Blogs from Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, Canada, North America

Monday September 5, 2011 Tow Hill I went to bed quite late and naturally slept in quite late. The skies were very overcast and much cooler then yesterday morning. There was a light mist in the air. I had set my tarp up and it was a good thing to do; my tent was nice and dry. I took a walk down the beach to the campground at the end of the road (that lead onto the beach) to look for an outhouse. I had planned to bike and hike to the very tip of the island (Rose Spit). But because of the overcast skies I lost any motivation and became more interested in moving on. Taking down camp seemed to drag out forever having a companion at camp. Too much talking. After I was packed ... read more

I have been to the end of the world and returned to tell the tale. Haida Gwaii, formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, does certainly feel like it is at the end of the world, where there is nothing left west of the islands. It is remote, quiet and takes an effort to get there, indeed, Haida Gwaii is a purposeful destination, not somewhere you pass through on the way to somewhere else. It is the end. And in the geologic sense, the Haida Gwaii archipelago is on the very edge of the North American continental shelf, as the abyss of the Pacific basin is only a few kilometers offshore. The last ice age passed by much of the islands, and this means that some species evolved with unique characteristics. The first Haida peoples arrived ... read more

The ground bends and distorts underfoot as I gingerly make my way through the rainforest, carefully finding my footing on a forest floor covered with a carpet of brilliant green moss and jumbled, rotting wood. Each step is a carefully calculated hop or tip-toe across catwalks of fallen trees and branches, each log lying on the remnants of older logs and coated with ferns and saplings. After just a few minutes of stumbling around in this slippery and dripping-wet maze, I realize why 4 out of 5 Queen Charlotte Islands' residents prefer to wear gumboots, even on a sunny day. I pause for a moment to take in my surroundings. I am merely a few metres from the edge of the logging road, but once I enter the refuge of the woods the silence becomes deafening. ... read more

Priorities (prahy-awr-i-tees) highest or higher in importance, rank, privilege. So here we are in the Queen Charlotte Islands. Where do we begin to describe this beautiful, tranquil island, these amazing communities and the kind and genuine people? I will try, but it really won't be the same as being here and experiencing it for yourselves. The Queen Charlotte Islands are about 300 km long, in a rough triangular shape from 100 km wide across the top, tapering to a point at Cape St. James at the south end. Tucked under the coastline of islands that form the Alaska panhandle they are 75 km from the American border, approximately 120 km west of the outer islands of the northern BC coastline. The Islands have just had a name change. In honor of the Haida First Nations People ... read more

On the Charlottes Uff was fuer eine Zug-Fahrt. Ihr koennt euch nicht vorstellen wie anders der Verkehr hier in Kanada funktioniert. Regel Nr. 1 ist: Kauf dir ein Auto. Regel Nr. 2 ist: Wenn du kein Auto hast miete dir eins. Regel Nr. 3 ist: Wenn du genug Geld und Zeit hast nimm den Zug oder beachte Regel Nr. 1 Wenn du weder Zeit noch Geld hast... bleib wo du bist... Naja auf jedenfall haben wir beides in die Zugfahrt investiert. Zeit und Geld... D.h. mit anderen Worten 2 Tage in einem Zug sitzend, dessen hoechstgeschwindigkeit 50km/h betraegt und jede Stunde anhaelt weil er ein Gueterzug vorbeilassen muss... Gueterzuege haben hier Vortritt. Und dass hat auch einen guten Grund, denn diese Gueterzuege sehen nicht aus wie in der Schweiz, die sind eigentlich immer 2-3 stoeckig ... read more

Our only full day in the Charlottes was Sunday, July 10. We got up relatively early, and took the short walk to the beach before breakfast. It’s a beautiful, long, sand beach, with some pebbles, and utterly deserted. We then breakfasted in the camper, before heading north towards Masset. Along this perhaps 50 km trip, we must have seen at least 100 deer browsing along the roadside. Shortly after setting out on the road, around 10 am, we encountered a pickup truck badly stuck in the right ditch, but heading in our direction. A couple of other vehicles were also stopped but we also pulled over to see if we could be of any assistance. The truck was in pretty bad shape, but there was a young couple on and in it, who were obviously the ... read more