Pirates Cove

Nanaimo, Canada

I woke up early yesterday because it was my job to raise the anchor. Dad didn’t even have to wake me, though he did have to get me out of bed. The anchor went up quickly and soon we were leaving Nanaimo to go to an unknown place. On the way out we passed a log mill and lots of tiny tug boats pushing the logs here and there.

The tiny tug boats tip a lot when they turn, it looks sort of like a ride at a fair that makes you feel sick. As much as it looked fun to be in it for a few minutes, it being your job would be hard. I guess though you get to be on beautiful water all day and so it wouldn’t be too bad. It would be sort of like a very bumpy truck ride, but a truck that tips back and forth.

Once we were out in the open we unrolled the jib and sailed along. The wind was nice even though I wish it had been a bit more windy so we could have hoisted the main. It was wonderful out and I wore my inflatable life jacket because it wasn’t cold. I did realize that I didn’t have a cushion to lean back on , with my puffy one it is a cushion so I can lean back anywhere.

It didn’t seem like too long of a boat ride, I was outside pretty much the whole time. I know it sounds funny but I don’t remember much more. Since we didn’t know where we were going I read about some different harbors in our cruising guide. We decided to go to Pirate’s Cove on De Courcy Island and I read about it’s history. There was a man who called himself Brother XII who created a cult on the island and was supposedly very bad. That’s why it’s called Pirate’s Cove because he was like a pirate himself.

When we got to the island we anchored and put on our hiking shoes. We wanted to go all the way around the park part of the island. The rest is a private community sort of so we could only walk on the roads. I saw there was a geocache right at the beginning of the walk so I started hunting the minute I got on land.

We found it after a few minutes and since there wasn’t anything too great I just signed the log and put it back. The walk was lovely it wasn’t hard but it was a small trail so it wasn’t too easy either. As we walked around we made it to the boundary of the park, we decided to walk a little bit on the roads.

After a while we were about to turn back, when we saw another geocache that led us back into the park. Mom found this one and it was a nice cache. We then went back to the trail and looked at the map. There was a cache that was all the way at the other side of the park which was fortunate because we wanted to go all the way around the park. So it was in the perfect spot. This one had a travel bug in it. I traded for it with a set of miniature cards, which are really cute.

 

On the way back there was another one which we happily did. After that there was one more on the island, this one was a multi-cache. The coordinates led up to a dock, we were to count the sides of the dock, there were 12. From there we had to do some math so we went to the boat and did it there.

Dad and I figured it out and then I did my school work, I wanted to do it before we did a final lap around the park to find the cache. Once I was done with my work we walked around the park once more and at the tip of a point I found the last one. It was an awesome cache, just really cool. That was only my third multi cache ever!

 

Back on the boat we ate dinner and then went on an evening dinghy ride. We puttered around some cool houses and even stopped at a beautiful log that was floating. All at once we saw a humpback whale with her calf! They were just going up for some air. There was the big fin and a little fin! I couldn’t believe it, they were so cute. On the way back we passed through a canal that had the coolest green house in the world. It was held up by metal posts and was barely touching the cliff on one side. The green house was stuffed full of plants, it was amazing! What a cool night for a dinghy cruise and a full day!

 

Newcastle Island

Nanaimo, Canada

Yesterday was an exciting day, after we had a big bowl of Cheerios, we took the dinghy over to Newcastle Island. We had on our hiking gear, ready for a nice long walk. On the way to the dock we saw some Sea Otters on the rocks. The bigger two were looking for food farther away and we got to see the little ones. They weren’t scared, they seemed interested and they were adorable!

When we got to the dock, I grabbed the football and we headed up to the super huge flat lawns to throw it back and forth. The lawns were so cool and well kept, although they didn’t water them. I am getting a lot better at throwing so it has become a really fun thing to do and a ton easier. Back at home we never have that much time to go out and throw a football so I guess I never even thought about it.

After a while we started walking up the beautiful roads and passed the camp site. All of which were reserved and I totally get it. It was an awesome camping spot, you have the water, the lawns, a little shop in one of the old buildings that has food. Everything you can imagine is there so it was pretty cool.

That wasn’t enough of a walk though, we had just started and so we turned on a trail and started our circumnavigation of the island, on foot. The trail was beautiful and as I looked around I saw the beautiful big cedar trees that I had wanted to see in Desolation Sound but they were just stumps.

It was a nice easy trail and it didn’t take much work. We didn’t go up in elevation too much or down too much so it was just a nice walk. After a few minutes, the walking became a rhythm. I looked on Mom’s phone and realized there was a geocache nearby so I wanted to find it! It didn’t take too long and the reward is always good.

We continued to move on through the forest, we weren’t even halfway. The conversations went from geocaches, Stradivarius violins and Utah, which is crazy because they are all such different things. When we got to a lookout, we looked around and felt the strong breeze. It seemed like the perfect day to sail in the Straits. There was another cache nearby so we went and found it. It was in a natural hole in a tree off of the trail, the best caches are in nature.

A lot more walking happened right after that and then I realized we’re were half way. On the way back we took a weird route and ended up on the rocks next to the water. Luckily that slippery section didn’t last long and soon we were back on the trail. On the side of the trail was a sign talking about a big cylinder shaped rock that was also on the side.

I was shocked when we read about it, Newcastle Island was a place that they dug up Sandstone Rocks and used them to build very famous places. They used the rocks to build the Mint in San Francisco! That same cylinder was hauled on a boat with lots of others and taken out of the harbor. That boat was in a storm though and crashed against the rocks and sank. 115 years later in the 1970s they found the Zephyr (the boat that sank) and got one of the cylinders. Crazy story, I couldn’t believe it, I had to sit on it to make sure it was real, it was.

From that point on there were tons of cut pieces of rock, but these weren’t from the Zephyr, they were just pieces they never used before they shut down. After a bit more walking, and one more geocache, we made it back. We played some football and saw more cut rocks, theses weren’t the same cylinders.

The rest of the day was spent in town walking around and on the boat doing work. We found another geocache in town which was exciting and that was pretty much it for the day time. For dinner we had Pork Chipotle burgers. Now as you might recall I had a burger the night before but these were so different. It was such a nice night we went out to Newcastle Island again to watch the sunset on the rocks!

Dinghy Dock

Tribune Bay, Hornby Island, Canada

I was woken up by Dad yesterday and in a way I was glad, it was late and time for me to get up. We were leaving the beach bay and were planning on going to Nanaimo. After a quick breakfast, I went outside and hoisted the anchor with Dad. The cool breeze was nice just like the fan that is blowing on me right now.

Mom drove us out of the harbor and I looked around excitedly expecting to see whales greeting us. Unfortunately that did not happen so I sat there staring at the water. As much as the whales were awesome the day before, it makes me expect that I will always see them. I guess it’s good to always stay positive and the whales reminded me how lucky we are to be on this trip.

Once we were out, I put on some long pants and put on my big puffy life jacket to keep me warm. It wasn’t that cold although the nice breeze kept me a bit chilly. Dad and I hoisted the main and unrolled the jib. We turned off the engine and we were sailing, it felt nice as it usually does, unless it super wavy!

I stood up with my hands on the dodger for a few minutes before I went downstairs to do math. I wanted to get everything done and math was sort of fun. As I sat downstairs doing a review on negative numbers, I went quickly. Math is great but being outside while sailing is something that is 100 times better.

The trip was 35 miles but it went so quickly, probably because we did fun things. We turned on the music and Dad was dancing very poorly to it and we were all laughing. Our conversations went to all different topics, from movies, a famous king from Egypt and soccer. That’s something that I love doing, tracking down our conversations and how far they go.

We entered Nanaimo right as I finished my violin practice, I don’t normally practice in the day so it was sort of fun. Once the anchor was down, we went into town. It seemed a whole lot different from when we had seen it last and a lot better. Last time we were here I was sick and felt horrible so everything around me felt bad, even food which I always like.

Since we needed Wifi we tried to find a coffee shop and finally we found one. I got a mango smoothie and we posted 3 blogs. In between blogs I read a cookbook that was on one of the shelves. It was nice, I love coffee shops even if they don’t have good coffee, because I don’t drink coffee!

For dinner we decided to go to the Dinghy Dock, a restaurant/pub. Some of you probably have been there, it’s pretty famous. Of course I couldn’t go to the pub area but we did get to sit in the restaurant. I had a delicious hamburger and I don’t know what sauces were in it but it tasted really nice. What a great easy day and a nice night at the famous Dinghy Dock!

A Whale’s Tale

Squirrel Cove, Desolation Sound, Canada

We decided to leave Desolation Sound yesterday, it has been great here and I have loved it. From rope swings, paddle boarding, hiking and nice cruising, this is on the list for the best places to go. I have also decided that this is the most beautiful area we have been and that’s saying something. If you think of the places we have been on this trip, all with their unique beauty, and this is the most beautiful of them all! Now the water in the Bahamas and Caribbean beats the water in Desolation, but over all Desolation Sound is the most striking to me.

I was still sleeping when we started off but of course I knew we were going to leave. It had probably been an hour when I got up and started the day. Boy it was cool outside, I could see glaciers on mountains and deep green forests. We talked about the mountains and watched as we got closer to some and farther from others.

As Dad, Mom and I talked we sailed smoothly along the water. Now some say the Straits of Georgia are nasty but the weather we have had in them has been wonderful. It seems crazy that they get so rough when they have been perfect conditions for us. Mom and Dad both have sailed in rougher weather here so I do believe them.

All of the sudden Dad yelled about seeing whales, I wasn’t sure to believe him but I whirled around. There they were, pretty far away but still, whales breaching. That means they were jumping out of the water and falling back on their sides. It was beautiful watching them, like the show was meant just for us. I wondered if anybody else was watching or if it was just us.

It was still far away but I was up on the bow in an instant watching it. We figured it was more than one because we saw more than one at a time blowing through their blow holes. The force that made the water go shooting out must have been tremendous and it made it so interesting to watch.

After a while we realized some were behind us, we actually heard them. It was like an explosion shooting out of their blow hole! I couldn’t believe my ears, it was absolutely crazy! The sound kept coming and I watched as the water went high into the air. I think the two whales were having a contest on who could blow out the loudest because one would go and then the other would go louder and so on.

In the Caribbean we had seen whales a few times but never like this, now they were even closer. Of close we kept our distance but we didn’t need binoculars anymore, even though they helped. They are massive creatures, I mean when they splash their tails of fins, you can just see how huge they are, from far away especially!

Then after an hour, they flicked there tails high in the air and disappeared into the deep blue almost purple sea. Luckily we were just about to Tribune Bay on Hornby Island. Apparently they had a huge beach and we found that out quickly, the beach was gigantic! It was low tide and the tide is 17 feet so, as you can imagine, that made the beach way bigger!

Mom and I dropped the anchor quickly and we all got on the paddle boards to go to the beach. In the Northwest, they don’t seem to have beaches so it was sure a nice feeling to have my feet back on the sand. It was such soft sand too, nothing gritty like you would imagine for a beach in Canada.

 

Dad passed the football and for 15 minutes that’s all we did, it was quite fun and it reminded me of playing on all the beaches where we have been. There were lots of people on the beach, everywhere you looked . As I looked out into the harbor I realized it was just as crowded if not even more! It was crazy how one harbor could fit so many boats, I guess a lot of them are shallow boats.

 

The water was a nice temperature and I played with the sand and the sand dollars for a bit. Now I want to let you know the black sand dollars are alive so I didn’t throw them around at all, I just picked up one or two. I never knew those white circular things with the patterns were alive at one point!

 

 

Even though the beach was awesome, we decided to walk up to the store and restaurants. When we got there we found a great taco place and I had one amazing taco. It was a small shell with a huge amount of toppings. Mine had a spicy sauce that was amazingly good, it was just the perfect spiciness. At the beginning of the trip I hated spicy foods but now I am learning to like them. That taco, I want to let you know, I wouldn’t have been able to eat even a bite of it before. That’s another great thing about this trip, it has definitely taken me out of my comfort zone.

For dinner I had a little snack, we had eaten so late that none of us were really that hungry. That’s funny because I am usually always hungry so it was a change for me. I wouldn’t want to do it everyday, but eating a late lunch is sometimes a fun thing to do. Then you can have the whole evening to yourself without any pesky food. It was nice especially after such and exciting day!

Follow The Flags

Squirrel Cove, Desolation Sound, Canada

When I got up yesterday and looked outside I noticed it was a super low tide which was kind of fun. You wouldn’t want to go on the rope swing at low tide, you might be able to make it in to one foot deep water, or land on the rocks. Mom and Dad were planning a hike and I was just looking around.

Once they got everything figured out we got everything we would need for a hike and got on the paddle boards. When we got to the trail head we hauled our boards up high so the water wouldn’t wash them away when the tide came up. Then we put on our hiking shoes and started walking up the trail.

It was a nice walk, it didn’t seem too much of a hard hike. I mean there were a few bushes we pushed by and some hills, but it just felt like a nice walk to me. There were lots of Salal bushes, which made the trail look so pretty. The trail was well kept, there were a few trees to step over but not too much, just enough to make it fun.

 

After not very long we made it to a really cool inlet. I went down to the water and watched the little crabs dance and play in the water. It was also a nice place because the wind that blows on the water gave me a direct hit. So I sat there and cooled down before we went back into the forest.

We went a different way back and let me tell you it was different. It was the same forest but I noticed it more, the huge stumps and the trees, the scraggly bushes and the muddy sections. Want to know why I noticed it more? It’s because we were in the middle of it with barely a trail to guide us.

I am sure it used to be more of a trail but every tree that falls down makes you go on a detour, that leads to another detour and then back to the trail. Luckily for us there were ribbons the whole way so we could tell if we were going the right way. The ribbons were all different colors and they were tied to random things. A tree branch, a shrub, tied around a stump, all sorts of places.

Dad was leading us but he had to always stop to wait for me when he couldn’t find a ribbon because I was usually the best at seeing them. It took a lot longer on the way back, but it was a game of follow the flags so it made it more fun. Did I mention that we had to climb up over scraggly dead trees so often? I couldn’t believe I was actually having fun!

Back on the boat, the tide was getting higher and I saw Kate and Jennifer going over to the rope swing. I went over there soon after, it’s fun having someone to do it with. There are some advantages and disadvantages about being a single child. It’s not that big of a deal though, I can find lots of kids to do a rope swing with.

This time I went to an even higher level and swung out even higher. I had to make sure to lift my feet up but that was easy. The swing was awesome and on my last few times I twisted perfectly and landed gracefully. It would be a long time until I did the rope swing again and I made the best of it. What a wonderful day hike in the woods and swinging into the water!

Petroglyphs

Pendrell Sound, Desolation Sound, Canada

Yesterday morning after eating some Cheerios, we went on a little dinghy cruise. Dad had spotted what had looked like petroglyphs on a cliff and wanted to go check them out. As we got over there I decided to get out and take a look. I had fun climbing up the rocks and was excited when I got up there.

To tell you the truth, I am not sure if it was graffiti or petroglyphs. If it was graffiti, it was made to look like petroglyphs. So I thought they were cool hoping that they were from a long time ago. I took a picture and then handed the phone to Mom. It was nice up there and I looked around, I would have stayed up there longer if Mom and Dad hadn’t been waiting for me.

Back on the boat, we decided to have a nice long trip for the day of going around a whole island and back to Refuge Cove, where we had been a few days before. It was easy going out and then we looked at the chart and plotted our course. Well, we really just looked at where we were going to go.

Then after a while we hoisted the main and unrolled the jib, this was exciting we hadn’t done it in a while. As Mom drove, I sat there watching her and Dad who was fiddling around with some things, like he always does. It was windy for a while and we turned off the engine and sailed, it is always such a nice feeling even though this time it didn’t last long.

The wind died and so we rolled up the jib and turned on the engine. It was the perfect time so I went up to the bow and sat down. I put a sweatshirt on and then took it off, then put it back on again. Sunlight was shining down on me yet the wind was blowing. So when I had the sweatshirt on, it felt to hot, but having it off, made me cold.

I ended up lying down with my face on the deck, but I soon got out of that position and went to my bow seat. My bow seat is right in front of the forestay, pretty much below the anchor. It works well and Dad has put a rope up there so I can’t fall. Not only is it safe but it also feels cool to lean out without being able to fall.

We passed a harbor that we heard actually had petroglyphs so we looked with the binoculars. Dad found one and we looked at it for a while. Then Mom and I decided to take the dinghy in to look closer. While we were there looking at what we thought was an Orca painting we spotted another one. It was actually more than one and they looked like small fish, they were to scale too. Maybe they caught some fish, painted them red and then stamped them on the cliff.

When we got near Refuge Cove we had a choice, we either could go there for the groceries and then go to another harbor, or go to Squirrel Cove. We decided to go to Squirrel and hoped for the best with there store. It was a nice store but it didn’t have everything we needed but we did get some things.

After anchoring up in Squirrel Cove I looked around and saw that two girls were doing a rope swing into the water. I thought that seemed like fun so I put on my swim suit and Dad paddled me over. The girls looked as though they were having fun so I decided to climb up and not waste a second.

Tons of moon jellies in the water, crazy!

My first time I went from a low spot and swung out and dropped nicely. The next time I went from a little higher, it was even more fun. Then I went from the highest spot the other girls Kate and Jennifer had gone. It was by far the best and I continued to work on being graceful while being mid air. I got good at spinning and turning to face land where I could see everybody’s faces. It takes time from when you let go to landing in the water so I could talk while on the swing.

Back on the boat, while I did school work, we had steak, baked potatoes and salad. Like always the baked potato was amazing and the steak was perfectly cooked. Still pink on the inside but not raw, medium rare is my favorite. What a nice night after having so much fun on the rope swing and sailing.

Easy Day

Tenedos, Desolation Sound, Canada

Yesterday wasn’t particularly a hard day, it was not that lazy either though. When we got up, and after eating a bowl of Cheerios, we went outside. I looked at the book and decided I wanted to go to Pendrell Sound. It has warmer water so I was in. I enjoy swimming in warmer water because it reminds me of the Caribbean and I don’t get cold.

On the way out, and after untying the stern line, I watched Dad drive. Well that is until we were out of the bay, then I drove for a while. It’s nice driving here because it’s so easy, almost relaxing. This is unlike the Caribbean where it is usually wavy and windy and I always got a bit scared, not that the boat was going to tip over. To tell you the truth I don’t know why I was sometimes scared.

Just driving here is so peaceful you almost forget to steer. As we were going, I looked at other places too, but I wanted to go to Pendrell, it sounded perfect. I looked around the whole time for orca whales wanting to see one. I sat up on the bow looking and waiting, it was hot up there but the breeze felt so nice.

I like being up on the bow either pacing or sitting quietly, I can imagine so many different things. One of my favorite things is going into the books I am reading and pretending I am the main character. Some of the girls are so different than me it is fun to fantasize, like the girls from the Secret Garden and The Little Princess.

When we got to the little area where you anchor, we anchored as expected. Then I went onshore and tied up to a rock that happened to have a ring drilled into it. I tied it to the ring and trust me it was strong! Dad even came to check and he said it wouldn’t budge, which made me feel really good about it.

We then went for a quick swim, it was warmer, which made me happy! That book is so useful, I am so glad we have a cruising guide. If you go to Desolation Sound, make sure to get a cruising guide book. They tell you all the good secrets about where to go. Anyway back to the swimming, I decided to do a dive and see how much I had forgotten. It turned out to be ok, not as bad as I had thought. Even though the water was warmer it wasn’t quite warm enough to keep diving in so I got out.

For dinner we had Shrimp Pad Thai, which was the first time we have had it on the boat. The shrimp was caught by Kevin, Dad’s friend and we are so happy that he gave themI really enjoyed it and when it was done I was still hungry so I had some rice. Rice is a good food to end the meal on. It makes it so if anything was spicy it goes away and it is so light it doesn’t make you too full if you eat too much. What a nice night in Desolation Sound on Merlin!

Hike And Swim

Roscoe Bay, Desolation Sound, Canada

When I woke up yesterday and went outside, I looked around at the quiet harbor (except for some super annoying generator from another boat). It was so beautiful and glassy calm, it seemed so unreal. There were a few people out in their cockpit drinking a cup of coffee, or maybe a dog pacing the deck, but other than that not much was going on.

It was a sleepy morning and a little gray, because it had rained all night long. I thought maybe the clouds would clear but they didn’t for a while. Dad suggested a hike and so he looked back at our guide book to see if there was one. Apparently there was, so he looked at the map and tried to figure out how to get to the trail.

He, after looking, decided that he had found it and so we all got ready for the hike. Then we paddled over to shore and looked around, there was no trail. Dad thought maybe it just was hidden behind the bushes but we looked everywhere but there was no sign of any man made trail at all!

We decided to walk up and around the shoreline, you see it was hard to see exactly where we were from a picture in a book, so we walked along the rocks. I actually enjoyed the walk and decided it really didn’t matter if we found the trail. Well these people who had just been on the hike told us where to go, so we ended up doing it after all.

On the way up I felt dreadful, then I took off my sweatshirt and I felt so much better! I started to have fun going over the logs, the hike wasn’t all that bad. It also evened out a bit and everything was just fine. This was when I started looking around me and realized how beautiful it was!

The trees were a dark green, some of the shrubs were a light green and the berries on the shrubs shone like fresh blood. I know that’s a gory description, but that exactly what it looked like. It was maybe more beautiful than the hike to Unwin lake and that’s really saying something!

When we reached the logging road we went up it for a while, the whole area with the road was cleared but the rest was deep forest. After turning off of the road for a while, we continued on a few more minutes. Then since the tide was now high, and we could go out of the harbor, we headed down the trail to go back.

Dad and I pretended we were on motorcycles the whole way down. It was so much fun we raced down the hill making noises and jumping over the logs. The only times we stopped was when it got swampy but other than that we raced down. That was the most fun I have had in so long!

At one point I was trying to get over a high log as fast as I could and I was basically sitting on the log like a bench. Then when I tried the get over I started tipping over. So I was sitting on the bench sideways almost touching the ground. Luckily Dad was right there and he pulled me up, but it was such a funny experience!

Back at the boat I pulled up the anchor and we left, well left that particular harbor. We went to Tenedos Bay and once we got there we went swimming. In the picture I am very surprised because I didn’t realize Mom was taking the picture. For dinner we had hamburgers and they were so good! It was such a lovely evening in paradise!

 

 

Refuge Cove

Laura Cove, Desolation Sound, Canada

We left Laura Cove after eating some delicious pancakes Dad made while I was still in bed. I poured some really good maple syrup over it and made them even better. Even though I loved it where we were, I was excited to go to Refuge Cove. Not just because of the thought of a new place but I got to do everything.

First I went to shore and untied our stern line, that I would do anyway. Then I pulled up the anchor and made sure it was nice and tied down, that I also would have done. Lastly I got to drive us out of the harbor, me alone, with Dad standing over me. It was great fun and steering around the rocks at the entrance was a bit nerve wracking for me since I had never done it before. I do drive once we are out sailing and motoring all of the time, but this was different I drove around rocks using the Plotter which is so handy!

Getting to Refuge wasn’t hard at all and it didn’t take long. We docked at a four hour free courtesy dock and decided to go into town right away. It was so cute, the little old wood buildings with the docks. After tying up we walked up to a cafe right on the water (it was probably the only place to eat I wouldn’t call it much of a town) and got some lunch. Dad and I ordered pizza not knowing how it would turn out.

The pizza was delicious, definitely right up there with the really good pizza we have had on the trip. It had obviously just been made and I was really impressed. They nailed the crust, it was better than a lot of crusts you get at restaurants. Mom got a veggie burger and she really loved hers, for such a small little place in Desolation Sound it was amazing! Here’s an example of how small it is, they put all their garbage on a tiny barge in the harbor. That transfers to a big barge and it then goes to a place where they can handle the garbage.

There was this store right next to the cafe that sold these cute water shoes and I wondered if they had any that would fit me. The nice lady had lots of the shoes and even had some that fit me in my favorite color blue. Since I just broke my sandals Mom and Dad let me get them, they are awesome. If you ever come across them definitely buy a pair, the brand name is Native but I think it’s a Canadian company who hasn’t started selling in the states.

Since we were at a four hour dock we decided to go to another harbor, we chose Roscoe Bay. You can only come in at high tide, luckily it was so we came into the harbor easily. It was big and so we didn’t need to stern tie, which wouldn’t have been a big deal if we had to. The harbor was also quiet and beautiful so we were quiet.

After getting everything settled we got on the paddle boards and went over to a short trail that led to Black Lake. We walked around a while, passed the lake and then into the forest. I was wearing my new shoes and they were working well but I also was wearing my swimsuit and I wanted to go swimming in the lake.

So we went over to a perfect spot and we all got in, it wasn’t that cold after I got my head wet! What a perfect place to go for a dip in the fresh water! When we got back to the boat it was almost dinner time and so while I did some school work, Mom and Dad made dinner. We had Naan bread with hummus for an appetizer. For dinner we had Salmon and salad, S and S! What a wonderful night!

Unwin Lake

Laura Cove, Desolation Sound, Canada

We had a nice easy morning yesterday and after eating breakfast we decided to go on a hike. There was a long hike nearby to the beautiful Unwin Lake. Now if you have been to the lake before this was probably not how you went to it. This is a long hike not the short walk you do from Tenedos Bay. If you have, good for you, it’s hard.

Anyway back to the story, we decided to get to the trail head using the paddle boards. You can carry them up on the rocks, unlike the dinghy. So I got my cushion and got on the back of Dad’s paddle board. I wanted to paddle, but Dad said he would fall over if I was paddling and he didn’t want to sit down. That was good for me though, because then I didn’t have to work at all.

Mom started off behind us but quickly caught up and by the time we got into the correct bay she was ahead of us. We pulled the paddle boards up onshore as high as we could and then we climbed up on the rocks where the trail head begins. After putting on our shoes, and tying the laces, we started off down the trail.

 

One of the first things we saw was bear poop, but I wasn’t worried at all. Black bears don’t really love eating humans, when was the last time you heard of a bear attack? Anyway, even if it was common in the area, there wouldn’t be a trail with lots of people going on it. At home we walk on trails where mountain lions have gone and we are still here.

So we kept on walking, after all, we had just started. What we all loved to do was try and point out the biggest stump we could see, trust me there were many. A long time ago they logged the hills we were standing on, and so the stumps were from a while ago. They can’t log anymore, because it’s now a park. I wish they hadn’t logged, so we could have seen what it looked like with lots of gigantic (and I mean huge!!!) Cedar and Fir trees. All there are now though is just a lot of little trees and big stumps. When I say little you might think a really little tree like an aspen, well the ‘little’ trees I am talking about are not that little, they were over 200 feet tall. So they are small compared to the trees they cut down.

The trail kept going past those stumps and soon we were jumping over logs that had fallen over the trail. Some were rotten and some looked like they had just fallen down in a storm. Most of them were uncut, but that made it fun jumping over the ones I could or ducking under the high ones. I made a sort of game out of it and it was fun

There were a few lakes that I thought were lake Unwin that we passed. Speaking of Unwin, it’s sort of a funny name don’t you think? It’s sort of like they stuck a prefix on a random word. It doesn’t even make any sense! Mom said it was like one of the words that her second graders would come up with when they were learning about prefixes.

Back to yesterday, I kept thinking those small lakes were the right ones and it was time to swim. They never were though, I didn’t know what was the big deal about lake Unwin when there were lakes all around it that seemed perfectly fine. I only realized why when we finally got there.

Lake Unwin is a spectacular lake, it has perfect water, so different from the other lakes which were more like swamps. It is huge and we were only seeing about half of it and the best thing for me were the big mountains surrounding it. I just thought it looked absolutely spectacular sitting there all neat and pretty.

I decided I would dip my feet in before swimming and then all of the sudden I turned around and Mom was diving in. Dad was next and so I went to and we were all swimming in a warm lake with clear fresh water. It was so good I got out and jumped in again, it was also nice and refreshing after the hike.

On the way back we went fast and pushed hard. You see we knew what to expect and so we went fast to get it over with. I enjoyed it though, I thought it was fun after I got used to going fast over the logs. We also did a little bit of balancing practice on the logs which I always have fun doing because I rarely fall.

When we got back there was still that paddle back which I was glad I didn’t have to do. When we got to the boat, I gladly got off the board and started eating food. I don’t think I have ever eaten so much for lunch. A few hours after that, I ate my dinner, a hot dog, broccoli, corn and salad. As you can tell a lot of veggies but they tasted so good. What a great hiking adventure with a swim as reward at the end!