From the Rainforest: The West Coast's East Coast

August-September 2005

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
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by Dan Lewis

Gulf Island weathered sandstone © Photos by Alan Wilson.

In 1990 I paddled around British Columbia’s Vancouver Island, an island so huge it has an ‘east coast’ all its own. We started August 1st at Port Hardy, to paddle north around Cape Scott, then down the west coast past Tofino and all the way to Victoria. The idea was to use the westerly tailwinds of summer to our advantage, and then let the southeasters of the first fall storms push us up the east coast, past Nanaimo and Campbell River, back to Port Hardy.

I have many fond memories of paddling on this east coast. Top of my list are the Gulf Islands, the Canadian side of the archipelago which includes the US San Juan Islands. My favorite image of the Gulf Islands would have to be paddling on a hot, hot day along the base of cliffs made of sandstone. Rain has sculpted the rock for centuries, forming intricate honeycomb- like structures which range from little pockets barely big enough for a mouse, to huge grottos where one would not be surprised to find the Buddha himself, quietly contemplating the awesome stillness and beauty of it all. Looking up to the top of the cliff, one sees Douglas Fir branches laden with cones waving in the gentle breeze, and the curled red and purple bark of Arbutus (Madrone), a broadleaf evergreen tree. Behind and above it all is clear blue sky.

At the north end of Georgia Strait, near Campbell River, is a unique ecosystem with some of the attributes of the Gulf Islands, and some of the northern forests. This area, known as the Discovery Islands, is famous for its tidal rapids, including the notorious Seymour Narrows, which runs up to 15 knots.

The night before transiting Seymour Narrows, we paddled into Discovery Pass in the dark, against a steady stream of fishing boats which must have all come through the Narrows at slack water and were fanning out into the north end of Georgia Strait. It was hard to see the lights on the boats with all the houses and cars along the highway on the Vancouver Island shore. When we finally got through the boats, we were sucked into the current in Discovery Pass, making the final six miles of a forty mile day in less than an hour! The next day, despite our trepidation, the passage through Seymour Narrows was actually anti-climactic.

Another one of my favorite paddling locales on the east coast of Vancouver Island is Johnstone Strait. The area has an incredible history evident in the First Nations village sites and the abandoned fishing and logging centers dotted along the coast. But the highlight has to be our encounters with the northern resident killer whales that ply these waters in search of the salmon returning to spawn in the rivers along the mainland coast. The explosive sound of exhalation, the huge hollow sigh of inhalation, the six foot dorsal fin towering above your head as these magnificent creatures go about their daily business—it’s amazing to experience this from a kayak.

The last leg of our trip was completed in four days, paddling 30 miles a day. By then, mid-October, the days were getting short, the fall storms were kicking in, and we wanted to be done. There was a break in the clouds as we passed Robson Bight, home of the famous beaches where orcas rub on the rocks. What a breath of fresh air to see the sun shine down on the first pristine landscape (no logging, no roads) we had seen since the West Coast Trail, north of Port Renfrew on the west coast.

The final day dawned grey and stormy. The fishermen on the docks could not believe we were planning to head out. But we knew we could surf the following seas, and indeed, the storms pushed us into Port Hardy by noon!

I will never forget the feeling of paddling into Port Hardy from the opposite direction from which we had departed almost 3 months earlier. The trip had changed me forever. I highly recommend going for it to all who dream of doing this kind of adventure. One of the best things about circumnavigating Vancouver Island was that it connected most of the trips I’d ever done into one big trip—east coast meets west coast!

© Dan Lewis and Bonny Glambeck operate Rainforest Kayak Adventures in Clayoquot Sound 1-877-422-WILD

Email: mail@rainforestkayak.com Web: www.rainforestkayak.co