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Land's End
Day One: Sarah Point to
Wednesday Lake
In late June, after finally
arranging transportation to Sarah Point, I schlepped my 60 lb. pack of solo
emergency gear, a tent, sleeping bag, rain gear, food, stove, for two days across
these beautiful hills. The trail, while demanding, offers tremendous views,
both north towards Desolation Sound and Okeover Inlet, and south towards Georgia
Strait and its numerous islands.
My transportation was a
friend's very well equipped 4x4.
The road heads out of Lund
to Bliss Landing, bypasses the turnoff to Bliss and continues to Turner Bay,
and then follows under the power lines to Land's End. At each of these landmarks
the road becomes much rougher.
Next time, to enhance the
vehicle longevity, I would opt for water transport to Sarah Point, which would
have cost at most $45/ person, and less if more than one person takes the water
taxi.
The road ends at Land's
End, one km. short of Sarah Point. There is a good trail along the shoreline
up to Sarah Point. With stratus ceilings at 5-6000 feet, the weather is perfect
for hiking: not too much sun, but enough sunrays break through to promise good
light for photos.
On the short one km. hike
from Land's End to Sarah Point the cool salty breeze wafts in off the ocean
and the waves lap softly at the rock shore. The islands across the way reveal
that there are further areas for adventure, both on land and by sea. The beaver
drones overhead, likely hauling a forestry person up to a camp. (The Beaver
is the workhorse airplane on the coast and in the north.)
I start off at 8:10 and
proceed slow, making notes and warming up the muscles which no longer respond
as they did when they had the practiced strength of a 25-39 year old. By 8:36
I had scared up the first pheasant. At 8:40 the trail crosses an open rock bluff,
with views to the Powell Islets and Townley Island, with Vancouver Island and
the northwest mountains of the Strait of Georgia as a backdrop.
At Land's End I enjoy a
break to load new film and shoot a few photos.
By 8:52 I am underway, ascending
from a few feet above sea level up the bluffs and then into the trees. Past
the 1 km. Marker, reached at 9:05, the trail crosses a number of lookout points.
At 9:09 the view is up Lewis Channel as a sailboat crosses Sarah Point on its
return from Desolation Sound. At 9:21 the view again overlooks Lewis Channel.
And at 9:50 the view is out over Desolation Sound. Young trees, taller each
year, have begun to obscure the view at this last lookout.
At 9:52 the trail has reached
a high point and begins to descend back to sea level, on the Okeover side of
Malaspina Peninsula.
At 9:55 I pass the 2 km.
marker. Two down, and 22 to go to Malaspina Road.
The trail vacillates between
steep and gentler descents. At 10:15 the trail reaches a short spur trail to
Feather Cove. I take the spur, passing a campable area off to the right: a cozy
opening under a collection of trees. But there is no fresh water to filter and
boil.
Pack at rest, I watch the
waves collapse onto the beach, catch a photo of a colorful starfish, and receive
the weather report. On a scale of 1-5 (5 being the most weather) the forecast
calls for a 2. Even so the clouds gather darker and lower.
10:35, the break over, I
head back to the main trail, picking salmon berries from the bushes along and
reaching into the middle of the trail. Two minutes later I am back on the main
trail heading eastward.
10:45 sees me passing marker
3 km. The climb is gentle, though the berry bushes in the trail make me wish
I had long pants on my legs and my trail pruner in my hands. At 10:52 a sign
informs me: "Hinder Bay 1.7 km." and "Cochrane Bay 6.2 km."
It says nothing about the many mosquitoes. I am thankful for the full spray
of bug repellant I applied at Land's End: no bites come my way. Further on I
identify bear scat as not grizzly: There are no bells or peppery smell. Suprisingly,
there are not that many berries in it either.
At 11:05 the trail meets
and follows along a small stream, trickling to the ocean. Two minutes later
an old cedar and a few campable spots pass by on the trail. Then a number of
old cedars 'walk by in the opposite direction'.
At 11:20 a spur to the ocean
brings one into Myrmidon Cove. A well used, and abused campsite sprawls along
the trail and the shoreline. The freshwater is very limited, and I would not
choose this as a campsite, though someone has, and has left all sorts of rotting
and rusting camp gear to prove it. At the ocean, the low tide provides an opportunity
to explore and photograph the animals and plants left high and drying by the
tide. At first the sun breaks a ray or two free of the clouds and then, as I
am catching a photo of the oyster farm next door, the sun breaks out in full
force.
Back on the trail at 11:50
the first obstacle is a sizeable cedar lying across the trail at chest height.
Without a pack one could stoop under it, but laden as I am I make a detour around
it, not choosing to crawl on my hands and knees to get under it.
At 12:06 I cross a trickle
of a spring stream, as the trail meanders through the woods, climbing. Old logging
cables and burns on the stumps witness to events now past. Most of the woods
around Powell River were burned by a forest fire in the first half of this century.
12:27 finds the marker 5 km. and three minutes later a view to Hinder Lake.
A sign 12:34 marks "The Knob 2.3 km." and "Fiddlehead Farm 76.2
km." Five minutes later at the north end of Hinder Lake I take a lunch
break.
There are a few camping
spots here and a good source of water (to filter and boil) flows out over the
beaver dam.
13:14 and lunch is done,
the water bottles are replenished and a short snooze is history. The trail continues
down across the beaver dam and then climbs away from the lake. At 14:39 I pass
the 4 km. marker. Mosquitoes, moss and a needle forest make for a buzzing and
quiet hike. I am clearing out the cobwebs across the trail. At 14:57 I catch
a photo of the "Dancing Arbutus", make it one less mosquito to go after the
next person, and start to ascend the switchbacks up. Km. 7 passes by at 15:07,
and eight minutes later we begin to ascend the approach to "The Knob." Ten minutes
later I am at its base, enjoying the cool breeze as I steeply ascend further.
"The Knob" at 15:29 provides
tremendous views eastward over Okeover Inlet. The bluffs up and to the left
above where the trail enters "The Knob" do not afford better views,
though they do offer a few nice spots for a break.
At 15:55 I head off "The
Knob" towards Okeover Inlet, with sweet pine needles softening the trail under
foot. At 16:03 the descent steepens and moves across a number of switchbacks.
The 8 km. Marker at 16:10 sees the trail still descending toward the Bliss Portage
Road below. At 16:15 we cross Bliss Portage Road with a sign to Cochrane Bay.
Crossing the creek on the other side of the road, I continue onward. At 16:41
I take a three-minute break for photos looking out over Cochrane Islands and
the Bunster Hills on the other side of Okeover Inlet. At the 9 km. sign (16:48)
the rain takes a spit at me and stops before it starts. At 9.5 at 17:09 the
trail forks, left to Cochrane Bay and the provincial campground there (100 m),
and right, where our trail continues onward to Wednesday Lake, 2.5 km. further.
17:20 past the 10 km. marker,
the wind blows at the treetops, and it remains still below. At 17:28 the trail
turns left on to an old roadbed, climbing straight for about 200 yards. By 17:35
the roadbed leaves no trace while the wind continues to stir above and the birds
call and sing under the canopy. At 17:43 the .5 marker signals a leveling in
the trail before it begins to descend. At 17:52 the trail turns left to accompany
a stream downward, passing the 11 km. marker at 17:23, just ten steps short
of a simple foot bridge across the stream. At 17:59 steep "stairs" help the
trail ascend steeply. At 18:06 I wiggle the pack onto a rock and rest my feet
for all of two minutes.
At 18:10 the trail gently
descends passing 11.5 at 18:14, and meandering around the many old stumps. Within
four minutes the trail ascends steeply before leveling to pass (at 18:27) the
"Outhouse with a Mountain-view for a Door". Just past the outhouse, the lake
water of Wednesday Lake comes into view. At the 12 km. marker and 18:31 on my
watch, a trail crosses the main trail. Down to the right it leads to a bluff
just above water level and up to the left it draws one on to a campable area
on the rocks. Within a stones throw of the 12 km. marker another sign points
back to Cochrane Bay 2.4 and Sarah Point 11.4. Did I really hike 12 km. (plus
1 km to Land's End) today or not<gr>? Further towards the far end of the
lake, the trail crosses Glipen Road and a creek, which provides a good water
source. A handful of water pipes cross the trail feeding water to the oyster
farms below, some buried along the roadway and some running down the creek.
I run into one complication.
All the present tent sites offer at best a few inches of stakeable soil before
one hits hard rock. I clear out an area just beyond a fire ring. It is well
sheltered under the cedars and appears to have good soil. But not so, I must
angle the tent stakes into the soil and wedge them between the rock below and
a cedar's root above. It makes a good case for a tarp, instead of a tent. None-the-less
the tent does stand well and firm against any night rain or storm. Rain is forecast.
After pitching the tent, which takes an hour, and a good hot supper, I crawl
comfortably into my sleeping bag, and listen to the wildlife as I drift off
to sleep.
End of day one on this hike.
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