Tatchu Peninsula - Day 2

The rest of the hike involves walking north up the coast of the peninsula. There are a couple of places where the tides can become an issue, so it is pretty important to know the tide schedule, and time your days accordingly. This stretch involved a particularly challenging surge channel, and a river crossing at the end of the day. We started our day following in the footsteps of a beautiful coastal wolf. He lead us around the end of the beach where we had camped, to where he met up with another wolf. They disappeared into the woods at that point. The day was filled with beautiful, though sometimes treacherous, coastal formations. I found the descriptions in this blog post to be pretty accurate to our experiences, although we didn't use the same camps as them. 

Around mid-morning we stopped and watched as the Uchuk sailed passed on its return voyage from Kyuquot, it was both comforting and lonely to see them sail by. We wondered if they had been looking for us, as we had looked for them. We hiked past sandstone point, with its petrified wood and tidal pools; then through Jurassic Point - where supposedly there are dinosaur foot prints to be found - a fact we were not aware of until after the hike. After crossing a river, easily done at low tide, we found a beautiful coastal meadow, it was warm and sheltered from the wind and the crash of the waves.  It wasn't long before our belongings were scattered amongst the wildflowers and bees, and we were resting face down in the grass. That night was the best sleep I had the whole trip.

It's always an honour to see our coastal wolves, even if it's from a distance

A couple of sea caves

Some beautiful Tafoni formations

The Uchuk as she makes her return voyage from Kyuquot

Ancient petrified wood

I admire the stubborn bravery of the little crabs, snapping their claws as you step over them.

Backpacking isn't always pretty, but you do what you can

A beautiful cove to stop for lunch

Sometimes the easiest path leads to a dead end

A grassy meadow as we reach the river crossing

This river would be considerably harder to cross at high tide

Some Castilleja growing amongst the driftwood

A beautiful view from our camp

Sunset on day two

Tatchu - Day 1
Tatchu - Day 3
Tatchu - Day 4

Tatchu Peninsula - Day 1

Bright and early on a Thursday in June we boarded the MV Uchuck III in Gold River to begin an eight hour journey to Port Eliza where we would begin hiking the Tatchu Peninsula. The Uchuck sails a delivery route from Gold River to Kyuquot stopping at fish farms, logging camps, and remote communities to deliver supplies from food, to laundry machines, to constructions supplies. We were joined by a group of older travellers who were onboard the Uchuck for a round trip cruise to Kyuqout. We quickly became the talk of the ship amongst the cruise goers, marvelling at our big adventure. One gentleman sat beside his wife, shaking his head, as she peppered us with questions. When we finally arrived at Port Eliza the cruise goers gathered on the deck to see us off, even (awkwardly) clapping as we began our hike. 

The first leg of the hike consists of 10.5 kilometers of logging road before turning on to an old spur road that takes you to your first beach, also the first camp spot. Part way along the logging road we encountered our first black bear. We kept a safe distance and politely asked him to vacate the road so we could pass. If you are planning to attempt this hike this is fair warning that the spur road is not easy to find. We were told by the local float plane pilot that on average only about six groups per year do this hike - as a result the spur road was quite overgrown, and was only marked by a single, faded piece of flagging tape. We weren't truly certain we had taken the correct turn until we made it to the beach. This stretch of bush whacking also gave us the chance to perfect our very own style of loud sing talking in order to inform any near by wild life that we were coming. There was evidence abound of near by predators in the form of fresh droppings and broken branches, but we luckily did not meet any of them.

Some items to note for the first camping spot: The tide comes up high on this beach, so choose your spot carefully. We picked a spot quite close to where the trail meets the beach as it looked dry; the next morning we could see that the tide had come up to within feet of our tent, and this appeared to be the only dry spot on the beach. Also, there is a stream that appears from the sand near the far North end of the beach where the rock appears. We pumped from this stream, and it was probably the best tasting water I have ever had!

Where the Mill meets the water in Gold River

The old crane and pulley system is used to deliver goods to the docs of camps

Jen on the back deck as we pull away from Gold River

Reference materials are key

Resting up after a late night drive and an early morning to catch the boat

Ready to set out

Everything we need for the next four days

Saying goodbye to the Uchuck

Road beer from the locals

Power stance as we check out a view point

Tatchu - Day 2
Tatchu - Day 3
Tatchu - Day 4

Puppy Bath Time

When puppies are learning to eat solid(ish) foods, they tend to end up wearing it more than consuming it... which brings up another learning opportunity - bath time. Here are a few of the pups scrub-a-dub-dubbing.

The "Other" Litter

So the foster family are actually looking after sixteen puppies right now. As I mentioned in my last post, Nessa is only nine months old. As it turns out, Nessa's mother got pregnant at the same time as Nessa (almost assuredly from the same father). The rescue organization was only able to get Nessa and her litter at first, and then, with some persistence, managed to get nine of the ten puppies that were Nessa's Mom's. As far as we are aware, they are still trying to get Nessa's Mom and the last pup too, to try and avoid further litters. So, after that not so brief description, I'd like to introduce the other litter:

Wren

Keely

Berkley

Hendry

Banjo

Acadia

Bryn

Rowan

Slater

Nessa and Her Pups

Here are a couple more shots from last weekend, including one I took of Mumma Nessa. As I mentioned in the last post, she is just a puppy herself.  We would guess when she's finished growing she will be maximum 50 lbs. She is a very sweet girl, and she will make a great addition to a family. Nessa and all of her pups will be available through Broken Promises once the pups are old enough. In the meantime, you can help raise these cuties and others by donating to the rescue! 

Nessa's Nest of Puppies

My friends who foster are at it again. So last weekend I went over to take some photos of their latest charges. These guys were pulled from a reserve, and Mumma Nessa is only nine months old herself.  I'll introduce you to her in the next post, but for now here is a roll call of her litter.

Boone

Crockett (I love this name!)

Gulliver

Sid the Sloth

Another of Sid because he's too cute not to

Reese

Emerson

Thea

Thea again, because I couldn't resist those ears!

Taste of Tatchu

I had the privilege of taking a pretty unique trip to the Tatchu Peninsula last June. Although the peninsula is a part of Vancouver Island, it is only accessible by boat or float plane.  I will make a big post about the whole adventure once I have worked my way through all of the photos. I just wanted to share this little taster to start it off though.  This shot was taken shortly after a particularly treacherous surge channel crossing with the added threat of the encroaching tide. With shaky post-surge channel legs, I watched Jennifer cross the treacherously slippery green slime, and pondered my fate... We made it, and our reward was a sun soaked nap in a beautiful oceanside meadow full of wild flowers and bumbling bees.