Gowlland Harbour, Quadra Island

I am on my way to Campbell River, where I plan to leave the boat for ten days while I go to Vancouver. Today I stopped in Gowlland Harbour, and on the way here a humpback whale came quite close to the boat.

Granite Bay, Quadra Island

The rain has stopped, and I am in Granite Bay on Quadra Island tonight. A hundred years ago over 500 people lived here, but now there are not many left. Of the former dock only a piling is left, but the community has built a small dinghy dock. This is ideal to access the trails and I plan to do a long hike tomorrow.

Owen Bay, Sonora Island

I am on my own again and spend my days hiking and kayaking. Today I came to a place I had never been before: Owen Bay on Sonora Island. There is a public dock and a dirt road, and a surprising number of houses, most surrounded by building projects. Unfortunately, the weather has turned and the forecast is for two days of rain. Might be my chance to do some boat work and/or reading.

 

Homfray Lodge, Homfray Channel, BC

Sheila flew back to Vancouver yesterday, and today I came to this remote nice lodge. The weather is hot and sunny, and I am hoping for a nice sunset.

Squirrel Cove

After a nice weekend in Gorge Harbour we’ve come to Squirrel Cove for the night. This afternoon we paddled a bit, then found a new hike that we had not done before. Some other yachties had recently groomed the trail very nicely so we only had to push this one little tree out of the way. Last year we saw wolves here, but this year we’ve only seen seals and deer tracks.

Gorge Harbour

I came into Gorge Harbour yesterday, and this morning Sheila flew in by floatplane. There was an oyster festival here today, great food, live music and about seven hundred people. The weather continues to be nice and sunny. We plan to be here again in early August for a celebration, and are making some of the arrangements. Should be fun.

Mount Llanover

I am in Roscoe Bay again and took a very strenuous hike to Mount Llanover today. Over 10 km, 625 m gain in altitude and about 5 hours. There was a lot of windfall, so I climbed over or crawled under rather a lot of trees. The last bit is also rather steep, but nice views from the top. Two years ago somebody saw some wolves there, but I did not see any today, nor bears or deer. There were no tracks or scat either, so maybe the wolves ate all the deer and moved on (I saw some on Cortes last year). Now it is time to soak my sore muscles and joints in our hot tub.

Roscoe Bay

Last night I spent at Walsh Cove and today I came to Roscoe Bay. Very quiet here.

Waiatt Bay, Quadra Island

We were in this bay in August 2006 and Jessica and Alistair joined us by floatplane. The first day was as hot and sunny as today and we hiked to a lake nearby for a swim. When we left a day later, it was so foggy Alistair had to stand on the bow banging a pot so other boats knew we were coming. This time the forecast is better and I plan to go to the lake again; not sure about swimming though.

Taku Resort, Quadra Island

Before heading off into the wilderness again tomorrow, I stopped at Quadra Island to get diesel, use the Internet, and visit the local pub. The weather continues to be hot and sunny.