2007/06 BC trip - Toquart Bay |
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Monday July 9th
We thought we’d go and take a look at Toquart Bay, just north of the Broken Islands, where we’d been kayaking and camping back in ’03.
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To get there we had to take the road past Sproat Lake, over the mountains, and down to the Pacific Rim coast. The snow-covered mountain in the picture is Klitsa, hovering over the lake. We stopped for a break at the rocks 
on the Kennedy River, always a popular spot to stop with the kids on our way to Tofino.
The turnoff for Toquart Bay is a steep, rough-looking road, rugged enough to deter most travelers. The rest of the road isn’t as bad, but it’s slow going as there are more holes than road. But there are benefits to isolation: easy-to-reach Tofino is crowded, busy, and expensive, while at Toquart Bay we could choose from a dozen or more beach sites at only $10 each.
And what a site! We were on a sandy beach facing the northernmost Broken Islands. When we went kayaking there in ’03 we carried our kayaks down to Sechart on the Lady Rose ferry, but, as we could see, Toquart is also a popular launching point. Behind us were the forest and a ring of jagged mountains. I left Sandie knitting in scenic splendour and set off to explore the beach and the nearby creek. It was hot and bright on the beach but the creek had created an air-conditioned tunnel through the forest, cooled by the snow-melt coming down the mountain. Eventually I was stalled by a wall of downed trees.
We were able to cook dinner outside and watch the sun go down behind the mountains.
Tuesday July 10th
Next morning was absolutely still and hot, already in the 80s for breakfast. We could see why the long-term campers were off the beach and under the trees! We took a short walk on the beach and then took off along logging roads through some scruffy Indian towns to Salmon Beach. Part of this place looked to be a holiday camper town, with decks and shelters built around travel trailers, but there is also a new section being built for upmarket houses. Further on we crossed through an active logging area, with lots of heavy traffic, too much to risk stopping on the road for lunch. The first town was Ittatsoo, or Itatsoo, or Hitatsu: we saw all spellings! We drove around Ucluelet Inlet to the town of Ucluelet, and tried to escape the heat with lunch at the Matheson House. Unfortunately, historic restaurants don’t have air conditioning!
We walked around Ucluelet’s Wild Pacific Trail, slowly as it was nearly 90 degrees. I think this may be the best short walk on the Island, with views of the islands, rocks, lighthouse, and the waves, and flowers, eagles, and sometimes even whales. After our walk, we drove back over the mountains and oddly it was even hotter, in the mid 90s, at Sutton Pass, the highest point on the road.