Dry and comfortable in the C and N Backpackers in Port Hardy, it is hard to believe that for the majority of this journey’s leg it would have been possible to wring us out and obtain bucket-fulls of water! Frankly, it’s been a pretty wet and cloudy time… We have nevertheless managed to maintain a cheery disposition and an optimistic outlook that we will actually get some sun by the end of our two months in BC—at least if our currently sunny Port Hardy weather is any indication of what is to come in our next three weeks (keep your fingers crossed)! As those of you who have been following our Spot positions know, we spent a few more days in Shearwater than we had expected, but once we escaped from the haven of civilization, we were once again back into the wild and everyone was glad for it! It’s funny how we seem to have developed an almost nomadic drive that is even leading us away from the endless supplies of chips and Coca Cola from the Shearwater General Store!
Our first stop after Shearwater was the now abandoned settlement of Port John and it was there that we encountered some of the most amazing remnants of the past thus far. We explored the creek nearby and were fascinated to find abandoned buildings all the way along—homes, old bridge footings, piping—all left for the forest to claim. In addition to the now long abandoned European structures, we were also lucky enough to find remnants of gigantic fish traps (box-like rock structures visible only at low tide that were used to herd fish as the tides receded) and more incredible still, pictographs on the cliffs immediately facing our campsite. We knew there were some to be found in the area, but it wasn’t until Matt did some exploring that we were able to actually chance upon them. They were simply spectacular! Etched on the sheer rock facades were hundreds of ancient drawings in reds, yellows and blacks. It was so amazing to see that the styles they used on these walls were the very types of designs that the First Nations people of the area use in their modern art today. They were a miraculous sight to see, and really made us appreciate how much history this region really has. It is often so easy to forget that the Canada we know today is but a compilation of past stories piled on top of each other, and that our existence here is only a brief slice of time in a complicated web of past histories.
Leaving Port John, we were fortunate enough to encounter two separate pods of orcas as we passed through the large channel. Seeing so many whales at one go was really quite breathtaking, and we paused for a good thirty minutes just watching them play in the waves. Our luck continued as we entered the bay in which the derelict town of Namu stood, and we encountered the most incredible dolphin I’ve ever seen. It must have been curious about the boats, and came to explore, showed off a little and eventually breached only a few meters from Garth!
From this vivid display of life, Namu’s eerie stillness took on an almost frightening character. The sense of uncovering an abandoned past that had started to emerge in Port John was only heightened as we continued to approach Namu—an old cannery town now abandoned but with the exclusion of the three incredible caretakers paid to watch the place fall apart. What from a distance seemed like a perfectly normal town, became as we approached a tableau of a rapidly decaying world where even the air seemed to be falling apart. However, this place of broken dreams and dilapidated buildings was oddly juxtaposed by the presence of life even within the rotting wood and rusting metal sidings. It was here that we met three of the kindest human beings likely to have ever walked this earth—Theresa, Rene and Pete—the caretakers of Namu. Although not allowed to preserve the place, they had nevertheless made an incredible network of gardens along the cracked white walled docks and houses brimming with lupin, buttercups and columbines. These gardens seemed to bring a certain measure of life back into the tired old place, and made all the eeriness dissipate before us. The kindness and generosity the caretakers extended towards us was incredibly refreshing. They allowed us into their lives, and were even kind enough to start a fire for us with their flamethrower! They had also given us free access to explore the still stocked store that used to supply the town. This freeze-frame, where magazines still sported the “new releases” from the 90s, was incredible. We even took the liberty of exploring the upper level of the store where we encountered something we would likely have been better without—Hydrox cookies! Something like an oreo, we took the liberty of tasting cookies that were nearly as old as we were. Needless to say they were stale, and the caretakers told us that they were only to be fed to the ravens, but in the absence of any chocolate in our stomachs they tasted pretty good! We finished an entire box… Because of poor weather we were forced to stay in Namu a few days, and on the second day we ventured out towards the lake that had supplied the town with fresh water. It was a treacherous path along a rotting wooden boardwalk, but we made it and the view was incredible.
When the bad weather finally let up a little bit, we continued towards the Heiltsuk lodge of Koeye. It was hard going, and we encountered terrible rains, but once we arrived we were treated to incredible hospitality and were allowed to camp on the fantastic beach at the mouth of a roaring river. In addition to human friends, we also made friends with the local animals. Year-round, three dogs live on the beach, and they became our guardians at Koeye. We suspect that they all were part wolf, and they were gorgeous. We all showed a particular fondness for “Black Dog” who was likely the most beautiful animal on earth. She was something like a husky but pure black and unbelievably friendly. Whenever we would do anything, the dogs would accompany us, and they likely protected us from grizzlies that were said to be numerous in the area. Although we didn’t encounter any, we did get the chance to see two wolves from the top of the hill while we were visiting the lodge. The Heiltsuk also invited us to a drumming ceremony put on by the camp leaders in their long-house, and we felt so privileged to be there. It was an experience unlike any other, and the rhythms from their drumming on the hollowed-out log will play on in my heart for years. Unfortunately, our time at Koeye was plagued by high winds and torrential downpours which made it hard to truly enjoy the gorgeous beach, but the Canadians did play a game where Matt and Laurence built a sand castle along one of several streams on the beach, while Marissa and I attempted to divert the river towards it with logs. I suppose simple minds, simple pleasures?
Once the weather finally looked to be improving, we made a dash for a cabin on the aptly named Fury Island. Although the white shell beach was spectacular, and we did experience our first bout of sun in nearly a week (and we consequently used the time to sunbathe in order to rid ourselves of the tan-lines no one is sure how they got in the cloudy weather), the mosquitoes were horrendous. They devoured us in our sleeps—even inside the cabin! It must be conceded though that the cabin did have holes between the planks that made up the wooden walls, perfectly designed for mosquitoes to make their way in, and that it reeked because we tried to dry out our wetsuits and so they were likely unnaturally attracted to us… We smartened up the next night though, and promptly set up our tents inside the cabin! The next night we slept soundly and without a single mosquito bite, because they couldn’t make it through the tent meshing! Fury Island was good for Garth as well. The bay the cabin was located in also happened to serve as a refuge for boaters traveling along the coast, and so he had ample adult conversation! After having spent nearly a month with 6 teenagers (though the border at which we become adults seems fairly fuzzy for Garth), it is perhaps not surprising he seeks it out so diligently … He even managed to find two Pearson College Alumni Parents! It’s such a small world. They were very kind, and gave him some homeopathic medicine to help him clear up the cold he had started to develop likely as a result of the rain and cold—it seems to have helped too because he is no longer looking all that sick (but the great Port Hardy food may have helped that out as well)!
From the cabin, we ventured towards the sheltered area just before Cape Caution—Open Bight. Again, we had little luck in terms of weather, and we were all very wet. The place was beautiful though, and I found myself lost in the view of the sunset with the blue mountains shrouded in mists. We are living a stunning reality. Unfortunately, those same mists that provided for the glorious sunset seem to have also impeded our sending of the Spot signal, which prompted so much confusion between ourselves and the outside world. When we awoke that following morning, we found that the weather being broadcasted along the entire BC coast was also calling to notify the Pearson College Kayakers of an urgent message that we had supposedly received! We feared it may have been the end of our trip and that some disaster had happened at home. Fortunately, everything worked out and it turned out that our signal had just failed to send unbeknownst to us. It’s good to know that we have such amazing parents keeping a close eye on us though!
After leaving the shelter of the peninsula of Open Bight, we ventured into what could have been the most treacherous area of our journey—Cape Caution and the surrounding headlands. This was the only truly exposed section of our trip, and had the greatest chance of failure. Admittedly, it was rough-going at times! The exposed cliffs of Cape Caution coupled with the winds at our backs and the large swells meant that it was a little unsettling at times. Although we had some rudder problems (Matt’s broke), we made it through safe and sound, and everyone had a great surf landing on what is possibly the most beautiful beach in the world—Burnett Bay. 6km of pristine white sand welcomed us, and we were overjoyed to have reached it after having successfully ventured across the most exposed section of our journey. We were so relieved that we even spent another day camped there, and Garth enjoyed the small one-man cabin in the woods while we camped out on the beach. The next day was a relaxing one as we walked the full 6km and the sun even came out just as we reached the other end! At that side of the beach we found a small wigwam-like structure, and settled down for a nap. Without realizing it, Ghazi and I slept a full hour while the others played soccer! It was great! We then walked a little ways back along the beach and found a small river bordered on all sides by great sandy dunes. We followed it up, and finally reached yet another abandoned cabin! It is incredible how many abandoned places there are along this coast where people have struggled to etch out a living, and decided that it was simply too rugged. On our way back to the campsite, we performed a garbage clean-up—no mean feat because of the length of the beach! Marissa, Ghazi and Logan got tired, and decided to head back, but Matt, Laurence and I hung back to continue. Unfortunately, we didn’t realize that the others had taken all the garbage bags! We had a fun time carrying back all the garbage that we could find in various buckets that had washed up, and even came across a message in a bottle! We were expecting something exciting like a treasure map, but instead found that it was just an elementary student from Port Hardy who had done it as part of a class experiment in May 2011… Still it was an experience to have found a real message in a bottle.
The next day saw us all the way to Shelter Bay without even trying! We lucked out with the currents and the winds—and the sun even came out! It was perfect. Unfortunately for Laurence though, her rudder broke early in the day, which made it much harder for her to travel easily, and eventually we tied a rope from her boat to Garth’s so that she wouldn’t be veered off course. On our way we also encountered our first other group of kayakers who were headed up to Juneau from Washington. It made for a very comic situation though, because Ghazi REALLY needed to pee. Lately, be it from all the watery food we are eating, exercise, heat balancing or whatever, Garth, Logan, and Ghazi have been in need of peeing at least once every two hours! Unfortunately for Ghazi… he was nearly at the end of his two hours. He couldn’t wait any longer, and so we grabbed Matt (Ghazi and I were in the double) and tried to raft up so that Ghazi could stand up and go. We all know how good at balancing Ghazi is, so needless to say it didn’t work too well. Finally he ended up going in one of the sample bottles we had been saving for analyzing data! It gave us all a good laugh. After this incident, we all finally made it to Shelter Bay (with empty bladders from our sunny lunch spot in Skull Cove), and upon arriving found that the beach was again perfect for sun-tanning which we took full advantage of.
From Shelter Bay, it was just a nice little hop over the series of crossings in to Port Hardy! Along the way we ran into 7 dolphins and were able to paddle through some gorgeous islands. It was really the first truly sunny day, and nearly all of us got burnt! It was a nice feeling though after so long out in the wet. The last 5 km into Port Hardy from the mouth of the bay could never have felt longer though! We were so close, and yet so far still! Luckily for us, we met Ron, a fellow kayaker, who agreed to help us carry our boats on his car to the hostel. It made a huge difference because it meant we could just drive them over, instead of carrying them by hand all the way! Now, dry, showered, and moderately nice smelling, we are just enjoying the relaxation of the Backpackers with our wonderful hosts Candy and Patrick. We’ve devoured a delicious all-you-can-eat buffet (poor restaurant owners didn’t know what was coming when they offered that one), washed our clothes and repacked and are now ready to head off to new adventures! Life is pretty good and hopefully our good luck continues—but with some sun!
