The days are long and the light is big. I have taken to sleeping with my sleep mask on in order to get more that 4 hours...
You know what this means. It's visitor time. I notice them starting to appear, walking along the sides of the road with their eyes twinkling and backpacks bulging, standing around and taking pictures of the eagles we all take for granted. They are full of wonder and it reminds me of all that is here, all there is to explore in these endless days of summer.
I have been finding myself coming up with lists of things to do for those planning visits, so I thought I'd put it up here, so that anyone interested could take a look. This, like so many of my posts will be a work in progress and I will work to better explain how to find these places and what is so special about them as time goes on.
Things to do (by community)
Sandspit:
-The Dover trail is a great little hike. It meanders along through there rich rainforest along a river. For the more adventurous there is a beautiful waterfall that can be found about 45 minutes in, or if you prefer to stick to the easy path it's still a great place to soak in the green. To find it, look for the trail head on the right side of the road just before you cross the last little bridge as you are coming into sandpit from the ferry. Here's a pic of me and my Auntie Val with my friend Lauren when we stopped to dip our toes in the stream.
Another great one if you don't have much time is the Onward Point whale viewing site, Whales usually start turning up here in May but this is a cute spot to visit any time of year. Look for the pullout near the ferry terminal. Here's a pic with me and the sign that shows you where the trail starts. It only takes about 20 minutes to walk the whole thing, but you may want to stop in the cute gazebo for a picnic of just hang out on the lovely beach there for a bit.
-Also in Sandpit if you have some time to kill while waiting for
the plane you can walk out around the spit, it's a loop that takes about an
hour, a nice leg stretch before the plane ride, plus the trail ends in a field of lupins which were out in force yesterday, the 3rd of June when I walked it.
-Depending on how tough your car is, there are some great
beaches like Grey Bay and Secret Cove (which I still haven't explored). The bumpy dirt road leads to Copper Bay, the unfortunately named Mosquito Lake (actually named for the Mosquito fighter planes that were made from the Spruce trees felled in from the lakes shores and not for actual insects),
and Skidegate Lake, mostly frequented by mushroom pickers in the fall.
Queen Charlotte:
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| Flowers at the alpine lake on top of Sleeping Beauty |
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| View from the top of Sleeping Beauty |
-On a warm clear day Sleeping Beauty is an amazing hike. It
takes about 6 or 7 hours and is very steep, but if you're up for it it's well
worth the climb. It's at the far end of town past the cemetery and camp ground. There is signage and the trail itself is well marked, though it can be tricky to find the trailhead which is over a little wooden bridge. There are two ways to go up, either straight up the sleeping beauty trail, or via the connector loop, which takes a little longer but is nice because you don't end up going up and down the same way and there is less vertical going up. Here is a panorama from one of the peaks on the connector trail
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| Panorama showing the 2 peaks of sleeping Beauty |
You also get to have views of other peaks like "nipple mountain" and the islands.
-The Gore Brook trail is nice trail in behind town, pretty easy if a little overgrown.
-Queen B's cafe is great place for breakfast, lunch or coffee and
to meet locals and check out posters for local events.
-If your car can take a little beating, check out the Yakoun Lake, about a half hour drive out the logging roads. Make sure you know if the logging trucks are running before you head out, to bring a radio. Sundays tend to be a pretty safe bet, and the roads have been pretty good lately as there has been more logging in the area.
-Sun Studio is a yoga studio located in Charlotte (just down the hill from my place! We are super lucky to have this great spot. They offer a variety of yoga classes including Kundulini, Yin and Hatha. They are closed for August though so if you are a yoga fiend, plan accordingly :). For a schedule check the website at http://www.sunstudiohaidagwaii.com/
-There is a great little rope swing just next to the campground near the end of town where you can have a little bonfire and roast some weenies while you wait (and wait) for the sunset.
Skidegate:
-The Haida Heritage Center or Kay Center (Kay means Sea lion in Haida and this place is called Sea lion Town) has a nice collection of Haida artifacts. Nice place to spend a rainy day and the Bistro there is the best place to eat lunch. There is also a great gift shop.
-Spirit Lake is a lovely trail, mostly flat and well maintained.
A great walk in any weather. Access it just off the main highway across from the George Brown Rec Centre.
-Look out trail This trail head is a little more overgrown, or
you can access it from Spirit lake trail. It's steeper but gives you some great
views as the name suggests.The trail head starts in the gravel parking lot near the Kay centre, but across on the other side of rat highway.
-Coffee at Jags - this is one of the best coffee shops on the
island, a great spot for a rest between sights.
-The Longhouse Giftshop has a nice selection of artwork and
souvenirs.
-All About U Gallery - I worked here with my friend Ben Davidson
(Son of Robert) for a couple of years helping him get it going. It's a great place
to see larger works and often you can catch Ben and his apprentices at work on
a pole or mask. This gallery is more high end, but one of the only places on
the island where you can find larger and high quality work.
-Good to stock up on gas in Skidegate as it's the cheapest and
there are not many gas stations on island. The next one is in Port with random
hours, and then in Masset.
Lawn Hill (halfway to Tlell)
-Jungle Beach is on the way to Tlell, you will see a black bear
chainsaw carving on the oceanside of the road, you can pull in there and there
is a covered area good for picnicking. The beach itself is very nice too.
Tlell
-As you drive North there are some great places to check out in
Tlell- the main sign that you have reached Tlell is the Crow's nest, a little
store and restaurant on the side of the highway. A great place to find tasty
food and goodies.
-Farmers market happens on Sunday next to the Fire Hall, a great place to meet the lovely farming locals.
-The Anvil trail is a nice one, pretty flat, meandering through
the woods.
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| A panorama of the Pesuda shipwreck the East coast of Haida Gwaii |
-The Pesuta Trail is my favourite in Tlell, it starts off in the
woods and then heads out onto the beach ending at it's namesake, a shipwreck.
If it's a windy day this beach can be a bit trying, and try to go when the tide
is lower, but all in all a great walk. Takes about 4-6 hours round trip
depending on how long you picnic and climb on the shipwreck for. The Pesuta
came to Haida Gwaii to carry off logs but the Hecate straight had other plans.
The boat was wrecked on it's maiden voyage becoming a tourist attraction
instead of a way to extract resources.
-The Haida House at Tlell (take the turnoff at Beitush rd just before the bridge) is the classiest restaurant on Haida Gwaii.
Port Clements
-The golden
Spruce trail is definitely worth checking out, as is the book of the same
name. http://www.amazon.ca/The-Golden-Spruce-Story-Madness/dp/0676976468 which
was written by Vancouver based Author John Vaillant (I used to babysit for him
:) it's a great read and gives you some context for lots of things on Haida
Gwaii. For a shorter history here's the wikipedia entry. The trail was recently redone and now includes a path to a giant red
cedar that is hollow so you can actually crawl inside!! Here is a pic of my dad crawling out.
The new signage on the path was done by Ben Davidson and really classes up the trail. For the truly adventurous have a Grant Hadwin moment and swim across the river to see the Golden stump.
-On the main drag Port also has a nice grocery store and the
best pub on island, next to a long red dock.
-As far as places to stay I recommend Smilie's B&B the
owners are the loveliest.
Masset
-If you are planning to stay in Masset do yourself a favour and book in at the Copper Beech House. It's a haven of culture and art and the food is great too. Owned and operated by Canadian poet Susan Musgrave and her lovely Australian assistant Julia.
Tow Hill
-As you are driving out to Tow Hill you will notice a little kiosk on one side of the road. if you stop there and take the trail in you will find the strawberry fields forever. Around early July these fields are filled with wonderful strawberries as far as the eye can see. If you keep going the beach itself is a great walk and you can often find agates.
-If you would rather stay close to the beach I recommend the Alaska View Inn. They have hot tubs!
-There is a little trail into the woods just across from the Alaska view that will take you down along the Sangan River. A beautiful little walk.
-Tow Hill is a very well maintained boardwalk, you don't even need boots for this one! There is a loop you can do, I usually start with hiking up to the top to warm up, Here's the view from the top.
then down towards the blowhole, returning along the flat boardwalk. The blow hole only usually blows on a rising tide, so if you can time it all the better.
-White Creek trail is a little known gem that is also on this part of the road. You will see the little sign for White creek as you drive over it, park in the pull out and head in away from the ocean between the cement barriers. You will see a sign that says something about no ATV's. Though the start of the trail is not well marked it opens up and it quite easy to follow. This trail will take you up into the big savannah like bog, an ecosystem few actually experience even though it makes up much of Haida Gwaii's landmass. Bring your rubber boots! In the bog you can find many interesting plants like Labrador tea, mini rhododendrons and sun dew carnivorous plants! I only discovered this trail in the last year and have been delighted to share it with others.
Old Masset: Great to take a drive through Old Masset and explore there. Sarah's gift shop is a nice place to do some shopping and Sarah is friendly and will give you the lay of the land. Sarah was married to Claud Davidson, father of Robert and Reg, and the giftshop was Florence Davidson's house. Her tea set remains in the back room.
-There are lots of beautiful poles in Old Massett too and check out the playground at Chief Matthews School, they have been doing great stuff there.
