Crab Fiesta

In Masset, on the northern tip of Graham Island we spent some time talking with local fisherman at the docks and were fortunate enough to buy some fresh crab 'right of the boat'. We enjoyed hearing the stories about the sea and fishing and had many questions answered that had been on our minds. With a bucket full of crab we headed out of town towards Agate beach in Naikoon Park.

For the next three days we ate crab, walked the beaches and hiked to the top of Tow Hill for a beautiful view of the surrounding land and ocean-scape. Tow Hill rises approx. 100 metres from sea level and holds significance to the Haida people. We didn't hear to much about the mythology of this place, but it sure had a powerful feel looking out over the ocean and surrounding boglands. The highest point in sight, it sure afforded a spectacular view!

On Agate beach we found some of the impressive 'gem' stones that we understood this beach was named after. On a clear day, looking to the north you could see the Alaskan islands. I thought about what a journey it must have been for the Haida to paddle thier canoes from these islands to the mainland. How long would it take them? Would they leave when the weather was 'just right', following experience and instinct? What an adventure these voyages must have been. After 3 days we had finished eating the crab (Boiled crab, crab salad, crab soup) we headed off on a hike east towards Cape Fife and planned to do the loop back to the Tow hill area. A loop of just under 30 km.

East Beach Tracking

After leaving the Haida gathering we travelled north and spent the next three nights just north of Tlell in the southern portion of Naikoon Provincial park. This park takes in a large area on the north east side of Graham island. It is a flat, low-lying area as is much of the Eastern side of the island. We found a nice Shelter spot that included a woodstove and were thankful for the space to dry out our tent and tarp after some wet days in Rennel Sound, not to mention the heat from the woodstove! Here we spent out time hiking the flat sandy beaches and following the many clear tracks let for us in the sand by the local wildlife. It's such a treat to be able to follow these animals in the wet sand. Such detail in the tracks. There were lots of deer and raccon tracks mostly, as well as many birds such as Ravens, Herring Gulls, Stellars Jays and Eagles. I was happy to have all of these clear tracks and was hoping to make some plaster casts to preserve them.

One of the days we spent hiking 5 km out to the pesuta shipwreck. It was a log barge that ran aground on the east beach in the 1920's (I think?). Sometime around that era. There was still part of the ship visible buried in the sand on the beach were it washed ashore. There were many old homesteads on this part of the beach that were abandoned around the second world war. They say that approx. 500 cattle were turned loose and have gone 'wild' in the forests surrounding this area. You could see signs of thier presence in the heavy trail systems and major browse sign on the spruce trees along the shore. I thought that I may have seen some Elk tracks in this area as well, but was not totally confident in this assumption. Later, however a local on the ferry did tell me that there are Elk in this general area. Hard to say for sure?

From here we headed north to Masset and Haida (Old Masset), the most northern communities in the Charlottes.

Rennel Sound Beach Combing

From our Sleeping Giant hike we travelled 30 km to where we parked our car to walk to final 3 km down to Rennel Sound on the west side of Graham island. On the drive we passed some huge old growth trees as well as many areas that have been previously harvested by timber companies. There was a danger of mudslides in this area and we saw remanants of many previous ones in the not-so-distant past. The steep hillsides and the clearcut logging practices can create a very unstable situation on the sides of many of these mountains. Part of the reason for us hiking the last leg of this trip was because of a recent mudslide that had covered the road. It had been cleared away, but there was still quite a bit of debris and soil on the road.

We saw many deer as well as a Marten who ran across the road in front of us carrying what looked to be a red squirrel in its mouth! Pretty cool. Rennel sound is a beautiful area and is perhaps the only place on the west side of Graham island that you can drive to. We spent three nights here and walked the rocky beaches looking for shells, rocks and other 'treasures' that the ocean had washed up on shore. Bald Eagles soared overhead and curious Harbour Seals kept eyes on us as we combed the beaches.

One of the highlights of our time here was getting to watch a group of Sea Lions feeding just off shore. You could hear them 'grunting' and 'barking' as they swan together. After a while they began to display thier 'playful' nature as they rolled on the surface of the water waving thier flippers as well as even jumping right out of the water. It was quite a event to behold. We also found some more bear trails travelling through the mossy forest beside Mountain Creek. Well worn paths that lead us to a great bear 'marking' tree. All of the moss had been rubbed off of thisAlder tree and there were numerous bite and claw marks between 5 - 7 feet off the ground. At the base of the tree you could see clear indentations where this bear and perhaps others had stood numerous times in the past. It was a great discovery. We enjoyed seeing the western side of the island and spending time in this beautiful area. On our walk out we saw another Pine Marten up in a tree, he kept a close eye on us as we moved past. From here we drove back towards Quen Charlotte and were going o head north to Naikoon Park. Once in town we were told of an event happening at Skidegate hall. There was a visiting storyteller from the N.W.T. as well as a community feast being offered by the Haida First Nation. We were treated to an evening of Native dance and song as well as an amazing seafood soup that contained all kinds of local ingredients. It was Delicious! It was a great way to begin our trip northward.

Black Bear on the Mountain

After spending a night in Kagan Bay on the south part of Graham island we decided to hike on the Sleeping Beauty trail to the peak of Mount Raymond. On our way into the Skidegate terminal on the ferry we could see the snow-capped mountains and hoped for a clear day to hike up and get a view of this part of Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands).

We were blessed this day with some sunshine and drove to the trailhead about 12 km’s outside of Queen Charlotte. The trail crossed a mountain stream and climbed through a clear-cut into a mature forest of Sitka Spruce, Western Hemlock and Red cedar. It was a steep hike that climbed about 2500 feet in two kilometres. It was amazing to see the trails of the Sitka Black tail Deer moving up, down and through this steep and rugged terrain. Moss and lichen clung to the trees and the occasional view through the trees over the Skidagate channel dividing Graham and Moresby islands was amazing. It brought back many mountain adventures to my mind as we looked ‘down on the clouds’ in the valley below.

Soon enough we moved into the sub-alpine and also into the snow. What a feeling to hike into this kind of environment! We scrambled through the snow and climbed higher along the ridge towards the top of Mt. Raymond. There was a Marten who was using this same trail, bounding along in its classic loping pattern.

Just before we reached the top we came upon some fresh bear tracks and were super stoked at this discovery.

The Black bear (of which the Queen Charlottes have one of the largest subspecies) came up a steep valley and proceeded to the peak to have a look around. There were some great tracks in the snow and it felt good to see this animal in my ‘minds-eye’ as it moved through this rugged and wild environment.

Ravens circled and called overhead as we gazed towards the mountains in the western distance and the ocean below to the east. It was a special feeling and a sacred moment to feel the land from this mountain perch. I was thankful to be alive and thankful to be in this place. The traditional homeland of the Haida Nation here on Haida Gwaii. The journey continues………

The Inside Passage

The Ferry ride from Port McNeil to Prince Rupert took 23 hours and covered roughly 274 nautical miles. It was an amazing trip through the inside passage through some of the most beautiful and remote forests on the planet. Made me yearn for a kayak and the time to explore and get to know this area on a more intimate level. Talking with some of the Native people on the boat about their homeland was inspiring and informative. You could spend many life times paddling these countless bays and coves and walking ‘softly’ through these magical forests.

As we past Princess Royal Island I wondered where the closest ‘Spirit’ or Kermode bear was hanging out? A rare white form of the American black bear that lives in these coastal forests. I hope to come back here in the future and paddle these waters and perhaps one day guide wildlife viewing trips in this special and sacred area.
Beside the ferry the white sided Dolphins jumped and swan in their fun and playful manner. They seemed to be heading towards the boat from all directions. We watched as a Sea Lion surfaced for a look at the us as we passed. Was this a Stellars or a Californian Sea Lion I wondered? One of the highlights was seeing two Killer Whales heading towards the boat as they surfaced and flashed their dorsal fins and part of their bodies out of the water.

After a two hour layover in Prince Rupert we left on the same boat for the Queen Charlotte islands. This was a 7 hour passage and roughly 90 nautical miles. The Hecate straight separates the mainland from Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) and is notorious for its windy and rough waters. Our sailing was relatively uneventful, but we were blessed with some amazing sunshine on the crossing. By the time we reached Skidegate on the southern part of Graham island we were ready to set foot on solid land and begin the next part of our west coast adventure. We had spent 30 hours on the water and covered a whole lot of ocean. We also managed to dry out all of our wet gear on the boat ride and it felt good to be heading out again dry and refreshed. How long things would stay dry was another question?

Vancouver and Gabriola Islands

Well, we’ve been out west for a month now and I have to admit that island life has been really great. “Slow Down, you’re not on the mainland” pretty well describes the pace here on these west coast islands. I chuckled as I read this on a bumper sticker on Gabriola island.

As you may know November is a wet time here as storms continuously roll off of the pacific. Fortunately, much of the rain has been falling at night, and the days have been relatively ‘down-pour’free.







On Vancouver Island we spent a few days hiking around Telegraph and Bauza coves.
There were beautiful forests of Red Cedar and Western Hemlock backed by the Pacific Ocean. Majestic trees, towering into the sky on these steep hillsides. In the spring and summer months this is a great place to watch migrating whales. We also spent a few days in the Marble River area.

The forest here had a great feel as we camped beside the Marble River and watched salmon spawn in the clean, cold waters.

There were great bear trails following the river. You could see the worn compressions in the thick moss telling of countless passages. You get a certain feel come over you as you walk and crawl down the ‘trails of the bear’. Observing and feeling the difference between these trails and the trails of the deer moving through the same area. There are certain characteristics that help to help tell these two trail patterns apart. What do you think some of differences are?

Before long it was time to board the ferry for the Inside Passage journey to Prince Rupert and the Queen Charlotte Islands, the next part of our adventure. Just before leaving to head north we ‘bumped’ into a friend from ‘back east’ in the middle of nowhere and went back to their camp to ‘check the crab trap’. No crab, but their was a huge starfish in the 25+ pound range! Our last evening we spent singing and dancing with some ‘displaced’ Newfoundlanders (and other locals) we had just met. A little bit of the east coast spirit and hospitality right here on Vancouver Island! We had a blast until the ‘we hours of the morning…..and then got on the ferry in the middle of the night to head north!

Cross Canada Adventure

It has been 5 days since we left Ontario and have just arrived in Whistler.

Travelling across the country is something that everyone should experience at least once in their life. As you move from east to west you travel through so many varied and beautiful landscapes. The rugged and rocky splendour of the north shore of lake Superior is one of my favourite places to visit. As you move west you get into the flatlands and rolling hills of the prairies. Big Sky Country! The excitement builds as you see the foothills approaching with the Rocky mountains looming in the background. The energy shifts as you enter these majestic mountains. Travelling through the various mtn. ranges as you move toward the Pacific Ocean is always exciting for me. I love to look for the subtle and not so subtle clues that define these various strains of western mountains.

I’m looking forward to settling in to life here on the west coast. Slowing down to the ‘pace of creation’ and listening to the subtle voices of nature and spirit. This trip has a lot to do with deepening my relationship to the earth and re-connecting to my Vision as it continues to grow and evolve. Earth Tracks has come a long way in the past year and we have many new and exciting plans for the coming year. Who knows, perhaps a B.C. adventure may be in the cards?

For more photos visit the Earth Tracks Facebook site @ http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=61909&id=9304677737

In Light

Alexis