2014/06 Haida Gwaii trip - Naikoon Park |
|||||
Our impression of the islands from the ferry was of hills and trees with little sign of buildings, just this distant view of a museum. We had landed on Graham Island, about 40 
miles wide by 60 long, with just over 4000 population, so there’s lots of empty space. We had a 45 minute drive north along the sea shore to the Misty Meadows campground in Naikoon Park in the Tlell area. Once past Skidegate there was little traffic and few houses, but plenty of tiny deer, about the size of goats.
We didn’t stop as we wanted to make sure we had a spot in the campground, but it was empty when we arrived. We took a short walk to the beach, a mix of sand and pebbles, but a cold wind was screaming along the beach from the south. This was the view to the north, over thirty miles with no towns or roads. The video shows a brief glimpse of a passing whale, probably a humpback.
 |
 |
|---|
We just collected some driftwood and retired to the shelter of our forested campsite and got the fire going.
Saturday June 21st
It was the Summer Solstice, but Haida Gwaii didn’t seem to know that, and the beach was still windy, and now wet too. We retreated and took another trail through squishy meadows and pink-flowered salal shrubs to the sand dunes. These are not Saharan dunes though; this place gets enough rain that the dunes are covered with trees and shrubs and flowers. The trees are Sitka spruce, a species that tolerates salt. It’s also noted for its generous cones and its great size; under ideal conditions it grows over 300 feet high.
After lunch, the weather looked bit better so we thought we’d tackle the trail to the wreck of the Pesuta. The trail follows the Tlell River and I’d imagined an easy walk along the river bank, but no it was a classic BC trail with a steep climb up to a ridge. We were climbing over tree roots and negotiating peaty mud in a forest of towering hemlocks and wall to wall moss carpeting. About the only flowers were these odd wintergreens, called “single delight”. There were banana slugs aplenty.
|
Pesuta Trail (1.14) |  |
|---|
We dropped down to the estuary and then the beach, now easy going but we were back in the wind. There were mergansers in the river and tiny plovers on the beach, their legs a blur. Every few minutes a bald eagle would drift overhead, checking out the shore line.
We passed a Haida fish camp along the shore, still in use but no one home. This was a door decoration.
The Pesuta was a wooden logging barge that went aground in 1928. Now, after 86 years, all that remains is the bow sticking out of the sand and that may disappear in the next big storm. We used it as a windbreak and then had to brave the wind on our return trip; luckily the rain held off until we were back in the forest.
