BC 2012 - Part II

We headed back to Canada in September, escaping the smoky sky of North Central Washington for the blue sky in British Columbia.

Mount Revelstoke Nat'l Park, hike to Jade Lake Pass

I felt like I was hiking in the Cascades in Mt. Revelstoke NP. The ranger reminded us we weren't in Washington anymore with a Grizzly story. He told us about a problem bear who had broken into a Honda and enjoyed quite a feast. After that reward, he continued to be a bad boy and try to break into cars - but only Hondas!

Next stop was Roger's Pass where we came up empty handed in our quest for a Roger's Pass tee-shirt but had our senses filled on the Great Glacier hike.

Great Glacier hike near Roger's Pass, Mt. Sir Donald on left

During our lunch break we chatted with a couple Israelis who live in Tel Aviv. They told us how normal day to day life in Israel is and how safe they felt living there. (This was before the recent hostilities with the Palestinians in Gaza.) They did comment that no plane leaving Israel will fly over an Arab nation so it is faster for them to travel to the U.S. than to Australia.

View at rest stop along Kicking Horse River

Next we headed to the Bugaboos, which were as fun as the name suggests. We spent the night in our car at the trailhead parking lot.We arrived shortly before dark and had to scramble in order to erect a chicken wire fence to protect us from marauding porcupines! Well - protect our car. Apparently, the porcupines are looking for salt and will chew your tires and any exposed rubber hoses. We didn't quite believe the threat was real but the locals assured us it was and every other car in the parking lot had a chicken wire around it.

Chicken wire surround at trailhead in Bugaboo Glacier Provincial Park

Our hike the next day to Black Forest Ridge was well worth the porcupine menace. It was a great hike with fall colors, golden larches, and awesome views.

View from Black Forest Ridge, Bugaboo Glacier PP

We saw a big, fat fresh grizzly footprint on the way down from Black Forest Ridge. We never saw the bear who left it. Helping to encourage the bear to keep his distance was another group of hikers on the trail. As they descended, we could hear their anti-bear bells and approximately every 60 seconds a loud "DAY-O" rang out. The group caught up to us and the funny thing about their use of "DAY-O" to repel the bear was that English was their second language. They were from Calgary, of Asian descent, and among themselves spoke in their native tongue. Maybe Canadian bears only understand English - or French in Quebec.

At the trailhead to Fish Lake in Top of the World Provincial Park we were met with a bear warning sign and a notice that a bear had been seen hanging out in the meadow we would pass through. We came to the meadow and Roger stopped there for a lunch break! I didn't want to BE LUNCH but Roger was reluctant to continue. When the man's gotta eat, he's gotta eat.

Slocan Chief Cabin hike, Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park

Driving to most provincial park trailheads was long and nasty. One exception was the Slocan Chief Cabin hike. We were able to drive there without clattering teeth and involuntary bouncing and bashing our heads on the car roof. Then, after the initial elevation gain, the hike itself was like a walk in the park with 7 lakes in about 7 km of gentle terrain.

Drinnon Pass hike, Valhalla Provincial Park

Our last hike of the trip was in Valhalla Provincial Park which was, indeed, worthy of the Norse Gods. On a perfect day we had this idyllic spot all to ourselves and found it so very hard to leave and return to our car for the bumpy ride back to civilization.

Drinnon Pass hike, Valhalla Provincial Park

We did use our boat which looked so out of place at all the mountain trailheads. With calm waters, we enjoyed relaxed kayaking at Whiteswan, Kootenay, and Champion Lakes.

Whiteswan Lake

Another good trip, eh.

Sunshine Coast

This was a trip that was the antithesis of Murphy's Law, where everything that could have gone wrong went right. Rah Rah & I headed to Canada for some sunshine and warm water and found it! We travelled to Lund, BC - the gateway to Desolation Sound and the beginning of Highway 101. The seas there were 1 to 2 foot chop so we launched our kayak in the sheltered waters of Okeover Inlet. We paddled toward Desolation Sound with the wind and current at our backs.

View from our campsite at Feather Cove on north end of Malaspina Peninsula

We exited Okeover and found a pleasant campsite. The makeshift toilet was set back in the deep, dark woods and looked like it would be more at home on the set of Deliverance. I didn't linger long enough to take a photo.

The next morning the wind and current continued at our backs as we paddled toward Prideaux Haven. We bypassed the Curme Islands which are the most popular kayak camping area in Desolation Sound as they aren't suitable for yacht anchorage.  

Lunch near Bold Head after rock ledge landing. Easy landings are scarce in Desolation Sound. Typical is rock ledge, gravel and rock and oyster beds if desperate. Ouch!

We arrived in early afternoon at Melville Island and found the campfire still smoldering but no people were around. We set up camp and for the next two nights had this beautiful spot to ourselves, excepting for the seals who came to bask on a nearby ledge. 

Melville Island, campsite at edge of trees.

View from Melville Island

We got up with the sun the next morning to explore the nooks and crannies of Prideaux Haven. Most of the nooks and crannies were inhabited by yachters but we discovered a shallow, boatless bay to have lunch. We also discovered that yachters aren't early risers so it was very peaceful gliding past these RV's of the sea. By late morning the yachters did come alive and we got a glimpse of how the other half lives with float planes flying in supplies to anchored yachts.

Prideaux Haven

Bay at Copplestone Island

Back in camp at Melville Island we lounged around in the sun and watched the seals and later enjoyed the sunset.

On our return the next day we headed over to Curme Islands to see what we had missed by not camping there. We circumnavigated the islands at low tide and checked out the sea stars. There were several friendly kayak parties camped on the scenic islands. From the vertical topography, it didn't appear the groups on one of the islands would be leaving until high tide.

We headed to Tenedos Bay and did the short hike into Unwin Lake. A dip in the freshwater lake was enjoyably refreshing. A long paddle brought us back to Okeover Inlet.

Looking back at Desolation Sound before entering Okeover Inlet.

It was HOT in Okeover and we were tired so we paddled leisurely and spied out sea stars along Coode Peninsula. Day was receding as we arrived at the Okeover Wharf so we felt fortunate that sites were available at the nearby campground.

Government Wharf in Okeover Inlet - our boatpacking trip was over.

The next day our luck continued when we caught the ferry from Saltery Bay to Earls Cove just in the nick of time. Roger wanted to get to the wild and crazy Skookumchuck Narrows at peak viewing time. I requested we make a brief stop at an attractive park with a nice view of Vancouver Island. So we did. When we got to the ferry landing, it appeared we would be waiting for the next ferry - scheduled 3 hours later. The ferry was almost full, they were loading cars one at a time, and there were several cars in front of us! Oh Crap! I had caused Roger to miss Skookumchuck at full power. But no - the ferry workers were magicians and we were loaded! A nice Canadian couple came over and commented how relieved I looked to make the boat!

View that almost caused us to miss the ferry.

After witnessing the rapids of Skookumchuck Narrows, we went to Porpoise Bay Provincial Park looking for a campsite and got the last one! Porpoise Bay is a popular family park with one of the rare sandy beaches in the area. (Travel tip: I think the whirlpools created by the outgoing tide at Skookumchuck are even more phenomenal than the waves created by the incoming tide.)

Gazing out at the calm waters of the Strait of Georgia the next morning left us in a quandary. The water was soooo inviting but the forecast was for rough seas and wind in the afternoon. After a local commented that the crossing to Thormanby wasn't that far, we launched our kayak from Halfmoon Bay and headed for South Thormanby Island. We landed in a bay just north of Dennis Head which, on this day, was absolutely idyllic. 

Small bay north of Dennis Head, South Thormanby Island

We decided to explore an old farmstead site which was a short hike away. It was summer weather and we hadn't seen anyone else, so Roger went hiking in his underwear only. I was wearing long pants but only had on a jog bra on top. As we neared a beaver pond we saw movement. It was 2 other people! We've reached an age where we really don't want to pollute the visual world by wearing skimpy attire but our clothes were back at the bay. We forged ahead and ended up having a long chat with a couple of kayak enthusiasts from nearby Roberts Creek. 

Back at the bay it was so nice we lamented the fact that we hadn't loaded our camping gear. So we paddled on, enjoying seals, ducks, eagles, turkey vultures, and South Thormanby's coastline. It was late afternoon when we had to cross back over Welcome Passage to Halfmoon Bay and, our good fortune continuing, the forecasted wind had never materialized. We headed back with slack tide, "seas calm".

Surprisingly calm waters of Welcome Passage

It was hard to leave the Sunshine Coast after such a delightful day but we left for the mountains near Whistler. We found a nice campsite at Nairn Falls and a good bakery just north of there in Pemberton. (Pemberton also has public showers.) 

Our first day hike, brutal but beautiful, was Joffre Lakes.The trail to the first lake is short and easy but after that the trail climbs relentlessly up roots and boulders. The pay-off is worth it.

Third Joffrey Lake

Second Joffrey Lake

Our second day hike, easier but longer, was into Garibaldi Lake. The hike is through forest to an absolutely stunning lake, backed by glaciated mountains. Continuing on the lakeshore trail brought us to views of little, picturesque islands gracing the lake. Despite the glacier fed water, a popular pastime was to swim out to the islands.

Garibaldi Lake

Garibaldi Lake

We did the tourist thing at Whistler and took the Peak 2 Peak Gondola which spans Whistler and Blackcomb. We felt like we were cheating getting a ride up to the views from Whistler Peak and the alpine trials of Blackcomb Mt. 

Black Tusk from Whistler Peak

Next on our itinerary was to return to the U.S. and head for the Mt. Baker area. We didn't want to try and find a campsite near Mt. Baker on a Saturday night so we decided to have a "bonus" day in Canada. We headed to Birkenhead Lake with our kayak and were rewarded with water smooth as glass and warm enough to swim in. Motorized boats are allowed on the lake but not many were buzzing about so the paddle was quite leisurely and peaceful. 

Birkenhead Lake

Heading toward Mt. Baker I consulted the map and suggested that we take the Sumas border crossing. A few miles from the border we saw a sign that said the border crossing closed at 5pm. We had less than 10 minutes to make it to the border and were faced with traffic and stoplights. Could we be lucky one more time? Yes! We arrived at 5:05 and sailed on through.

We listened to the next day's forecast for Seattle which called for clouds in the morning and clearing in the afternoon so we figured the weather at Mt. Baker would be pretty iffy. We awoke in the morning to pretty heavy cloud cover so we selected the Cougar Divide trail. It is relatively easy, culminating in a flowery ridge walk with good views of Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan. Even if we didn't get the views we could enjoy the flowers. We got out of our car at the trailhead and were attacked by a horde of Zombie mosquitoes. It was still cloudy. Had our good fortune deserted us on our last vacation day? We lathered on mosquito lotion and headed out. By the time we broke out onto the ridge meadow the mosquitoes and clouds were gone! What a fabulous way to end a perfect journey.

Mt. Shuksan from Cougar Divide

Mt. Baker

What a time. What a place.