier, mainly to weed out participants who are ill-prepared or ill-equipped for the longer trip. “If they can get to Victoria in 36 hours without getting rescued, then they can keep going,” Beattie says. The main leg, from Victoria to Ketchikan, begins June 7. The route has only two checkpoints: Seymour Narrows and Bella Bella. Otherwise participants are free to go where the wind or their whims take them.
W
ith the range of styles among
the participants, odds would seem to favour sailors over paddlers, but Beattie isn’t quite so convinced. “That’s the subject of much debate,” he says. “Usually the first question is what type of boat is going to win and the second is how long it’s going to take.” The timing of the race was picked for being transitional and consequently unpredictable: after the spring storms but still before the Big Pacific highs move in. That means any type of weather might occur. “One year it could be a fast race that favours sailboats and the next year it could be slow, favouring rowboats, or something between we haven’t yet thought of,” Beattie says. (Participant Colin Angus, a rower, debunks the advantage of sail in a thoughtful blog posting; read it from the online version of this magazine by clicking here.) More than 30 teams are registered for the full-length race with another 25 or so taking part in just the first leg to Victoria. It’s a level of
SUMMER/FALL 2015
involvement that caught Beattie by surprise. “When we launched it last year we didn’t give people much time to plan a big voyage like this. So when we announced it in August
2015 RACE TO ALASKA I thought to get 10 to 20 would be pretty remarkable. I was totally blown away by how many people showed up.” The team names and even the race website take a light-hearted approach to the race, and Beattie says that’s just a reflection of the oddball idea behind it. “It’s certainly not pretentious,” he says. “Going to Alaska in an engineless boat seems completely crazy, but people have been doing it every year basically since time started, if you go back to the engineless voyages of the native Americans. “It’s both dangerous and exciting and kind of commonplace in another way.” Beattie believes the dangerous aspect should take care of itself. The first leg will present the challenge of open water and a shipping lane and should weed out the weakest, while the run up the east side of Vancouver Island will allow participants to get used to their equipment and the rigours of the race without being far from a highway, should they need to exit. So the real race should begin after Port Hardy and the crossing of Cape Caution to the Inside Passage. The distance is about 1,200 km, or about 650 nautical miles. Beattie expects the race to take two to three weeks, but with reasonable winds and a crew working around the clock to average ten knots – no great stretch for elite racing boats – it’s conceivable it could all be over in well under a week. Beattie says Alaska was chosen as the destination as it symbolizes the ideal adventure destination. 8 www.r2ak.com.
Teams to Watch
Team Soggy Beavers Team Pure and Wild This is their race to lose. Take two Olympic-level sailors, Joe Bersch and Dalton Bergen, and an American Cup boat designer, Paul Bieker, and they’re set to win – or embarrass themselves.
Two Victoria brothers Graham and Russell Henry have the experience of miles, advantage of youth and four extra bodies in their bid to row a six-man outrigger equipped with a sail. Above is a copy of their fiendishly simple plan.
Team Golden Oldies
Team Angus The antithesis to Team Pure and Wild: Colin Angus, a grassroots rower with a long list of accomplishments will be adding a sail to his rowboat to make the best of any condition he might encounter. He may prove that grit beats polish.
Take a multihull veteran, a really fast boat, a kayak guide who knows the Inside Passage waters and a world record holder for trans-Atlantic rowing and don’t let the name fool you – there’s nothing old and feeble here.
Team Hartman The one Alaskan to enter, he’ll be paddling a 17’ kayak. He is bound to be the character of the race. A hint as to why: he paid the entry fee in beaver pelts.
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VANCOUVER COAST & MOUNTAIN
T
he
Upper Shannon Falls Trail used to be a sleepy hike
ignored by most visitors to Stawamus Chief Provincial Park. Over the past year, however, this path has drawn a stampede of hikers and trail runners to its waterfalls and viewpoints overlooking Howe Sound. That’s because it is now part of the Sea to Summit Trail, Squamish’s answer to the crowded Grouse Grind on Vancouver’s North Shore. In three to five hours, hikers ascend 918 metres over 8.9 kilometres, from the base of the new Sea to Sky Gondola to its top. Stéphane Perron works as lead guide and trail patroller for the $22-million gondola, which opened on May 16, 2014. He is also president of the Squamish Trails Society, and so meets many of these hikers as part of his work.
“You can always tell someone who has just come up the Sea to Summit Trail,” Perron says. “They’ll usually be either quite sweaty or muddy or sometimes with a dog. That’s the other clue, because that’s the only trail where you’re allowed dogs.” Though just in its second year of operation, the Sea to Sky Gondola has already become a major draw for adventure lovers in a municipality widely considered as the Outdoor Recreation Capital of Canada. Lying between the granite cliffs of the Stawamus Chief and Shannon Falls, the gondola rises from its base off the Sea to Sky Highway to an elevation of 885 metres on the ridge northwest of Mount Habrich. It’s a glorious 10-minute ride in one of the eight-passenger cabins. Up top, visitors will find the Summit Lodge, with its restaurant, bar, café, gift shop and patio. A 100-metre-long, 65-metre-high suspension
FROM
SEA
to
Squamish Harbour and Sky Pilot Suspension Bridge. 8
WILD COAST MAGAZINE
SUMMER/FALL SUMMER 2015 2015
SEA TO SKY TRAIL
by stephen hui
bridge between two viewing decks offers stunning vistas of Sky Pilot Mountain and Howe Sound. Two easy walking loops are close at hand, with one leading to a viewing platform facing the Stawamus Chief and Atwell Peak. The gondola provides access to eight hiking trails in summer and five snowshoeing trails in winter. Two newly developed rock-climbing areas, Kletter Garden and Wrinkle Rock, lie minutes away from the upper terminal. There is also a snow tube park. u
SUMMIT SUMMER/FALL 2015
WILD COAST MAGAZINE
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VANCOUVER COAST & MOUNTAIN esley Weeks, executive director of Tourism Squamish, says the Sea to Sky Gondola has made the mountains more accessible to people of all ages and abilities. She took her parents, who are both in their 70s, and her three-year-old son on the Wonderland Lake Loop, a 1.6-kilometre hike. “There is no way I would be able to get my parents and young son up into the alpine to experience the views and trails without having the Sea to Sky Gondola for access,” Weeks says. “It is so fantastic to see multiple generations out enjoying the trails together.” For Perron’s part, his favourite hike at the gondola is Al’s Habrich Ridge Trail. This 11.6-kilometre round trip takes hikers over rocky ground and through forest, paying off with grand Squamish Valley views. “It’s not too technically difficult,” Perron says. “You get rewards early on. It doesn’t really matter how far you get. You will have a rewarding time. And you can go for a long time if you want.” Meanwhile, the Skyline Ridge Trail is the lengthiest hike so far available to gondola visitors. Involving a 19-kilometre round trip, this trail heads up the ridge between the Sky Pilot massif and Goat Ridge. Future plans call for it to be linked with the Sky Pilot Valley Trail, currently a 10-kilometre round trip, to form an epic alpine loop. The Skyline Ridge Trail features several alpine lakes known as tarns. “It’s not technical, so you don’t need any special skills. This truly is just a hike. But it’s my second choice, because you need a full day to enjoy that one,” Perron says For mountaineers and ski tourers, the gondola has made it easier to access the backcountry around Goat Ridge, Mount Habrich and Sky Pilot Mountain. “It’s really been about access,” Weeks says. “Before the gondola, it would have taken hours to reach some of the backcountry currently being explored.” Last September, the Coast Mountain Trail Series put on its Sky Pilot race at the gondola. The running competition returns this year on Sept. with challenging 14-kilometre and 22-kilometre routes.
F
Trevor Dunn, general manager and founding partner of Sea to Sky Gondola Corporation, the past year represents a sensational start. He says he’s proud that the gondola is helping people to see the Sea to or
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WILD COAST MAGAZINE
Paul Bride photo/Tourism Squamish
L
The summit lodge.
Sky corridor in a whole new light. Dunn says the company had projected between 200,000 and 300,000 visits in its first year and is ahead of that. In May, the gondola kicked off its second summer season. Day tickets cost $35.95 for adults, $33.95 for seniors, $23.95 for youths, and $13.95 for children age 6-12. There is a $2 discount for tickets bought online, and kids five and under are free. Summer-season passes cost $109 for adults and $274 for families of two adults and two children. Dunn promises that a new via ferrata (Italian for “iron road”) will offer adventure seekers “quite a thrilling experience.” With a fixed cable and built-in aids, this route will allow people without climbing experience to clamber up the rocks below the Summit Lodge and over to the suspension bridge for an elevation gain of 100 metres. Like the one on Whistler Mountain, the gondola’s via ferrata will be offered as a guided tour involving an additional fee. “Basically, it gives the experience of rock climbing without the risk of falling,” Dunn says. “You’re continually tied into a fixed line.” While there are currently no mountain biking trails at the gondola, that could change in 2016 as the company enters the early planning stages for routes. “One of the things that we know is that Squamish is one of the world-class mountainbike destinations, and if you do anything, you have to make sure it is world-class,” Dunn says. SUMMER/FALL 2015
“So we want to make sure that we are able to do that.” One problem is deciding where the mountain-biking trails would be located. “We definitely want to make sure that, if we do it, that we put it in a place that makes sense for all different users, so we’re not having conflicts with hikers or walkers,” he says. “All those factors have to be built into the plan.”
P
2011, the Sea to Sky Gondola stirred controversy after it came to light that its developers had applied to remove a 2.36-hectare strip from Stawamus Chief Provincial Park. After the legislature passed a bill rejigging the boundaries of the park in 2012, the B.C. Liberal government redesignated the 20-metre-wide gondola corridor as the Stawamus Chief Protected Area. The gondola’s base sits on private property, and the upper-terminal area lies on Crown land outside the park. The Squamish Nation, Squamish-Lillooet Regional District and District of Squamish also approved the project before construction began in 2013. B.C. Parks has installed trail counters and observed some changes in the usage of Stawamus Chief Provincial Park since the gondola opened. While many more hikers are ascending the Upper Shannon Falls Trail, as part of the Sea to Summit Trail, slightly less are going up the back of the Chief, though this remains a popular hike. roposed in
SEA TO SKY TRAIL
ALPINE HIKES #1
The Sea to Sky Trail
The ministry also reports that visitors are parking in the park parking lots for longer periods. Parking at the gondola base is limited to three hours. The gondola’s overflow lot across the highway from Shannon Falls Provincial Park accommodates longer-term parking but requires a 10-minute walk or a shuttle to the base. Meanwhile, Perron believes that the gondola will attract trail builders from Vancouver, Squamish, and Whistler, which could eventually result in the construction of a hiking trail connecting the North Shore and Squamish. In Cypress Provincial Park, the Howe Sound Crest Trail already stretches 29 kilometres from the Cypress Mountain ski area to just south of Porteau Cove Provincial Park, located south of Squamish along the Sea to Sky Highway. Perron would like to see this rugged trail
extended north to the top of the gondola. “It would be quite a project,” Perron says. “The Howe Sound Crest Trail is indeed one continuous crest. To bring it all the way there to Squamish, it does indeed have to go down some significant valleys at Britannia and Furry
Creek, for instance. But I know I’m not the only one who has thought of this.”
Waters Dancing
Stephen Hui is a journalist, photographer, and hiker living in Vancouver. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram: @stephenhui.
www.watersdancing.com
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SUMMER/FALL 2015
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NORTH VANCOUVER ISLAND
The
Quatsino quotient BC Marine Trails Network puts the focus on rarely visited northern water route
T
he well-kept secret of Quatsino Sound is about to leak out, thanks to the efforts of BC Marine Trail Network members. BC Marine Trails volunteers will be searching for potential new campsites through the Marble River area and down Neurotsos Inlet to Port Alice this summer while volunteers will conduct shoreline and site cleanups including a larger week-long Tsunami Cleanup project scheduled for two sections of North Brooks. The BC Marine Trails Network is also conducting campsite upgrades within the inner Sound funded by the National Trails Coalition and Recreation Sites and Trails. Work is lined up for Hunt Islets, Mahatta Creek, Undercover Cove and Drake Island (aka ‘Limestone’ Island). It will involve clearing, trail building, adding outhouses, a canoe run at one site and BC Marine Trails signs for each. With the approval of both the Quatsino
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First Nation and Recreation Sites and Trails BC, this means Quatsino Sound will soon be added to the ‘official’ list of marine trails sites along the British Columbia coast and part of a growing network of routes envisioned to encompass the entire British Columbia coastline. Even so, it remains a mostly undiscovered and under-appreciated area of Vancouver Island, except for perhaps sports fishermen drawn to the salmon.
Q
uatsino Sound is located almost at the northern tip of Vancouver Island, and takes about five hours to reach from the ferry terminal at Nanaimo. So while by some measures more remote than other more popular west coast destinations like the Broken Group and Clayoquot Sound, it does hold the advantage that it is pavement all the way to Quatsino Sound’s main access point at Coal Harbour.
SUMMER/FALL 2015
Kayaking with a humpback whale in Quatsino Sound.
After a launch from Coal Harbour, paddlers must pass through Quatsino Narrows to get to the main part of the sound. The trick is to arrive at the head of the narrows at slack, before the tide changes to ebb. Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Tide and Current Tables provide current information for Quatsino Narrows, which can run as high as 9 knots. For those who want to avoid paddling the narrows, water taxis are available. Once west of the narrows and within the inner sound, some beaches that look great for landing at high tide can be laborious to reach at low tide due to their breadth and the amount of rocks, shells and slippery seaweed. This is not a ‘rule’ however, as there are many
BC MARINE TRAIL
by stephanie meinke
WATER TRAILS #1
exceptions where getting on and off the water is quite easy, even at low tides. The BC Marine Trails Network online map can help. Such inconveniences are offset by some very positive features: Firstly, the inner sound is well protected from the extremes of weather on the exposed outer coast, so it can be paddled and enjoyed at times when conditions elsewhere are not so good1. The scenery is stunning, and there are lots of Editor’s note: The main body of Quatsino Sound west of the narrows is prone to afternoon inflows which can reach gale proportions, so be aware this statement is most applicable to the sound east of the narrows. 1
places to explore and lots to see. Presently on its website map, the BC Marine Trails Network shows seven good camping spots strategically located along the sound’s 25 nautical miles between Coal Harbour and Kains Beach. Four of these are slated for this summer’s upgrades. Low tide issues are less of a problem at these sites. 8 Drake Island has a rocky beach, but improvements including a ‘canoe run’ clear of stones are on the roster. 8 The creek mouth at Mahatta Creek can be a bit tricky at low tides but you are dealing with sand, not rocks, boulders and seaweed. Another landing around the point has a cobble beach, but no need to slog through u SUMMER/FALL 2015
Quatsino Sound: Launch from Coal Harbour, Winter Harbour or Port Alice for a variety of camping and exploring options Difficulty: Moderate to difficult.
Special considerations:
Unpredictable, potentially strong north coast weather. Main Attractions: Outer coastal shoreline and beaches, a tidal narrows and side waterways to explore. Time to complete: Variable, but best planned as a 4-7 day trip. Options: Extend the trip as part of the North Island Circle Route from Port Hardy or south into Brooks Peninsula.
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Map adapted from the BC Coast Explorer Vol. 1.
NORTH VANCOUVER ISLAND
shallow water on low tides. At high tide, most of the beaches within the inner sound all but disappear, so make sure you have downloaded or copied the coordinates from the BC Marine Trails Network map if you want to find that campsite for the night, especially if you’re heading for Undercover Cove (it is aptly named). Fortunately, areas are being cleared for kayak storage on the uplands above high tide for the sites where this is necessary.
T
he whole of Quatsino Sound is a photographer’s paradise, with beautiful vistas in all directions. Whales visit here frequently, and large rafts of sea otters inhabit
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numerous areas, changing their locations so you can never be sure where you’ll find them. I’ve seen large rafts in Koprino Harbour in the inner sound, Gillam Islets and near Kains Beach in the outer sound. I sat still on a rocky outcropping one night at Mahatta Creek, trying to get a close-up shot of a type of grass that clings and flourishes on what seems to be bare rock, when I heard an odd sound behind me. Turning slowly to look, I saw three sea otters, a mum and two pups, climbing on the rocks just behind me. I was amazed and shocked – and so were the sea otters when they saw me! Less than three seconds later they were in the water, but even so they didn’t leave. They SUMMER/FALL 2015
played about in the little bay until I left, grass forgotten, when the sun finally set.
A
nother little known attraction
of Quatsino Sound is the historic village of Quatsino. It is spread along a stretch of land west of the narrows, just to the west of the remains of the Quatsino First Nation village of Quattishe. Quatsino was first settled in 1895, shortly before the Danish colony at Cape Scott, chiefly by a group of Norwegians who had become disillusioned with the American Midwest. Little remains now of the settlement at Cape Scott, but Quatsino is still quietly subsisting, some inhabitants even having the
BC MARINE TRAIL
A view up the sound, above, and from the village of Quatsino, right.
same last names as those early pioneers. One of its original buildings, St. Olaf’s Church, is still open to visitors, as the door is never locked. Three kilometers down the road from the public dock is the Quatsino Cemetery. Most of the early pioneers and many of their descendants can be found there. Quatsino has transformed over time of course, and now is an eclectic mix of homesteaders and fishing resorts. With no road to the community, the only access is still by water, but Quatsino has joined the u
broughton archipelago
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NORTH VANCOUVER ISLAND modern world with both internet access and cell phone coverage. Paddlers can tie up at the government dock. You won’t find a café, store or pub, but there is a post office and a museum in the centre of town. This is where visitors can catch a glimpse of the lives of early pioneers as they struggled to build homes and a community 120 years ago. Emily Carr visited Quatsino and painted in the adjacent village of Quattishe. A couple of her paintings of that time decorate the museum wall. Quatsino folk hold a yearly celebration to commemorate the day the pioneers arrived and began breaking ground. This year, Sept. 6, is the 120th anniversary, with visitors welcome of course.
T
here are many ways for paddlers to enjoy the sound. For those who have the financial resources and enjoy the comforts, Quatsino Lodge offers kayak day excursions exploring Drake Island or the Marble River, among other destinations. Paddlers can also choose to be entirely self-sufficient, but still enjoy the appeal and comforts of Quatsino village. A BCMTN campsite is nearby on Drake Island, or paddlers may wish to rent a two-room cabin in the village. On the outer sound, the northeast coastline is riddled with sea caves and adorned with unique and elegant seaweeds. Check your weather forecast though, as there are few landing spots along the cliffs.
Parts of the outer coast can be explored from the relative safety of Hunt Islets or Kains Beach. On calm days paddlers can also cross over to Gillam Islets. The islets offer no place to land, and are nesting sites for several species of sea birds and popular with seals and rafts of sea otters. A route which is becoming more popular is to launch from Port Hardy, paddle through Goletas Channel, round Cape Scott on the northwest extent of Vancouver Island, and return through Quatsino Sound by landing at Coal Harbour. From there a cab or bus can be used to return to your vehicle. The route is about 100 nautical miles (180 km) and is comfortable to do in 10 to 12 days – depending on weather, of course.
Play an active role in the BC Marine Trails Network As paddlers explore these waterways, there are some things they can do to help maintain and care for the sites they use. In general, paddlers should practise ‘leave no trace’ principles and low-impact camping. A key part of that is to leave things as they are found and the campsites in their natural state. This means avoiding the temptation to build beach furniture, thinking it will be a favour to future campers to find the space cluttered with debris. Build your fires below high tide and ensure all evidence is gone before you leave. Take photos rather than souvenirs and pack out whatever you pack in. Be respectful of wildlife: keep your distance and observe quietly. More specifically, paddlers can get involved in the BC Marine Trail Network’s ‘Site Condition Report’ program. When you are using the trails, fill out a short report about the condition of each site you visit. It helps the association learn about usage patterns, litter issues, trail erosion, general conditions and any other problems you think we should know about. Any relevant issues are relayed to the landowners. To participate, simply go to the BCMTN website and look under ‘Stewardship’ to find the Site Condition Field Report form. You can print it and on return, fill in the forms online and submit.
Becoming an individual member of the BCMTNA gives paddlers access to additional map tools and sponsor discounts. The membership fee ($25 for individual, $35 for family) helps fund the continuing development of the BCMTN. Becoming a member also means paddlers can sign up on the BCMTNA Meetup page and join some of the scheduled events. This is the most active way of becoming involved and helping out. Members will have first-hand information on participating in special BC Marine Trails events, and this summer they will have the first opportunity to sign up to volunteer in two Great Canadian Shoreline Tsunami Debris Cleanups being planned for June within Quatsino traditional territory. These could take anywhere from a few days to a full week or more. Participants get free transportation, free food while there, and of course good companionship. These projects are sponsored by the Vancouver Aquarium and the Canadian and Japanese governments. The flurry of BC Marine Trails activities within Quatsino Sound should have subsided by early July. But the summer will be far from over. Four brand new BC Marine Trails recreation sites will be ready to receive paddlers interested in discovering for themselves the appeal of this area.
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Paddling into the narrow and enclosed waters of Marble River.
NORTH VANCOUVER ISLAND Search for tours and services for this region: • Cape Scott Water Taxi – Facing page (Transport) • North Island Kayak – This page (Tours / Rentals / Instruction) • Paddlers Inn – Page 15 (Accommodation / Transport) See also the Desolation Sound page (page 31) and the West Vancouver Island page (page 25) for neighbouring and Crossover options.
A Robson Bight B Telegraph Cove J I H D G K E L F B C A
C Broughton Archipelago D Echo Bay E Alert Bay F Port McNeill G Port Hardy H God’s Pocket Provincial Park I The North Coast Trail J The Cape Scott Trail K San Josef Bay L Quatsino Sound
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MAQUINNA’S S
cott Schooner of Tahtsa Dive Charters maneuvered the
water taxi toward the shallows of Louie Bay to nose up to a rocky islet. It was the closest we were going to get by boat to the northern trailhead of the Nootka Trail. The tide was well out, leaving us a long and mucky tidal flat to cross before reaching land. Those arriving by float plane don’t get to see this part of the island, as planes instead land in an adjacent lagoon, placing hikers at a point where they need just a short walk across a strip of land to reach Second Beach, the traditional first night’s camping spot on the Nootka Trail. Our task was more difficult. The mudflat wasn’t actually too bad until I misjudged the mud and stepped into a quicksand-like mire. In moments I was up to my knees and temporarily immobile in the goo. It was fortunate a large tree branch was nearby to use as leverage to escape; my hiking partner, understandably enough, seemed none too
The outer shore of Nootka Island with Third Beach in the distance. 18
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eager to join me in the muck for a rescue. Once out of the mudflat the head of the bay, the route narrowed into a thin gulley and storm channel, probably a result of the worst of the Nootka Island winters. Here we gained our first look at the island’s outer shore, and it was not particularly welcoming. There was no beach, just a rocky wave-pounded stretch of shore and no sign of a trail. It took a while to figure that part out, but across the gulley and after a rock scramble the trail continued south into the bush. What followed was a demanding hike through forest that took several hours before breaking the tree cover to reach the sandy expanse of Third Beach. I was hoping to solve the mystery of the name along the way, as for most hikers Third Beach will be the first beach they come across. If there are two other beaches farther north, we couldn’t see them from shore (it required a kayaking trip to eventually spot what could
THE NOOTKA TRAIL
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by john kimantas
constitute two beaches, and I marked those on the map on page 13 based on the theory there are no other options). Regardless, Third Beach is the given name, and we walked out onto it to find a mist-shrouded beach and a display of beauty surpassing our wildest expectations – surf pounding a tree-lined arc of sand capped at the outer point by a rocky reef island. There was no choice but to stop and soak it in the beauty. No doubt hikers arriving by plane in the late afternoon would be happy to spend the night here. We, on the other hand, had arrived early in the day and so still had many hours left; it was far too early to set up camp. In the distance we could see another group of hikers disappearing into the trees farther down the trail. It was unlikely they had seen us. As we headed south ourselves we passed the Third Beach campsite, almost an artist’s rendering of what a beach campsite should be, decorated with driftwood and colourful fish floats. It seemed a shame to have to head on. u
COASTAL HIKES #1 The Nootka Trail Distance: 35 km.
Access: Water taxi, plane or Uchuck III
freighter/passenger service Difficulty: Moderate Special considerations: Unreliable fresh water sources, tidal channel Main Attractions: Lots of beach hiking, Calvin falls, dramatic bluffs on south end of island, historic village site at Yuquot. Time to complete: Three to four days Options: Kayaking (difficult)
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The shoreline south of Third Beach: there will be no camping here.
WHALING S LODG
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THE NOOTKA TRAIL
The campsite at Third Beach: artistry by driftwood and fishing floats.
The question was to where to camp. The trail south of Third Beach isn’t well designed for casual camping, which is surprising as from here to Callicum Creek the trail is almost entirely a beach walk. The problem is the type of beach you get along this stretch of the island until near Calvin Falls. It may be beach, but it is rocks and rock ledge with a scruffy overgrown high tide line poorly suited for tenting. A level, clear area above the high tide was not to be found. We pushed on to Skuna Bay but ran out of steam before reaching the sand at Calvin Falls, no doubt where the other group of hikers would spend their second night. Skuna Bay was certainly the best beach we had found so far, good sand at lower levels but round rocks above high tide. The steep slope was a problem solved only by piling drift logs to create a somewhat level square for our tent. It would have to do. We ran into the other group again at Calvin Falls the next morning and were happy to present them with a pair of sandals we found in the bush just before Skuna Falls. No doubt they had snagged on a branch and been pulled from a backpack. But the opportunity to be a hero vanished; the sandals weren’t theirs. We found out they had indeed arrived by plane and spent the first night at Third Beach then Calvin Falls and were now beating us two-to-none for great campsites. Calvin Falls is a treasure, of course, and a visual highlight of the trail. Water cascades over a rock cliff directly onto the beach, requiring a ford to cross the river it creates. A rope provides a u
The first glimpse of the outer ocean at the end of the storm channel from Louie Bay.
The view from the inside of a cave along the headland near Maquinna Point.
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Trail Map #1 THE NOOTKA TRAIL 22
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THE NOOTKA TRAIL way to scale the shale face to reach the river and rocky water pools at the top for a lookout over the waterfall. We trudged on past Calvin Falls, again having arrived too early in the day to make use of this ideal campsite. We kept crisscrossing the other group of hikers as we each stopped for breaks. At Bajo Point took a moment to look out over the reefs before starting the walk along the island’s south coast, which turned out to be fine pebble beach – a difficult surface for hiking as each footfall gives way, requiring twice the effort per step. Two more great campsites lay ahead – one at Beano Creek and another at Callicum Creek. But we were determined, for whatever reason, and so pushed forward, heading overland after Callicum Creek to cross the rocky headland at Maquinna Point. Here the nature of the island changed again, with views over rocky cliffsides and short trails leading to pocket beaches. Eventually we dropped down the headland east of Maquinna Point to look out over a wide bay towards San Miguel Island and the lighthouse on the island’s southeast extent. We decided to stop here as the beach was great and the tide high, meaning if we continued we would have to swim across the mouth of a lagoon to get any farther. The next morning we crossed the lagoon when it required no more than a shallow ford barely getting our feet wet, and from there it was just a short pebble beach walk to the trail’s end at Yuquot. The other group hadn’t been nearly as careful in their planning. Determined to make Yuquot by the end of that day they swam across the lagoon, only to reach the campsite short one sleeping bag that no doubt got ripped off the backpack by a snag somewhere along the way. We found sandals and no owner, but no sleeping bag, so we were foiled once again in our chance to be heroes.
Hikers congregate at Calvin Falls, a visual highlight along the island’s best beach.
A carcass of a wreck is strewn along the mudflat at Louie Bay.
u
Writing in the sand courtesy of snails on random journeys.
One of the beautiful pocket beaches from a trail viewpoint near Maquinna Point. SUMMER/FALL 2015
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Clockwise from left: hikers nearing Bajo Point; the view north from south of Calvin Falls; the beach south of Yuquot; the stained glass window donated from the Spanish government to commemorate the Nootka Convention Conference held in Yuquot; the Yuquot wharf and Friendly Cove. SUMMER/FALL 2015
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uquot is a fitting place to end the hike as it is a historic village site as well as a harbour with a long dock and lighthouse. It was here that chief Maquinna had his principal village and with it a history that adds a compelling element to any visit to Nootka Island. Given the lack of written records, most influential chiefs are lost to history, but Maquinna is an exception as he was host to captains James Cook and George Vancouver and so recorded in detail in their journals, but in greater detail in the book White Slaves of Maquinna by John R. Jewitt, a man captured when Maquinna raided and burned the Boston, killing all but two of the crew. Maquinna was a complex person as both a man capable of great violence, but also a dedicated family man who evolved into a notable international diplomat by hosting Spain’s Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra and England’s Vancouver at Yuquot as they negotiated conditions for peace between England and Spain to thwart a potential war. There are still reminders of that history such as house depressions at Aass near Bajo Point and a fallen totem at Friendly Cove, but the main visual reminder is the historic church with stained glass windows donated by the
Evidence of a West Coast outing gone wrong, a common find along coastal trails.
Spanish government to commemorate the peace accord reached here. At the dock, Scott of Tahtsa Dive Charters was waiting for us with his water taxi for the trip back to Tahsis, allowing us a look at the inside of the island up Tahsis Inlet this time. Our trip was just three days – somewhat rushed in order to meet a schedule, but still fairly easily achievable. An extra three days, though, would have been time well spent.
Trail aids: To hike the Nootka Trail you’ll need transport, as it is an island. Water taxis work well with a drop-off and pickup
at either end of the trail. Look to Tahtsa Dive Charters in Tahsis or Zeballos Expeditions in Zeballos. See their ads on the next page. In addition, the MV Uchuck III lands at Yuquot, making this an ideal way to return from a hike starting at Louie Bay. The Uchuck can also take kayaks for an entirely different holiday. A popular way to do the trail is to be dropped off by charter plane at Louie Bay then return on the Uchuck. Naturally this requires careful timing; water taxis can offer more flexibility. For more information on this trail and the nearby coastline see the BC Coast Explorer Vol. 1 available at www.thewildcoast.ca.
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THE NOOTKA TRAIL
Kayaking: the other way to see the Nootka Trail A trip around the Nootka Trail by paddle is a beautiful yet demanding trip. If you plan a more extended visit you can combine the Nootka Trail into a complete Nootka Sound kayaking holiday with wonderful locations to explore such as Catala Island, Nutchatlitz Provincial Park and Bligh Island Provincial Park. The problem is the difficulty involved in a circumnavigation, as you’ll be dealing with some big seas on the outer coast, some difficult points where currents and waterways converge and potentially strong winds. Most kayakers approach a trip here on a smaller scale, instead opting for visits to just
one prime destination such as Nuchatlitz or Bligh Island. The reward for a circumnavigation is a wide range of scenery, some of the best of which is on the outer coast, particularly Calvin Falls, the bluffs around Maquinna Point and the outer approach to Friendly Cove. Kayak-friendly landing spots can be found at Calvin Falls, Bajo Point and Callicum Creek. A wild card is Third Beach. Surf may be an issue. If circumnavigating, the best possible launches are from Zeballos, Tahsis or Cougar Creek, the latter a forest recreation campground inside Nootka Sound.
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A B C D
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SKILLS AND INTERESTS Left: VICEG caver Charlene Forrest admires the view of the transition zone between forest and cave at the Scallop entrance as her son Ryles climbs down to join her. Facing page: Looking down one of the shorter drops just past the ‘Siphon’ in Riverbend Cave.
A caving veteran shares her inspiration for visiting where few people dare
C
AVING is kind of like climbing,
only you go down before you go up, and it’s always dark, and frequently wet, and muddy, and cold, and your chocolate bars always get flattened. Sandwiches are not recommended underground as they just don’t survive. Then of course, you’re surrounded by rock, and you’re thankful that you have a helmet on your head because the rock frequently gets in the way at the tight bits. It can be hard on the knees, too, and you will be amazed at the places on your body you will find bruises when you get home and can finally shower off the mud. It makes you wonder why anyone would subject themselves to this form of adventure. I’ve been exploring caves off and on for most of my life. So in an attempt to explain 28
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why, here’s a short story of my first experience: An embarrassingly long time ago, when I was not yet twenty, I read a 1928 book called Ten Years Under the Earth by French Speleologist Norbert Casteret. It was about adventure in a subterranean world, and after putting the book down, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. The next thing I knew, I was standing at the entrance to my first real cave. The one we were entering had been discovered and partially explored by my companions that spring. At that time a stream was pouring into the entrance. As the roof dipped lower the only way to continue would have been underwater. They knew they would have to wait and try again in a drier season. That was when I joined them. It was summer, the streambed was dry, and we had SUMMER/FALL 2015
no problems making our way through. On our hands and knees, then down to our bellies, we crawled over the rock-strewn streambed. I was thinking that my knees and elbows couldn’t take much more punishment when the ceiling suddenly rose, allowing us to sit, put our heads up and give our necks some relief. We shone our lights further down the passage and saw a pool of water nearly at our feet. The ceiling dipped again at the pool, which stretched across the entire width of the passage. We couldn’t see whether the water and roof actually met, but I could feel the disappointment in the fellows around me. No one spoke at first. Then one of them said, ‘Well, it looks like it doesn’t go.” I was the novice, and the only female, allowed to be there as long as I didn’t complain or hold the guys back. u
CAVING
by stephanie meinke
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SKILLS AND INTERESTS Too young for my own good and inspired by Casteret’s wild tales of exploring caves in the Pyrenees, I volunteered to check it out. All were members of the only caving club on Vancouver Island, and they all looked at me strangely. “You’ll get soaked. It’s probably going to sump,” one said. “This is your first trip,” said another, shaking his head dubiously. The first fellow who had spoken just said, “Are you sure?” Of course I was. They tied a great fat industrial hemp rope around my middle. (It was the very early days of caving on Vancouver Island, before the availability of specialized caving gear like we have today.) Back on my hands and knees and dragging the rope named the ‘woolly wonder’ behind me, I entered the water and felt the shock of it as it splashed against my thighs and arms. One of my companions had a tight hold of the other end of the rope, letting it out slowly as I crawled forward. The ceiling dipped down and I hugged it with my back, desperately trying to keep my belly dry. No hope. There was just a narrow strip of air left. Time of decision: back up, or commit. My face and quivering nostrils were still dry, so I crawled carefully on, and my extremities grew increasingly numb. Then the
roof started to rise and my lamp displayed an amazing sight ahead. The passageway completely changed its aspect from wide and low to high but narrow. Breathless, I stared at a pure white frozen waterfall of stalactites on the wall to my right. I turned my headlamp directly on it and crystals made of calcite glistened. I tried to haul myself up out of the frigid water, but felt the woolly wonder starting to pull me back in. My friends were concerned about my silence. I grabbed the rope and pulled to get some slack. Then I untied it. Finally I heard them. They had been shouting for a while but I hadn’t heard. “Does it go? Are you okay?” “Yes, it goes!” They came through, one by one, and all dripping wet. We took turns leading down a passage that no other human eyes had seen before. We climbed down a series of short pits, using the woolly wonder for the most sheer. We admired more incredibly white stalactites along the way, and then the passage divided. We went to the right and stood at the edge of a big pit. We could just see the bottom and what looked like pools of calcite crystals about 10 metres down. We shone our lights across the pit to its far side. That side wall was covered completely
in masses of pure white flowstone, and its crystals shone back and dazzled us. Somewhat awed, we backed up, turned down the left fork and soon found ourselves standing on the edge of another, even deeper pit. We stood there for half an hour, throwing pebbles down, counting seconds, trying to calculate how deep it was. When we finally turned around, we were all shivering. It was time to move, get warm and get out. The rest of the cave would have to wait. It took another trip and a homemade rope ladder (made of polypropylene and old broomstick handles) before we bottomed that cave, exploring it to a terminal sump. Those two trips were a lifelong hook for me. It was also the very first exploration of Riverbend Cave in what is the present-day Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park. Stephanie Meinke has enjoyed many caving experiences throughout her life. Ten years ago she discovered kayaking and an exploration of another amazing world: the wild coast of BC. As a retired teacher, she now spends much of her time working with other dedicated volunteers to build the BC Marine Trails Network. By happenstance she is the author of two articles in this edition. Her ‘Quatsino Quotient’ starts page 12.
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CAVING
Caving 101: The what, where and who of it to get started
C
aves are found in karst topography
made up of water-soluble bedrock, such as limestone. In BC, caves can be found in Haida Gwaii, in BC’s northwest, along parts of the coast and in many mountain ranges throughout the province. The largest caves are located in the Rocky Mountains, but Vancouver Island boasts the largest number. Castleguard Cave in the Rocky Mountains is BC’s longest, with a surveyed length of 21 kilometres. Heavy Breather in the Rockies is BC’s deepest, at 650 metres. On Vancouver Island, caves are found in the extensive limestone deposits that run its spine. Since the early 1970s more than 1,000 caves have been discovered, explored and surveyed on the Island. They may not measure up to the size of those in the Rockies, but some can be extremely challenging even for the most experienced cavers. The third deepest cave in BC is Thanksgiving Cave, near Tahsis. Through a series of pits, it drops down half a kilometre beneath the surface, and has more than eight kilometres of passages surveyed to date. It is not a place for a novice. Many of the island’s caves are not so extreme, however, and can offer exciting opportunities for people wishing to discover and explore a strange and captivating world. Because of the hazards involved in exploring caves and the sensitivities of cave environments to damage by humans, most cave locations in BC are not public knowledge. A good way to try out caving is to go on a guided tour, such as those offered at Horne Lake Caves on Vancouver Island, or Cody Caves in the Kootenays. Alternatively, there are a number of caves on Vancouver Island that are public and accessible for selfguiding. These include the following.
Upana Caves This is a maze of caves with a variety of passages that range from large chambers to small crawl-ways and squeezes. They are a good introduction to caving as there are lots of passages to explore and daylight is never far away. They include an impressive marble entrance with a stream flowing out of it. Upana Caves are located 15 km west of Gold River on the road to Tahsis. Look for the Upana Forest Service Recreation Site sign on the north (right) side of the road, just before Bull Lake summit.
(potential cavers) are included on caving trips and offered the opportunity to learn principles of both safe caving and minimal impact caving practices.
Caving clubs in BC: 8 Association of Unaffiliated BC Cavers 8 Chilliwack River Valley Cavers 8 Northern British Columbia Caving Club 8 University of Victoria Caving Club 8 Vancouver Island Cave Exploration Group (VICEG) For contact information go to the ‘Caving Canada’ website at: www.cancaver.ca and follow the links to Caving Groups in BC.
Cautions
Soda straw stalactites.
Little Huson Caves This regional park introduces some intriguing karst features to the public, including a natural bridge, a disappearing river and a number of caves which require just basic equipment (boots, helmet, headlamp, spare lights, etc) to explore. From the Island Highway (Hwy 19) 130 km north of Campbell River, take the Zeballos turnoff just north of Woss onto a gravel logging road. Follow the signs for nine kilometres to Little Huson Caves Regional Park.
Horne Lake Caves Those people who would like to try caving on their own can self-guide themselves through two of the caves in Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park. Lower Main Cave’s gate is open during business hours and visitors are welcome to explore this fun little stream cave on their own. Andre’s Annex is another smaller, non-gated cave in the park. It includes a short pitch (rigged with a ladder) and past that, an interesting, tight and frequently wet crawling experience for those who dare. Horne Lake Caves are off Highway 19, just north of Qualicum Beach, and are well signed. Guided tours are offered in Riverbend Cave.
Cave with a club Those who are inspired to find other caves to explore are advised to contact one of the BC caving clubs. Club members are always happy to introduce eager new cavers into their world. With club mentorship, ‘ouigees’
Some of the dangers to be aware of include falling, losing your way, equipment failure (lights out!), getting jammed in tight spaces, fatigue, hypothermia, rock falls and flooding. This is not a complete list… Safe caving demands appropriate preparation: 8 Leave a trip plan behind. 8 Have basic equipment in good repair, including a helmet, headlamp, protective clothing (coveralls over fleece), boots with good gripping soles (hiking boots or good rubber boots), two spare lights and extra batteries, food and basic emergency supplies. 8 Never cave alone. Groups of three or more are required. Learn necessary skills and techniques. Caving clubs are excellent sources of mentors and reliable, skilled caving companions.
Conservation
The cave environment is extremely sensitive to change. Human activities can negatively impact caves in many different ways, and most of these impacts have long-lasting effects. Consider stalactites. In our climate, stalactites grow at approximately 1 cm per 100 years. So once broken, a 30 cm stalactite can take thousands of years to grow back. 8 Move carefully. Stay on an established route if there is one. 8 Avoid sensitive features and never touch, break or soil cave formations. 8 Leave everything natural in place. 8 Avoid disturbing biota and skeletal remains. 8 Pack it in, pack it out: never mark surfaces or leave refuse behind. – Stephanie Meinke
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photos by Theresa Davis/ Tourism Campbell River & Region
DESOLATION SOUND/DISCOVERY ISLANDS
Oh, the suspense A
sunny day in May allowed the light to shine on a large community effort to make Elk Falls near Campbell River both more visible and more accessible – particularly for those with mobility issues. The official opening of a new suspension bridge in Elk Falls Provincial Park was held May 9 to coincide with the provincial park’s 75th birthday. The construction was a project of the Rotary Club of Campbell River with help from BC Hydro. The bridge is 60 metres long and suspended 64 metres above the canyon floor. The project also includes a cantilevered viewing platform overlooking the falls and improvements to existing trails with the physically disabled in mind. The park is located along a stretch of Campbell River (the river, not the town) where banks reach over 60 metres. Elk Falls is one
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of a series of three in a canyon-like setting occurring below John Hart Dam. The falls are a recommended side trip for visitors to the Desolation Sound and Discovery Island region if arriving from the Vancouver Island side, particularly for anyone using the ferry to Quadra and Cortes islands, which departs nearby from the town of Campbell River. The park can also serve as a regional base as it has a large vehicle-accessible campground set alongside the Quinsam River. Nearby attractions are the Sayward Forest Canoe Route, Seymour Narrows and Strathcona Provincial Park in the Island’s interior, to name just a few. To get to the Elk Falls suspension bridge, follow the blue-and-white BC Parks highway signs from Highway 19 at Campbell River, take Highway 28 to Brewster Lake Road and turn right to enter the parking lot. SUMMER/FALL 2015
Views of the suspension bridge and viewing platform.
DESOLATION/DISCOVERY ADVENTURE RESOURCES Join these outfitters to discover these and other destinations: A Desolation Sound B Quadra Island/ Surge Narrows C Cortes Island D Bute Inlet E Jervis Inlet/ Princess Louisa Inlet F Sunshine Coast/Sechelt/ Powell River/Lund G Campbell River/ Sayward Forest Canoe Route
Misty Isles Adventures Cortes Island, Desolation Sound
• Sail on a 43 ft. schooner • Guided kayaking day trips instruction & rentals • Kayak mothership trips • Natural and human history tours
D B G C A F
E
Mothership trips to Desolation Sound, Discovery Islands, Toba and Bute Inlets 250-935-6756
www.mistyislesadventures.com
GUIDING AMAZING ADVENTURES SINCE 2001 in LUND BC Kayak tours, lessons & rentals
this.
•
Zodiac boat tours & kayak delivery • Hiking tours • Marine charts, books, maps & more
this.
this.
this.
DESOLATION SOUND | MITLENATCH ISLAND | COPELAND ISLANDS 604-483-7900
ABOVE NANCY’S BAKERY, LUND
www.terracentricadventures.com
Mothership AdventureS Luxury Mothership Sea Kayaking
1-877- 475-8687
Natural History, Cultural, Historical Tours
AN ESSENTIAL PART
of your Desolation Sound adventure Explore B.C.’s remote coastal wilderness in comfort and safety!
Great Bear Rainforest ~ Broughton Archipelago ~ Desolation Sound www.mothershipadventures.com
Full colour 22x32” waterproof mapsheets In stores or online at: WWW.THEWILDCOAST.CA SUMMER/FALL 2015
WILD COAST MAGAZINE
33
CYCLING
Cycling to the viewpoint at Boat Passage at Winter Harbour, Saturna Island.
34
WILD COAST MAGAZINE
SUMMER/FALL 2015
THE GULF ISLANDS
by john kimantas
The view at Ella Bay at the Roesland national park property on North Pender Island.
BIRTHDAY WISHES M
y 40th birthday was one of a kind. I spent it at Keith River, south of Brooks Peninsula, as part of a trip down the west coast of Vancouver Island. My companion for the day was a bear – or at least for a moment before it turned tail and ran into the bushes. Coming face to face with a bear was the closest I got to a 40th birthday wellwishing. I’m still on the fence as to whether it was a good birthday or not, but as there were so many other wonderful and positive things about that summer ultimately I can’t complain. My determination, though, was 10 years later not to be quite so disconnected from other people and civilization. I had a dream to take the Wild Coast Publishing office (the MV Wild Coast) to Saturna Island, one of my favourite places in British Columbia, to enjoy a day at anchor at Echo Bay as part of a cruise through the Gulf Islands. But the timing wasn’t right for that, so instead I decided to enjoy Saturna a
different way – by bicycle. The premise was to hop from island to island using BC Ferries to connect the dots. The week was designed for campsites, cuisine and sightseeing, and there could be no better place for that than the Gulf Islands. The cycling was tough only for the hills on the various islands. Otherwise the distances were short by cycling standards and the attractions many and varied. The one error was not spending enough time on each island. We scheduled ourselves to leave an island long before we had seen everything there was to see. Four to five days isn’t unreasonable for each island, but that was the length of our entire trip. On my next 50th birthday I’ll take more time. The best memory, though, was sitting on a patio enjoying perfect weather at a bistro on Galiano Island. The food took forever because there was a wedding party being served ahead of us, but that’s okay. You can’t rush life on the Gulf Islands. u SUMMER/FALL 2015
CYCLING JOURNEYS #1 The southern Gulf Islands Access: BC Ferries to places such as Saltspring, Saturna, the Pender Islands, Mayne Island and Galiano Island. Difficulty: Moderate. Some challenging hills. Special considerations: Timing ferry schedules to hop from island to island can be difficult. Some narrow roads with no shoulder. Main Attractions: Beautiful campsites, great island scenery. Time to complete: Variable, but plan at least 4 days for multi-island trips Options: Kayaking (moderate to easy) WILD COAST MAGAZINE
35
CYCLING
The view from atop Monarch Head.
Venue #1: Saturna Island The Saturna Island Road Map The must-see things: The viewpoint at Monarch Head • The lighthouse and parkland at East Point • Saturna Vineyards for a tour and sample (in season) • Winter Cove for the viewpoint trail to the rapids at Boat Passage • The trail to the point at Echo Bay. Cuisine: Choices are limited but the pub-restaurant is great. The waitress’s book is also recommended if she has copies. Special considerations: This is the outermost Gulf Island and so can have the worst ferry connections. Plan ahead. Base camps: Saturna has a good selection of lodges and Bed&Breakfasts but just one campsite at Narvaez Bay. Recommended time to visit: Easily two to three days. The real risk is you may never leave. It has been known to happen.
I
first paddled to Saturna maybe a dozen years ago and came into a little cove with a crushed shell beach that gave the shallow water a beautiful tropical hue. Hemmed in by cliffs on either side it was stunning. I landed on the beach at the end of the cove and was crushed to see a private property sign on a tree above the beach. In 2003, this property was taken over by the new Gulf Islands National Park Reserve. How perfect.
Pub parking near the ferry terminal Saturna Island. 36
WILD COAST MAGAZINE
SUMMER/FALL 2015
That place was Echo Cove, and it was my top choice of places I would have liked to anchor my boat for my 50th birthday. Instead the cycle trip plan was to camp at Narvaez Bay and visit the cove with a walk along the headland trail. It is a remarkable spot, made more so by Monarch Head, which forms one side of the cove. On top the lookout across Boundary Pass to the US San Juan Islands is well worth the walk. We cycled across the island to the gated road entrance for the walkin and paddle-in campsite at Narvaez Bay. Not much was accomplished the first day on Saturna, as immediately adjacent to the ferry terminal is a pub-restaurant, and the oceanfront setting beckoned. By some measure it was amazing we made it to Narvaez Bay at all. I’d give the pub the rating as the best ocean view in the Gulf Islands, but I should do more research first. The next day was a trip around the island with breakfast at the main grocery store, though we should have considered the Wild Thyme Cafe, a funky spot in a double decker bus. At the grocery store an eclectic weekend market added some colour to the day. Next was a grueling cycle out to Winter Cove. A long hill needed to be crossed to make the north side of the island. We didn’t make it to East Point that trip, a lighthouse and park set on the far end of the island. That’s okay, though. It’s a reason to return.
THE GULF ISLANDS
Venue #2: The Penders T
Penders don’t have a pub directly beside the ferry terminal, or at the very least we missed it, so it was simpler to cross the island and what we found was an unexpected rural pleasure. There are several steep hills but a fairly level agricultural interior that makes a great cross-island cycling trip. The planned campsite for the night was at Beaumont, the former provincial park now part of the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve along Bedwell Sound. It has walk-in or paddle-in sites only, but not, we found out the hard way, cycle-in camping. A very steep scramble along the trail near the turnoff from the Mount Norman trail was simply too much for bikes loaded with gear, so instead the decision was made to go back to Prior Centennial. The trail to Beaumont can be walked easily enough, though, as can the trail to the lookout at Mount Norman, a recommended stop on any visit to the Penders. South Pender has a good selection of beach accesses to break up a cycle trip. Local trails lead to other national park properties such as Loretta’s Wood and Greenburn Lake, but our rushed agenda didn’t give us the time to explore these areas. In a later magazine, perhaps. A worthwhile gem on North Pender is the Roesland property, with a walk to the outer point of Roe Islet recommended. Also required is a visit to the park’s musuem. It houses a mix of historic knicknacks of particular interest to people who like the packaging of old products (and who doesn’t!). If you’re lucky an old gramophone song might accompany your visit. he
Pender Islands’ Road Map
Aboard the ferry, running nearly empty, on the way to Mayne Island.
Easy Loading Kayak Rack Systems Largest Selection / Shipped Everywhere
New location: 3325 Oak Street, Victoria www.allseasonsautoracks.com Victoria 250 383-2100 Kelowna 250 762-2110 Toll Free 1-800-667-1032 SUMMER/FALL 2015
The must-see things: The viewpoint and trail at Mount Norman • Medicine Beach • The grounds at Poets Cove Resort and Spa • The National Park property at Roesland • The Bridge Cuisine: The Penders have about a dozen restaurants for all budgets, but a roadside stand on Otter Bay Road is the modest standout. Or you could spend a lot more to eat in style at Poets Cove. Base camps: The Penders have a huge assortment of lodges and B&Bs. Camping is available at Prior Centennial or Shingle Point, both part of the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve. Recommended time to visit: At least one full day (two nights) with three to four recommended. WILD COAST MAGAZINE
37
CYCLING
The other islands
I
n launching this magazine there were
two stories I was dying to tell: the Nootka Trail and the cycling trip in the Gulf Islands. But the truth is a book could be written about cycling here, and maybe it should. At the very least it became evident in packaging this initial magazine that I’d only scratch the surface on the story I wanted to tell. In particular I was hoping to share the stories from Galiano Island, but unfortunately that would require turning this magazine into a book. Instead I’ll revisit Galiano in later issues. Naturally Mayne, Saltspring, Gabriola and Galiano are all terrific cycling destinations as well. Perhaps the best part is BC Ferries ends up doing much of the work and provides the chance to relax and take in the scenery between the various hills to be conquered. I’m an advocate of the base camp philosophy, and while I chose campsites on my trip, fixed-roof lodges, B&Bs and hotels offer greater flexibility for weather.
On the rustic trail to the campsite at Narvaez Bay on Saturna Island.
BASE CAMPS Island Hopping Packages now Available!
‘Accommodation’ is a long and ugly word, so instead we’re calling them base camps. Wild Coast Magazine is assembling a portfolio of great ‘base camp’ locations for your holiday adventures, whether the idea of adventure means conquering a mountain peak or going for a relaxing paddle in the adjacent bay.
Steps from National Seashore, Bennett Bay and a kayaker’s paradise!
The term base camp is doubly ideal as many holiday adventures, such as cycling trips or kayaking day trips in the Gulf Islands, are best suited to fixed-roof bases, particularly in the shoulder seasons and off-season when temperatures are cooler and the weather less predictable for camping, even though trips themselves can be perfect with great weather but fewer crowds. Tell us about your favourite base camp locations for inclusion in a future edition: editor@wildcoastmagazine.com
Over
10,800
timeshares for rent worldwide Enjoy a fun-filled vacation for a fraction of the price charged by many resorts
Call Toll Free: 1-877-815-4227 38
WILD COAST MAGAZINE
SUMMER/FALL 2015
GULF ISLANDS ADVENTURE GUIDE Complete your holiday to these destinations by using the listed outfitters and services: A Gulf Islands National Park Reserve and Saturna Island B The Pender Islands C Mayne Island D Galiano Island E Saltspring Island F Gabriola Island G Sidney/Sidney Island H Victoria/Discovery Island I Cowichan Bay J Ladysmith
Eco Adventures in the Gulf Islands since 1991 Kayak Tours & Expeditions
Intro & Advanced Lessons; Rentals
Wilderness Youth Camps A Funky Outdoor, Surf/Skate shop for Clothing, Gear and Kayak Sales
SKGABC Guides Courses Two Cozy Waterfront Accommodations
1-888-529-2567
escapades@saltspring.com www.islandescapades.com 250-537-2553
F D
J
1HR$BY$FERRY$FROM$VANCOUVER!$ WILDLIFE$&$NATURAL$HISTORY$TOURS$ KAYAK,$CANOE,$&$SUP$RENTALS$
C
A
E
FAMILY$LODGE$BASED$ CUSTOM$ITINERARIES$ SMALL$GROUPS$
B G
I
H
Gabriola Island
SEALEGS KAYAKING and Marine Adventures
Kayak & SUP Sales Lessons, Rentals, Tours
• Kayak Tours and Lessons • Kids Kayak Camps • Gourmet Beach Picnics • • Kayaking and Yoga, Sunset Paddles • Stand Up Paddleboard Tours •
10
330
0
31
. Rd an
Forest Ridge Rd.
em Bridg
MORESBY PASSAGE
Reynard Pt.
Princess Bay
90
100
120
.
e Rd
sid
Loch
To Discovery Island (provincial park and camping)
W123°22'
Vayaness Rd.
W123°24'
W123°10'
W123°08'
321
Mt. Elford
. e Rd Payn
Narvaez
East
2.8
Mt. Fisher
4.2
Unofficial trail - watch for steep slopes
Tumbo Reef Savage Pt.
Pt. Rd.
Bay Rd.
Road gated
Reef Harbour
Tumbo I.
Tumbo Passa
Saturan Island IR (Tsawout/Tseycum)
s Rd.
ers Rd.
onerMagic L. Wa y
Pender Island Kayak Adventures
GULF ISLANDS TOURS, Kayak tours from 2 hours to 5 days RENTALS & LESSONS W123°02'
W123°20'
W123°06'
Cabbage I. Strong currents
.
N48°33'
18
W123°16'
Central Saanich Rd.
Wallace
Georgina Pt. Rd.
Rd.
Sandhill Cr.
Dr.
SS
E PA ACTIV
Harbour
To Victoria’s Inner Harbour
ge
Tumbo Channel Rd. Cliffside Rd.
N48°49'
Tubmo Pt.
Boiling Reef Rips
N48°48'
N48°47'
250-629-6939 Toll Free: 1-855-629-6939 www.kayakpenderisland.com
Higgs Rd.
2.6 3.4
Pellow Its.
N48°46'
N48°45'
5.8
6.5
Seymour Pt.
Shipping lane
Moresby I.
N48°43'
Pelorus Pt.
Credits and acknowledgements:
5.0
EV OS
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Bedwell
tri De
Reynolds Rd.
.
Rd
90
110
Ellis Rd.
Georgeson Bay Rd.
ss Dr . e Pa Activ
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Rd.
an
NE
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Fairway Patch
AIT
Princess Margaret Marine Park Shell Beach
Frequent ferries, S numerous routes, H U T Celia Reefs Hood I. E poor sightlines. 4.4 P Harry Pt. Harvey Pt. AS SA GE Peck Reef Piers I.
TR O S
. Rd
N48°34'
Pocket beaches
Breezy Bay Saturna Beach Little Bay Lively Ham ilton Estate Rd. Pollard Rd. Peak Raptor habitat Trueworth 4.7 Cove Hamilton Beach Narvaez Bay Fiddlers Cove y Rd. Saturna I. Brown Ridge Port Croker Pt. 496 Mortimer Spit Browning Mt. Warburton Echo Scarff Rd. Historic homestead Razor Pt. Pike MONARCH HEAD Bay 1.5 Trueworthy Bight Scenic area 3.9 Aldridge Pt. Prior Shark Cove 6.6 Canal Rd. Centennial Bruce Bight Cactus Pt. Schoon Strong currents Murder Pt. Taylor Pt. 7.0 3.9 er Way Ainslie Pt. Longest stretch of protected Mt. Norman Strong currents 244 Java Its. shoreline in Gulf Islands Medicine Beach 2.4 Wall Beaumont Marine Park Canal Rd. SS ace PA JAVA ISLETS Bedwell Rd 7.5 RY . Seabird nesting. Harbour Skull It. Little Bay DA 2.5 Richardson SW Pirate No access UN Bluff South Pender I. BO AN Oa s Rd. Boun 2.3 ks Bl SO dary Egeria Bay Spalding Rd. uff Pass N Teece Pt. Dr. Hay Pt. CH Greenburn L. 175 AN BLUNDEN IT. Gowll NE an No access Higgs Pt. 6.7 d Pt. Stanford L Rd. Hill Smugglers Nook Canned Cod Bay Wallace Pt. Gowlland Pt. PETER COVE Craddock Rd. rder Seals on rocks Parkin Pt. al bo Tilly Pt. ation intern da-US Rough cartop boat launch Cana possible at beach accesses Scho
ARBUTUS PT.
PR
Arbutus I.
BRACKMAN I. No access
L
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Pl.
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Chads I. 3.6
3.7
E
Royal Cove
D’Arcy I.
Leper Colony ruins
HAR
Ridge
Rd.
Isabella Pt.
ISABELLA I. No access
Brackett Cove
41
Pine It.
Mt. David st Pt
Buck L.
Spyglas
Private
Boat Nook
5.5
4.0
L
Bay
Rolland
4.1
3.7
Ea
Galleon Way
Storm Cres.
Russell I. Cedl Rk.
Razor Pt. Rd.
352
310
Thieves Bay
3.9
RUCKLE PARK Walk-in camping. Poor beach access.
NE
Mouat Pt.
Roe L. Hill
Little D’Arcy I.
D’Arcy Shoals
11 285
LYALL Saturna Pt. HARBOUR Elliot Bluff
Rd.
4.7
Eleanor Pt.
1.9
Holmes Rd.
Trevor It.
Canal
Rd.
.
Payne Pt.
In stores or online at: WWW.THEWILDCOAST.CA Shingle Bay
Ketch Rd.
King
Louisa Rk. FULFORD HARBOUR
9.9
Panda Bay
Beaver Pt.
Grandma’s Bay
AN
Pocket beaches
Ruckle Provincial Park
175
Reginald Kingfisher Stevens Rd. Hill Fulford Harbour IR Cove (Tsawout/Tseycum FNs)
CH
Bear Pt.
7.8 Winter Cove Rd.
3.3
Rd.
Bald Cone Loretta’s Mt. Wood Menzies
PLUMPER SOUND Perry Rk. 3.6
NE
.
Shingle Bay Rd.Cramer
AN
Rd
Rd.
CH
Pt.
Irene Bay
son
Rd.
Lake Stowell
Coppermine Pt.
Hoo
Harris
aver
Roesland Resort
N48°50'
BOAT PASSAGE Strong currents, rips Winter Pt.
Church Cove
Hope Bay Auchterlonie P.t
Hyashi Cove
Otter Bay Roe It. Ella Bay
5.8
S
Amies Rd.
e
N48°35'
HUGHES PASSAGE 8
Anniversary I.
Ralph Grey Pt.
Minx Reef
Winter Mikuni Pt. Cove Digby Pt. Strong localized winds King Its.
Fane I.
Rd.
North Pender I.
Ridg
3.7
King’s Cove
ER
GE
Be
Weston L.
Deep
.
IN
SA
Yeo Pt.
Cusheon Cove Rd
Wymond Pt. Sallas Rks.
James Spit
N48°51'
Irish Bay 2.1
Munroe Rk.
8.6
BELLE CHAIN ITS. No access
Lizard I.
St. John Pt.
Colston Cove
Disclaimer:
...from the hub of the gulf islands
N48°36'
Hamley Pt.
Stautw Rd.
Island View Beach Regional Park
Island View Rd.
Getting you out there!
Sidney I.
EY
S PA
yer
Beachwood Dr.
Clam Bay Rd.
Port Washing Rd. ton
DN
.
IN
Bay
2.5
Me
M
Rd
PTA
CHANNEL IS. No access
Beddis Beach Park Peter Arnell Park
r Rd.
T LI
Day use access only, this island only in group
Samuel I. Strong currents
Paisley Rd.
Port Washington Otter
Grimmer Bay
Cordova Spit
Full colour 22x36” mapsheet
N48°52'
Robson Channel
Y C Piggot Bay HA Davidson N N E L 7.9 Bay
Pt.
CA
Willey P.t Percival Cove
SI
NAV
Stanley P.t
RED ITS. No access Pt. Liddell
Steward Dr. Curlew I. Horto n Ba Horton Bay y Rd .
HeckHill
Beach Rd.
L
2.4
Ellen Bay Acland Is.
ley
Glenthorne Pt.
.
1.7
Stan
Glenthorne Passage Batt Rk.
t Rd. Navy ChanMarine Dr. nel Rd.
11
10
NE
Richardson Bay Diver Bay
Annette Inlet
Owl I.
Portlock Point call-in point
Portlock Pt. 9 BRIGHT IT. No access
James I.
AN
Prevost I.
Rd.
6.3
NE
N48°53'
5.2
Rd
Bay
Annette Pt. Selby Cove
Beddis Rd. Creekside Dr.
N HA
Pt.
Dr.
6.4
Horda Shoals
on ark
ith
203
Dinner
2.6
S HARBOUR
t Rd
David Cove Ed
Laura Pt.
Laura Pt. Rd. . Hall Camp Hill . Bell Ba Miners Bay bell y Rd y Rd Bay . Ba Edith Pt. Lord Pt. ell Wilkes mpb Reserve Pt. Ferries Fernhill Ca Mayne Island IR Mayne I. Rd. Rd. Maple 3.0 Village Dr. (Tsartlip) Bennett Bay Rd. Rd. Bay Rd. Campbell Pt. Jack Village Bay Wo Felix Fernhill Rd. od Georgeson I. Da Mt. Parke Rd. Mt. Parke Park Enterprise Reef le Dr ose Seaview Rd. . Crane Pt. Montr263 Bennett Bay Merrym Spinnak Charter Rd. HAWKINS I. er Dr. Horto Mariner an Dr. 3.4 5.6 n No access s Way 3.9 . Bay Rd. Dinner Bay y Rd Deacon Hill Paddon Pt. 179 er Ba Grainger Pt. Mariners Way East Wes Dinner Pt. llagh Aitken Pt. Ga
5.3
Arbutus
James Bay Selby Pt.
Nose Pt. Scott Pt.
Bluff Rd.
Georgeson Bay Mary Anne Pt. Matthews Pt. Helen Pt.
N48°37'
12
Turgoose Pt. Saanichton Bay
Mt. Newton Cross Rd.
Rd.
1.4
.
Ba Bellhouse Provincial Park yv Burrill Pt. Maude Bay iew Dr Bellhouse Bay . Scoones Pt.
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Rd
.
7
Ferguson Cove
Saan
Pt.
e Beach ster I.
k Rd
Burrill Rd.
N48°38'
Halibut I.
Amity Dr.
N48°54'
Georgina Shoals
East
Dr.
ott
Lowe Rd.
Rip Pt. Enke Pt. Rips Georgina Pt.
Gulf Dr.
Rips
5
Bazan Bay
Nesting tufted puffins Mandarte I. Bare Island IR
Bazan Bay Rd.
CH
Mount Galiano
Sidney Spit Brick factory Herons Bomb shelter
Bazan Park
Gossip Shoals Fairway Bank
Cain Whaler Bay Peninsula
Bluff Park Sturdies Bay Jac
Colinson Point Provincial Park Collinson Pt.
10 call-in point
.
McTavish Rd.
N48°55'
Gossip I.
Stur di Gardner Rd. es Ba Cain Pt. Ro bs y Rd on . Way
.
N48°39'
WA
ISLE DE LIS (Rum I.) Walk to campsite. Best beach north side of tombolo. Ferry to Sidney
A
Phillimore Pt.
n Rd
Ferry to Ana South Cod Reef cortes,
5.5
Sandbar passable at high tides
OV
Sutil Mountain
314
Sc
North Cod Reef 6.2
RD
Payne Bay
L
2.6
Rd
N48°40'
Rum I. Tom Pt.
Gooch I.
CO
E
Twiss Pt. Murcheson Cove
rga
Active Pass call-in point required 3 miles/ 5 km before entering or after leaving Active Pass
ACTIVE PASS Strong currents, turbulence, counter-currents, heavy boat traffic
5.5
250-247-8939
Cooper Reef
Comet I.
4.6
1.6
n
www.silvabaykayaking.com
N48°41'
Rubly I.
4
.
N
e Dr.
e Rd.
in seaso
Rd
Passag
tagu
4.2
Domville I.
3.5
Foot ferry
Arachne Reef
Forrest I.
3.5
nora
Mon
Peile Point
Pt.
11
Harper Rd. Linklater Rd.
Stockade Hill
Southwind Rd.
4.1
se
r
0
Ca
Porlier
.
Ben Mohr Rk. No
rbou
13
0
N
N48°56'
To Pt. Fairfax, Moresby Island Brethour I.
Sheep I.
Resthaven Dr. Fifth St. Third St.
270
280
270
60
23
Rd
Julia I.
A
0
240
H
21
rk
Porlier Passage Dr.
3.0
Victoria Beacon Ave. Airport Washington State Ferry Tulista Park
0
160
170
180
Salamanca Pt.
Salamanca Rd.
Way
e Pa
Mo
C
80
250
Taylor Cove
Galiano
tagu
Montague Harbour Winstanley Pt.
I
14
190
Montague Harbour Provincial Park
0
150
150
200
CharlesI.
L
0
210
Parker I. A
Sidney Henry Ave.
of your Gulf Islands adventure 180
22
Sticks Allis Georgia on Rd. View Rd.
Sphinx I. Wilmot Head
M
N48°57'
4.2
Joan Rk.
W123°18'
300
70
290
30
See geom for curre ag.nrcan.g nt declin c.ca ation
12
Andaje Pt. Cook Cove
Mon
O
60
0
Varia tion 17°31 (July 1, 2010) ’E
e Dr . Gustin Rd.
Wise I.
W123°12'
N48°58'
50
30
260
ssag
Imrie I.
Reay I. Greig I.
Sidney Ave.
Galiano I. r Pa
W123°14'
40
0
240
12
rlie
Inset
1.5 Fir Cone Pt. B Lewis Bay Goudge I. Charmer Pt. Canoe Bay No access to Coal I. Page Passage national park islets Kolb I. Fernie I. McDonald Kamai Pt. Park Killer Whale Pt. Curteis Pt. JOHN PASSAGE Blue Little Group Tsehum Harbour 4.8 Heron Little Ker I. Basin Thumb Pt. Dock I. Shell I. Blue Armstrong Pt. Heron All Bay JOHN PASSAGE Park Roberts Bay Strong currents, Roberts Pt. rocks Cartop launches mid channel possible at some 1.4 beach access roads 4.3
Swartz Bay
30
AN ESSENTIAL PART
Rock ledge outer shore, occasional beaches, mostly undeveloped private land
Po
N48°59'
20
W123°04'
32
W123°16'
W123°18'
W123°22'
W123°24'
W123°20'
0
350
340
330
er -US bord IT Canada TRA O S HAR
W123°26'
1-877-KAYAK BC
www.SealegsKayaking.com
Information conveyed in these maps was made possible with the assistance of BC Parks, Parks Canada,
SUMMER/FALL 2015
WILD COAST MAGAZINE
39
LIFE ON THE EDGE
Wild Coast Magazine invited Karen Charleston of Hooksum School to tell us what inspires running courses on the edge of Clayoquot Sound’s wilderness. Perhaps as no surprise, the inspiration is Clayoquot Sound
I
remember writing an article about
Hooksum Outdoor School called ‘Learning from Earth and Ocean’ for the old WaveLength Magazine. Now I find myself – a dozen years later – writing again, but still describing Hooksum and the amazing world of Hesquiat Harbour. I can’t help but go back to my original article. While we have added new programs, new buildings and new equipment, the basic purpose of the school has remained the same. Our connection here and the place itself – Ayyi’saqh in Hesquiaht traditional territories – remains constant. I am proud to still be here. I wrote over a decade ago trying to interest people in coming to Hooksum Outdoor School. I started the article with a description of a particular morning. I talked about the sharpness of the raindrops, how they collected in the tree branches overhanging the longhouse roof. Heavy with evergreen needles and bits of moss and lichen, they fell onto the skylights. A westerly gale had blown all the previous day and night, and the gale continued to blow that morning. The wind transformed the harbour into a mass of whitecaps, windblown sheets of rain and hail forced the tops off waves to turn seawater into airborne spray, and the nearby mountains were left covered in fresh white snow. We hoped that there were no squalls when the participants of our West Coast Outdoor Leadership Training session arrived in the water taxi. I recollected how it did not rain or hail when the taxi first came into sight; how the gusts held off until the boat was anchored out front and it was time to pick up people and gear in the canoe. Stephen unloaded a group of people and their camping gear by canoe in the middle of a big westerly. I attempted some humour by describing our first aid instructor’s massive duffel bags filled with manuals and enough bandages to wrap a small wounded army. I did not want readers to see the situation as dire; just as a normal big westerly
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day. I didn’t want to discourage people from coming here, rather I wanted to celebrate the excitement of arriving at Ayyi’saqh and the thrill of the weather. In retrospect, it was perhaps a strange way for me to try to attract people to this place. Perhaps I should have used the opportunity to describe a warm, sunny, relaxing day. Perhaps I should have emphasized peaceful paddles along magnificent shorelines and learning on the beach sand in sunshine. Maybe I should have slipped into a more readily understood marketing vocabulary, used plenty of words like ‘wilderness’ and ‘remote’ and ‘adventure’, the words other businesses use to attract people. They rang too false to my own ears then. They still do. I do not know Ayyi’saqh or Hesquiat Harbour as wilderness or remote or adventure. I know it as home. When talking to new participants of our training programs, my husband Steve frequently uses an analogy comparing being here in Hesquiat Harbour to being in your own house. In your house you know where the bedrooms are, he says. You know where the food is kept; you are safe and comfortable. Here, at Hooksum, at Ayyi’saqh, the whole harbour should be your house, your place of comfort. SUMMER/FALL 2015
H
Outdoor School was established in 2000 by me and my husband. For the five years before 2000, the site at Ayyi’saqh had been used as the base camp for the Hesquiaht Rediscovery Society. It was where the society offered its youth camps and programs. When the society dissolved, we looked for a way to continue some of the programs that Rediscovery had begun. To that end, we purchased the society’s assets and began to investigate possibilities. The result was Hooksum Outdoor School. The name Hooksum comes from Stephen’s family, from the House of Kinquashtacamulth, one of the Houses that make up the Hesquiaht First Nation. Ayyi’saqh was and still is Kinquashtacamulth territory. We belong here. It is our ooksum
by karen charleson
Still Learning
from Earth and Ocean Nootka I. Hesquiat Harbour Tofino Ucluelet
photos by Ian Charleson
responsibility to look after it. Hooksum Outdoor School has always been a work of love, an expression of our feeling for this place, of being in this place. Hooksum is a way for us to share some of what we have here and what we know with others. It is a way to share some of the immense wealth that this physical and human environment provides in a good way. In the process we nourish our own connections with Hesquiaht traditional territories. Hooksum has become an identity we cloak ourselves within. I am Hooksum Outdoor School. I am Kinquashtacamulth. I am Hesquiaht. I am here. As larger society becomes increasingly urbanized, I sometimes wonder at what we continue to try to do here at Ayyi’saqh. This striving to connect people to the natural
world, in my moments of doubt, must seem out-of-date or irrelevant to some people. Expecting participants to travel by boat across the open Pacific, unload their gear by canoes, set up their tents in west coast rain, and huddle around the fire in a longhouse absent from central heating; though it is all normal to us, maybe it is too much for others. Expecting people to come here and engage in learning like this when they could attend a course in a swimming pool, in a hall somewhere, in a box-shaped classroom, and go home at night to insulated buildings and checking their email and bathing in hot water that appears automatically; in my doubtful moments, I think our way is unrealistic. With each group of people that visit us here at Ayyi’saqh, however, I watch them
discover the feeling of the power of this place. I watch their comfort level increase quickly. A sense of well-being radiates from the group. We all wake up on the beach, paddle on the water, walk over beach stones and through forest paths, bathe in the creek, pack and drink stream water. We are all outside most of the day; we walk, talk, eat, think and live as the tides rise and fall, as weather systems change, as it rains and as the sun shines. We are affected every minute of the day by the natural world. Our actions, our thoughts, they cannot help but fall into those natural rhythms. In Hesquiat Harbour our connection to the world is immediate. At Ayyi’saqh, the sun rises behind us, behind the forest that fronts the beach. As the sun rises higher into the sky, u
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LIFE ON THE EDGE
Wild Coast Magazine asked Karen to write this article in recognition of the huge but largely invisible role Hooksum Outdoor School has played over the years on the BC
coast despite daunting obstacles. The school offers annual sessions of its four-week West Coast Outdoor Leadership Training (WCOLT). WCOLT includes the following certifications: (Red Cross) First Responder; (Paddle Canada) Sea Kayaking Intro, Level I, and
Qualify for an exciting career as a guide in BC’s growing adventure tourism industry with NIC’s Adventure Guiding Certificate. Earn credit toward a tourism diploma with university transfer and degree options.
Call 1-800-715-0914 to speak with a Student Advisor or visit www.nic.bc.ca/tourism
TRIPS – Multi-day / Single Day TRAINING – Beginner / Advanced SOCIAL EVENTS – With / Without Kayaks CLUB MEETINGS – Greater Vancouver Learn more at www.skabc.org WILD COAST MAGAZINE
Photo: Greg Shea
work &play
Sea Kayak Association of BC
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Intro Instructor’s course; (Lifesaving Society) Bronze Medallion, Bronze Cross, and BOAT; and (CPS) ROC-M. The school also hosts a variety of school, youth and adult groups for programs ranging from one day to two weeks in length.
Sometimes it’s a fine line between
W W W. N I C . B C . C A
the first direct rays reach us, filtered through the shadowed glory of ancient spruce, hemlock and cedar forest. Sunlight is separated into beams that slowly rise until they encompass us completely. When our oldest grandson was four years old, he spent most of his time outdoors. He knew the world to be a place full of boundless discovery, amazement and wonder. That knowledge came easily. I overheard him one day saying something about rocks growing to two of our daughters, his aunts. One of the girls explained to our grandson that they too “when I was small” had thought that rocks grew. Thinking about how our grandson and children grew up, I realized that rocks growing made perfect sense. Rocks are as embedded with life as everything else. When I try to explain what it is that draws me to Ayyi’saqh, what convinces us to continue to operate Hooksum Outdoor School, my explanations always rely heavily on feeling, on a sense of magic and on that basic belief in the world as a living, growing being. My reasons are intangible and difficult to name, like the quality of air on a spring day. Yet they are real. I can feel them every time I arrive back at the beach, back at this stretch of forest. Here are centuries of life existing alongside what we did and saw last week and last year and what we will do tomorrow. There is a depth to that recognition that brings a sense of great comfort and safety. Another dozen years from now, I hope to write another article about Hooksum Outdoor School and living and learning in Hesquiat Harbour. Maybe I’ll talk to the editor. Maybe we can make a deal.
SUMMER/FALL 2015
West Coast Outdoor Leadership Training.
Quality skills training. Hesquiaht traditional knowledge. Certification courses.
www.hooksumschool.com 250.670.1120 info@hooksumschool.com
OPPORTUNITIES/EVENTS The following is a selection of events picked from our ‘if we could we would’ file. There are, of course, hundreds of adventure races and events on the coast each year. Check out more at wildcoastmagazine.com.
Kusam Climb June 20, 2015 Sayward, BC The Kusam Klimb is a wild and rugged 23 km loop heading up and over the back of Mount H’Kusam then down the Stowe Creek watershed. Held on the summer solstice, it is a social event more than a race. 8 www.kusamklimb.com/
Tough Mudder June 20-21 Whistler Olympic Park , Whistler, BC Tough Mudder is a team-oriented 10-12 mile (18-20 km) obstacle course designed to test physical strength and mental grit. It is not a timed race but a team challenge that allows participants to experience exhilarating, yet safe, world-class obstacles they won’t find anywhere else. Held around the world, this is the only BC event. 8 toughmudder.com/events/2015whistler
Yukon River Quest June 24-28, 2015 Whitehorse to Dawson The 715-kilometer (444-mile) wilderness adventure paddling race is held on the Yukon River from Whitehorse to Dawson City in Canada’s Yukon Territory. Held during the last week of June, the YRQ is the world’s longest
annual canoe and kayak race. It is known as the “Race to the Midnight Sun,” as paddlers race round-the-clock under a sky that never gets dark. There are just two mandatory rest stops, totaling 10 hours, over the course of the entire event. 8 www.yukonriverquest.com/
Round Bowen Challenge June 27, 2015 Bowen Island, BC The Round Bowen Challenge is open to paddlers of high performance kayaks, fast sea kayaks, sea kayaks, OC1s, OC2s and stand-up paddleboards. Participants may race solo or as part of a relay team. Paddlers start and finish in Snug Cove. 8 www.bowenislandkayaking.com/
Mud Mulisha Mud Run July 18, 2015 Mount Washington From base to valley to top of the world on a 15+ kilometer, 25+ obstacle tour of Mount Washington. Elite and open categories. Also a Shawnigan Lake event Aug. 22. Expect to get dirty! 8 www.mudmulisha.net/mudrun/
Five Peaks Trail Race July 18, 2015 Cypress Mountain The Cypress race is the third in the Five Peaks series in British Columbia with Alice Lake June 6, Whistler-Blackcomb Aug. 29 and Mount Seymour Sept. 12. The grand finale is Buntzen Lake Sept. 26. 8 5peaks.com/
Canadian Surfski Championships July 18, 2015 Squamish, BC The CSC is a point-to-point, mass start, downwind surfski race taking place on Howe Sound through the heart of the stunning Sea to Sky corridor. 8 canadiansurfskichamps.com/
Squamish 50 Aug 21-23, 2015 Squamish The Squamish 50 races are tough trail running with more than 11,000 feet of climbing and descent. 8 squamish50.ca
Mind Over Mountain Sept. 26, 2015 Cumberland, BC This MOMAR event will feature kayaking, mountain biking and trekking (trail running/ hiking). Choice of a 30 km sport course or 50 km enduro course in the backdrop of Cumberland. 8 http://mindovermountain.com/
Simposio Kayak Pacifico Sur Dec. 5-8, 2015 Chaihuin, Corral, Chile The website is in Spanish, so we’re not quite sure what it’s all about, but the list of instructors includes Gordon Brown, James Manke, Ginni Callahan, Leon Somme and many other familiar names, so it would make a great venue for honing your kayaking skills in a spectacular setting. 8 www.skps.cl
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THE OUTDOOR LOVER’S LIBRARY
Recommended reading in new releases:
Edible and Medicinal Plants of the Northwest
J. Duane Sept The edible and medicinal wild plants of the northwest have a long history of traditional use, with some remarkable success stories. Hundreds or perhaps thousands of years’ experience with the nourishing and healing properties of indigenous plants have been passed down through generations. Today, some deadly diseases such as breast and ovarian cancers are treated with extracts from native plants. Many roots, flowers, leaves and stems can be eaten raw or cooked, and some plants can even be made into beer. A surprising number of common local plants make tasty, nutritious treats or relieve health troubles. Meet 66 of them in this new book by J. Duane Sept, a biologist, writer, professional photographer and environmental consultant. Price: $14.95 ISBN: 978-0-9739819-8-8 2014, Calypso Publishing
The Sea Among Us
The Amazing Strait of Georgia edited by Richard Beamish & Gordon McFarlane The Sea Among Us is the first book to present a comprehensive study of the Strait of Georgia in all its aspects with chapters on geology, First Nations, history, oceanography, fish, birds, mammals,invertebrates and plants. Covering everything from tsunami modelling to First Nations history to barnacle reproduction, the book is a sweeping overview that describes how fjords formed, what the seafloor is made of and why coastal BC is so prone to earthquakes. It also addresses how climate change and human impacts could affect the strait, noting that though marine ecosystems are tough and adaptable, there are limits to this resiliency. ISBN: 978-1-55017-683-4 Price: $39.95 2014, Harbour Publishing
British Columbia
A Natural History of Its Origins, Ecology, and Diversity with a New Look at Climate Change by Richard Cannings and Sydney Cannings This revised and expanded edition of the award-winning book explores British Columbia’s stunning ecology and features an increased focus on climate change. Sections cover the province’s geological history with updated information on the mountain pine beetle and the future of B.C.’s biodiversity. The new edition includes new illustrations, photos, sidebars and new and revised maps. Both an authoritative reference and an easy-to-read guide, this revised edition is a must for anyone who wants detailed and upto-date information about British Columbia’s natural world. Price: $34.95 ISBN: 978-1-77164-073-2 Greystone Books
Please! Take our pop quiz Paddling the Pacific Northwest
Wayne J. Lutz Powell River Books
Cabins float in a cut-off fjord of British Columbia’s South Coast, where mountains drop into the sea and lifestyles focus on self-reliance and a different sense of purpose. One of 12 books in this Canadian series of off-the-grid publications.
Grab a paddle as the author leads you on day trips and overnight adventures on the coastal rivers, creeks, and lakes of northwestern Washington. A travelogue memoir for kayakers. Paperback $12.95 eBook $5.99
Paddling the Pacific Northwest www.Amazon.com
Coastal British Columbia Stories www.Amazon.ca – paperback and eBook
www.powellriverbooks.com
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SUMMER/FALL 2015
It is very important to Wild Coast Magazine that we know what a wonderful person you are. Your skills and interests will help guide the content and direction of the magazine plus help us stay in business by being able to tell advertisers what wonderful people read us. The quiz will only take a moment, is online, is anonymous and will qualify you for great prizes. Online readers, click here. Print readers, go to www.wildcoastmagazine.com and follow the link from the home page.
WILD COAST RESOURCES
Guide Books:
Waterproof Mapsheets:
New! The BC Coast Explorer Volume 2: Vancouver Island South Through maps, photography and route descriptions, the BC Coast Explorer Vol. 2 provides the building blocks for a trip by foot, paddle or bicycle to all the must-see locations on southern Vancouver Island, from the coastal community of Bamfield down the West Coast Trail, through Greater Victoria and the Gulf Islands to Comox Harbour. You will find access points, campsites, points of interest, historical interpretations and the necessary technical details to get you there. Price: $34.95
Volume 1: West Coast Vancouver Island North Volume 1 covers the north and west coasts of Vancouver Island, from Port Hardy to Bamfield including the Cape Scott region, Kyuquot Sound, Quatsino Sound, Nootka Sound, Clayoquot Sound and Barkley Sound.
Desolation Sound Desolation Sound is one of British Columbia’s top cruising and kayaking destinations, but there’s so much more than just Desolation Sound. The surrounding islands and waterways offer one of British Columbia’s most varied travel destinations, with remote wilderness stretches, frequent community centers for services, mountainous fjords, a number of provincial parks and off-beat camping locations. This mapsheet details it all, in oversize 22x32” format that folds to a handy 4x11” size for easy transport and storage. Made on synthetic paper it is waterproof and virtually indestructible. You won’t want to travel here without it.
The Broken Group/Barkley Sound The Broken Group Islands are one of the most popular kayaking destinations on the British Columbia coast – and for good reason. There are a myriad of islands, serene passages and campsites to explore, as well as sea caves, historic locations and wildlife galore to see. This mapsheet details all of that in large (22” x 32” format), double sided waterproof and tearproof synthetic paper.
Recreation Maps: Our series of coastal recreation maps covers all the key regions of the British Columbia coast. The colorful, dual-sided mapsheets are a huge 22x36” for wonderful detail yet fold to a handy 4x11” for easy storage and transport. Features are designed for kayakers but will be a welcome resource for anyone planning to spend time near the BC coast this year. Available for: • The Gulf Islands • Clayoquot Sound • Broughton Islands/Johnstone Strait • The North Coast Trail
www.thewildcoast.ca SUMMER/FALL 2015
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GEAR
Take charge I
t was a sight that spoke volumes
about the state of electronics in this age: at a remote campsite at Tent Island off Chemainus, a camper was spending the morning not strolling the beach or otherwise enjoying nature, but sitting at the picnic table using his laptop computer. Laptops aren’t the norm for camping holidays off the grid, of course, but there are plenty of other gadgets that we use regularly to stay connected these days. The standards for most trips are a marine radio, a GPS and a camera. But you can easily add to that with video cameras, cell phones and maybe even a tablet or two. GoPros are becoming standard equipment for adventure trips, and to avoid the weight of books we may even take along an eReader. All told, electronics can easily take over, particularly for kayakers who have extra space in the hatches and don’t have to calculate to the final ounce like backpackers. But how to power it all and not have all these devices as dead weight at the trip’s end? Given the proliferation of electronic gadgets, the business world has responded with a range of power solutions, some offering additional battery capacity, some offering solar chargers, and others offering a combination of both. The intuitive solution is solar power as it offers the allure of free and unlimited electrical generation. If you pack only a battery as a backup power source, that too could become dead weight by a trip’s end. But tie that into solar power, and suddenly your electrical supply becomes ever-lasting. Or so you hope. The danger is buying into a solar panel solution and still finding yourself with dead-weight electronics. If this happens, is solar power the dud, or just the product you picked? The truth is probably neither. The dud purchase may work very well for its intended use. The problem is you just might not be the perfect user for that device. That’s the polite way of looking at it,
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because most manufacturers and sellers are not going to be explicit about the limitations of their devices. They want the sale, and solar capability is a handy way to attract more buyers even if in the end analysis it is little more than a gimmick. Graham Morfitt, an expert in solar panels, estimates probably 75% of the off-the-shelf solar panel packages are underpowered for a typical user’s needs. “The solar panel is almost a novelty. They put the effort into the battery and connectivity, which is great, but the panel is undersized for keeping up with the consumption,” he says. So if you want something that’s going to work, it’s worth the time to do the math. With the help of Morfitt, here are the steps involved in making sure you get what you need.
1. Calculate your demand. The risk in purchasing any solar or battery package is getting something that doesn’t match your needs. So input has to equal consumption. Unfortunately, calculating your need may not be simple. The electrical draw of your device may not be explicitly stated. And even if it is, what good is knowing that your flashlight draws 1.2 amps of current? Morfitt prefers to work in watt-hours, though you might find amp-hours listed when you search Google for your device’s capacity. Electricity works like this: Watts = amps x volts. That formula may seem confusing or even irrelevant, but it’s not. In fact, spend enough time living off solar energy and you’ll probably spend a lot of time with that formula. But at the very least it allows you to use known figures to find the unknown. For instance, if you know the amps (or milliamps) and the voltage, then you can use that formula to find the watts. Not sure of your device’s capacity? An internet search will likely yield a result. Or your battery may have the information. For example, the Wild Coast office’s cell phone SUMMER/FALL 2015
battery for a Samsung S3 has printed on it 3.8 volts, 7.98 watt hours and 2100 mAh (milliamp hours). To find yours, open up the cell phone, take out the battery and read the fine print. What’s a watt-hour? Picture it this way. If your 8 watt-hour cell phone uses two watts per hour, your cell phone has four hours of life. Or, in the reverse, if your solar panel is five watts, in two hours it could produce 10 watthours of electricity at full efficiency. So in our example we know we have only
SOLAR PANELS
Looking to be energy self-sufficient on your next outing? Here’s the formula for success The Wild Coast office aboard the MV Wild Coast is solar powered with three 100-amp panels. But they’re crystaline, which while more efficient is less sensitive and so a lower overall electrical producer than thin film panels. If only we had read this article first! However, so far so good this year with the three panels consistently producing enough for a fridge, water pump, computers and most other necessities.
8 watt hours before our battery dies. Let’s assume we need to replenish that daily.
2. Love your battery part 1. We know the cell phone has 8 watt hours. Great! But we don’t want to use it. In fact, you probably don’t want to use more than 50 percent of that amount. Lithium batteries are good, but they do have a lifespan based on the number of cycles, with a cycle measured by the amount drained. Use of 50% of the capacity is considered a drain enough to shorten the cell’s life. Cell phones may have
a 500-cycle lifespan. “Cell phone users probably know the frustration that their battery died after a year and a half. That person was fully draining it and that meets the 500-cycle lifespan of that battery,” Morfitt says. So a well-maintained, healthy battery will have a longer capacity, meaning you will require far less recharging and solve many of your energy use problems just by being a good battery owner. You may be tempted to be a really good battery owner by owning lots of them.
But do the cost evaluation first. A second and third battery for your camera may cost considerably more than an external battery charging system.
3. Do you need a solar panel? So you’ve calculated your daily energy requirement. Now you need to fill it. This may be simpler than you think. If your trip is a long weekend, you may find you don’t need a solar panel at all. For instance, a good portable battery about the size of an eReader, the Voltaic V72, has 72 watt-hours of capacity. u
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GEAR So the Wild Coast cell phone (requiring 8 watt-hours) could be completely drained every day and recharged nine times just on that battery. But of course you have a video camera, a tablet and a host of other devices. So let’s say your daily requirement is 72 watt-hours. Your battery pack would only last a day and so you do need solar panels. This brings us to the next issue.
4. Calculate your solar needs.
Pacific Canadian Waters Kayaking Journal R Record your West
Coast Adventures
R Full of important contacts and information, Hospitals, Coast Guard, Weather and much more.
Available at most fine kayak shops in BC and on line at www.phkayaking.ca
In our example, we know we need to generate 72 watt-hours per day. The temptation may be to look at a 6-watt solar panel and think perfect! You have 12 hours of sunlight a day, that’s 72 watt-hours! But solar panels are rarely that efficient. “I tend to be a bit of a pessimist,” Morfitt says. “A mobile application is not like a rooftop application where you are pointing due south all the time and you can optimize exposure. You don’t know if you’re going to be in tree cover, you don’t know if you’re going to get clouds, and you may even get your own body shade over the panel if you’re paddling north, for instance.” Morfitt tends to go with the formula that if you’re attempting to generate 16 watthours, for instance, the best results will be with a solar panel in the range of five to seven watts.
5. Pick the right solar panel.
Feather: Graphite / Basalt Carbon
Kiska: Fibreglass / Basalt / Carbon
Most solar panels are crystaline. The alternative is thin film. Crystaline is popular as it is twice as efficient, meaning it requires half the space to generate the same wattage. So go with crystaline, right? Not so fast! “Most people think more power per square inch, that’s what I want. Well, if it’s not putting out any power at all because the sun is only at 30% of full radiation, you’ve just got a useless
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6. Love your battery part 2. Your roll-up thin film solar panel and the connections are probably all waterproof, but your battery won’t be. Nor can it be. “I have yet to come across a battery that is totally waterproof,” Morfitt says. “You really need to protect it. It needs air to breathe and proper packaging so it doesn’t overheat. They don’t like to be wet.” Batteries can be stored easily in most dry bags though, and given the small size of most, they can be kept dry with some care. Graham Morfitt has a degree in physics from UBC and since 1998 has been the owner of Modern Outpost Enterprises in Courtenay, Visit http://modernoutpost.com/
Secure Your Next Adventure
Easy paddling, lightweight, durable paddles for over 40 years info@nimbuspaddles.com
piece of equipment hanging off the deck of your boat.” Thin film, however, reaches threshold at as low as 10 percent of full sun. So crystaline might be ideal for an Arizona hike, but it would be next to useless in a Tofino fog. “It’s not as efficient, so you need a larger footprint panel to get the same wattage as the crystaline, but they turn on earlier in the morning and off later at night. So a five-watt panel of thin film will outperform a five-watt panel of crystaline every day.” In addition, thin film is lighter and it is flexible, making it the perfect roll-up option for kayakers and hikers. Morfitt recommends an ideal for kayakers being the 14-watt rollup, as it fits fairly well on a kayak deck. The seven-watt is ideal for hikers, as it is about the length of a backpack. “The 14-watt starts to become a Superman cape. You wouldn’t really want to do that.” Once at camp, a 7-watt panel can be daisy-chained with a 14-watt panel to create a 21-watt input. Which may just be enough for all your electronic needs.
Cable Locks for Your Kayak
Lasso Security Cables are simply the strongest, easiest and most effective theft deterrent available for your kayak.
www.lassosecuritycables.com SUMMER/FALL 2015
707-498-9905
THE TROPICAL PACIFIC COAST
TROPICAL DESTINATION PLANNER How far south should a Pacific Coast magazine go? Well, Wild Coast Magazine is hoping to inspire some warm weather travel in future issues with looks at places like Baja, Costa Rica and even South America. Why not? After all, the Wild Coast office relocates down that way for the winter. Above is a look at Isla Coronado near Loreto explored this past winter with BC Marine Trails Network volunteer and kayak guide author Paul Grey. Join Wild Coast Magazine for a video diary on a perfect day trip around Coronado at www.wildcoastmagazine.com.
Paddle with us in the ‘World’s Aquarium’!
Multi-Day Kayak Tours - Sea of Cortez- Loreto Baja Mexico Toll Free 1-866-765-BAJA (2252) www.bajakayakadventures.com
Sorry we couldn’t cram more in this issue. Jan2012ad_outlines.indd 1
But we still have tons more to tell you about. Our next edition comes out in November (the Winter/ Spring 2016 issue) followed by Summer 2016 in April. We hope you join us, and the best way to ensure we’re not missed is a home delivery. One year / three issues costs just $7.99 and gets us delivered to your home. Hooked already? Need another quick fix? No problem. Visit us online at www.wildcoastmagazine.com. Because it’s a new website we’re going to be adding new content continually throughout the year. Plus don’t miss our Adventure Tour Guide. The 2015 edition is out and yes, the 2016 Adventure Tour Guide edition is coming soon. Watch for it and more online.
08/01/12 10:17 AM
$7.99 One year/3 issues
To subscribe: Visit www.wildcoastmagazine and follow the links. If you’re reading us online, just click here. SUMMER/FALL 2015
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PHOTO / DAN HOLZ
That floating feeling of taking off your pack, now available all day long. The NEW Osprey Anti-Gravity Suspension Feel it to believe it at your local VPO.
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SUMMER/FALL 2015
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