The Nootka inhabitants also have a specialized war garment. Cook was greeted at Yuquot with human body parts but I’m not aware of anything quite like this artifact! In the accompanying text, de Saint-Sauveur describes armour, and it doesn’t resemble this image much at all, apart from the feathers. The warrior above has a pretty fearsome club with a realistic human head. If you paddle early in Nootka Sound, you are guaranteed to see recreational fisherman hauling their catch out of the water all around you.Nootka Island Warrior, 1787. The first hour or so of our paddle was, in the words of my father, “entertaining.” While we were paddling through the type of waves that make your companions disappear, we were far from the only ones on the water. Beach Time | Kim WalkerĪs the sun rose the next morning, we loaded up our gear, investigated the fresh bear tracks on the beach, and set out into the surf. The day passed with many rounds of wilderness bocce and naps, and by the time we were huddled around the marine radio listening to the forecast while cooking dinner, we had our plan: wake up very early and make a break for it while the wind and swells were forecast to be more manageable. Sometimes, when it comes to Mother Nature, all you can do is watch, snack on dehydrated cheese, and wait her out! Fortunately for us, our enormous beach provided plenty of walking opportunities and there was even a creek, complete with shallow pools sheltered from the wind, which made a perfect place to break out our air mattresses and enjoy a float. The winds raged on all night, and when we woke in the morning we knew that despite the glorious sunshine, there was a zero percent chance that we were getting off the beach that day. Storm Watching in Nootka Sound | Kim Walker The picture-perfect rocky islets broke up the waves and made the view to the right akin to looking into a washing machine. The now relentless wind had whipped the ocean into a frenzy, turning the previously calm bay into a scene from Oahu’s famous North Shore. The west coast is an undeniably wild place, and by evening the weather had shifted and a storm was blowing in. All was perfect, and we spent the afternoon lounging in the sun and fishing off the rocks. Rocky islets just off-shore provided picture-perfect views, and we made sure to set our tents up to maximize the panorama before us. Our crossing was uneventful, and before long we were paddling into a large crescent shaped bay rimmed by a smooth pebble beach. As we set out, the sun was shining, the winds were calm, and the ocean had just enough gentle swell to be a reminder that nothing but thousands of kilometres of ocean lay directly ahead. On day two, it was time to leave the protected part of Nootka Sound, take advantage of the perfect weather, and head to the exposed outer coast beyond Burdwood Point. Anyone who has paddled on the BC coast knows the struggle of the often nearly vertical water-rock-trees configuration so when a good campsite is available, make yourself at home! Sheltered Bay in Nootka Sound | Kim Walker While the marine park encompasses the southern part of Bligh Island, the Villaverde Islands, the Pantoja Islands, Verdia Island, Vernaci Island, and Spouter Island, good campsites are few and far between.
Our original destination for the night, a user- maintained campsite at Charlie’s Beach on Bligh Island, turned out to be extremely busy, so we sought an overnight home instead on nearby Vernaci Island. The park is a popular recreational destination, known for its good fishing and protected waters.
Launching complete, we paddled out of Cougar Creek and headed for Bligh Island Marine Provincial Park.
For our trip, we chose none of the above, opting instead to drive another hour along logging roads in order to launch ourselves further up the inlet at the Cougar Creek Rec Site. Nootka Sound can be accessed directly from Gold River via private boat, an extremely long paddle, or the unique experience of the MV Uchuck III which will wet-launch potential paddlers anywhere along its route through Nootka Sound and Kyuquot Sound. With towering mountains and lush forests (well, those parts that don’t bear the scars of decades of clear cutting), Gold River is the gateway to a wilderness paradise. What it lacks in cell phone service, Gold River certainly makes up for in beauty. Nootka Sound is accessible from Gold River, a thousand-or-so resident town just over an hour west of Campbell River.
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