2014/06 Haida Gwaii trip - Return to Prince Rupert |
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We had enough time to drive to Skidegate and hike the Spirit Trail, steep with lots of stops to look at the scenery. The trail led to a couple of somewhat cluttered lakes, 
presided over by some sedentary eagles, obviously used to seeing harmless puffing tourists on the trails.
All around were what Canada calls CMTs, culturally modified trees, in this case red cedars that have had a vertical strip of bark removed for use in making clothing and baskets.
We also found some salmonberries, quite tasty but there’re never enough of them.
We had been seeing these signs all along our route. Enbridge is building a pipeline to carry bitumen from Alberta’s oil sands to the port of Kitimat, east of Haida Gwaii. The mainlanders are concerned about the dangers of the pipeline, while the islanders are justifiably worried about spills from the tanker traffic going to Asia.
Back at Kagan Bay we had a gorgeous sunny evening and we cooked over a fire that night. It was our first and last completely dry day on the islands.
Tuesday July 1st Canada Day
We had a wet morning but there was no wind and the sea was a millpond, good for Sandie’s ferry crossing. Queen Charlotte was very quiet on a holiday morning. The bird with the orange plastic feet is a pigeon guillemot, one of dozens around the ferry terminal.
Our schedule for the ferry was the same and we had to back on again, but this time it was a straight and wide ramp, much easier and quicker. The ferry was very lightly loaded; most passengers were in the lounge watching the World Cup. We were off by ten this time but the ferry was cruising, probably saving fuel, and we didn’t arrive any earlier.
We camped at Prudhomme Lake again. We had hoped to walk around the lake but found that there were only a couple of short trails ending at tiny beaches. Sandie is posing with a gigantic skunk cabbage.