Princess Louisa Inlet

Princess Louisa Inlet
by Heather Harbord, 29
 September 2016.

Nine out of ten members enjoyed our trip up Princess Louisa Inlet.  The tenth was too sick to come, and the only person on the waiting list was also unable to fill in.  Bryce Christy’s boat, the B-Line, was very comfortable.  Everyone could be inside in the well-heated cabin. John Dafoe identified the sea birds we passed and pointed out geological and other interesting natural history features.

No humpbacks showed but, on the way up, we saw lots of Marbled murrelets, Horned, Red-necked and Western grebes, Steller’s sea lions and Surf scoters.  The highlight, however, was three Pacific White-sided Dolphins chasing something hiding under the boat. Everyone had a good look at them.

Bryce showed us several pictographs and related the stories told to him by the Sechelt elders.  The flush toilets and tour of Malibu Camp were a much appreciated preliminary to the wondrous sight of Chatterbox Falls at the end of Princess Louisa.  Without a snow pack up above, the falls were not in full spate, but were still spectacular.

We were the only boat at the dock when we landed.  After viewing the falls up close from different angles, we ate lunch in the big gazebo and then marveled at the industriousness of what John thought was likely a grizzly bear.  He or she had had a good feed after digging up cow parsnip roots all along the trail beside the shore.

On the way back, we stopped at the spigot of Soda Creek which falls directly into the ocean with much white froth.  There were no goats on the heights likely because they were all sheltering under the trees.  “This kind of drizzle is pretty normal for here,” John told us.  Just as we approached Saltery Bay, three Steller’s sea lions put on a big show of waving their salmon catches above the surface in the manner of Excaliber.

At the end of the trip, John pulled out a basket of pine mushrooms gathered yesterday and gave us all a sample.  A great finish to a fun day in the rain.

Rock Art with Judith Williams

Rock Art with Judith Williams 
by Michael Stewart, 15
 September 2016.

Mike, skipper of Misty Isles, his wife Samantha, guest historian Judith Williams, and six naturalists departed Lund Harbour, thrilled to hear that there were  Humpbacks just outside the harbour.  We were able to watch the 2 humpbacks  and have  this extra  unplanned “event”  for the beginning of our 2 day voyage.  The weather was perfect and  the scenery is so amazing.  We  motored up Thulin Pass to see  the first pictograph of our trip.  It was very interesting to see what animal was in the pictograph!

We continued past Sarah Point and into Desolation Sound while hearing many tales from both Judith and Mike.   The seas were calm  and visibility was perfect so we enjoyed the   wonderful scenery; then we went north into Waddington Channel where Mike found the location of the next pictograph near  Durham Point on East Redonda Island. We continued up Waddington Channel to Walsh cove on West Redonda Island where  Misty Isles  anchored.  From the zodiac, Judith pointed out and explained the pictographs and was delighted to point out the magical dancing reflections on the same rock faces.

Sarah presented us with a  tasty home-cooked lunch on board and then Judith  demonstrated rock art by mixing us red paint with a base of pulverized salmon eggs.  Each person   painted an example of their own rock art.

We continued west through Pryce channel where we saw some seabirds, a Dall’s porpoise,  another  pictograph and more wonderful scenery.  At the end of the afternoon, we landed in Evans Bay on Read Island to stay at Coast Mountain Lodge overnight.  We  were presented with an amazing home  cooked(Samantha) gourmet dinner and enjoyed the company of the owners, Ralph and Lannie, and their son and staff.  Many more stories were enjoyed.

After breakfast in the lodge, we set out towards Quadra Island.  We anchored and all went ashore in the  Zodiac to see a petrogylph that Judith had not yet seen.  It is in a beautiful setting just north of Rebecca Spit Marine Park.  The rock formations were amazing let alone the petroglyph.

Back on Misty Isles, we  continued through Uganda Pass and  the entrance to Gorge Harbour on Cortes island to see more  pictographs.  We  were entertained with more tales of early settlers and First Nations culture from our skipper and  Judith and then another wonderful  lunch  prepared by Samantha.  We  had  a sunny, calm trip all the way  back to Lund.