Prince Rupert to Skidegate

---

I (Katherine is writing today) embarked on the ferry to Skidegate with a combination of excitement and trepidation. Excitement because it is a long ferry ride (compared to most I take, anyway), much of which is over open water. I expected some bouncing, and I always look forward to that. Trepidation because it really felt to me like we were heading to the back of beyond. What if we had car trouble? With an 18-year-old non-mainstream vehicle, it could be both inconvenient and expensive. And the Bentley manual (the mechanic’s guide to working on the vanagon) I had ordered before we left North Vancouver didn’t arrive before our departure, so I would have to rely on mechanics who knew nothing about my vehicle, and had no reference to consult. And what if one of us got sick? What kind of medical care would be available? I feel silly even writing this, imagining that anyone who might read it will think I’m paranoid. But it was a real fear for me, however much I might attempt to repress it. We are neither of us as hale or thoughtless of our health as we were 10, 20, or 30 years ago.

The loading process for this vessel was even more meticulous than the ferry from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert. The ferry is smaller. We were scrunched underneath the ramp and just barely fit. In most places the cars were so close together that you could not walk between them, so you have to search carefully for a clear route from your car to the nearest stairway door to avoid lots of detours both coming and going. We saw more than one lost party threading their way painstakingly through a convoluted route in or out of their cars. There are no visits permitted below decks once the sailing is underway. I didn’t notice any cars being chained down, but Roberta observed they put blocks around the wheels, as they had done on the Hardy-Rupert ferry. Some of the heavier vehicles, such as transport trucks, were chained down, though.

We got great seats in the front lounge, along the starboard side, right by a window. Better seats than the ones we reserved on the Hardy-Rupert run. I was tired after a rather poor sleep the previous night, and napped from shortly after we sailed until we were on open water. Then we did get a bit of a ride, though according to staff it was much less than the previous day, when they had 3-4 meter waves, and many passengers were sick. For a great deal of this journey (maybe 4-5 hours of the 6-7 hour trip) you are completely out of sight of land, and it feels like you are heading into nowhere. Rationally I know they are plotting and following a course, with the most advanced technological equipment, but viscerally, it’s a stunning to see yourself in the middle of all that ocean.

They showed a movie in the early afternoon, Miss Congeniality II, which we watched and laughed at a lot. By the time this was over, we were in calmer water, and we could also see land in the distance, to the north. Soon we could pick out small settlements along the shorelines, and we amused ourselves by looking at the map and guessing which towns they might be. Many were no more than a few houses, and they were at some distance from each other. As we got closer, we spotted the little ferry which runs between the two big islands. It docked at Skidegate just before we did.

Skidegate, by the way, is pronounced very differently from what I would have imagined. Its three syllables are pronounced very fast, with a short I, something like skid-a-git, with the accent on the first syllable. It almost sounds like percussion.

As we approached the islands, I found myself filled with surprise to find myself coming to such a place, so in the middle of nowhere. When you look at the map, the Queen Charlottes really don’t look that far from the mainland, but when you approach them by ship, their remoteness becomes apparent. No cell phone service here anywhere! Yet there are about 3500 people who live here year around. They are born here, go to school here, work here, fall in love here, have their families here, and die here. I suppose most go to the mainland from time to time, but they are much more dependent on this island than most other BC islanders who live so much closer to the mainland.

We arrived about 6:00 pm and drove straight into Queen Charlotte City, about 5 minutes from Skidegate. We took a quick reconnaissance drive through the town. This is one of the two largest towns in the Queen Charlottes - population 1027. Once we satisfied ourselves we had seen everything there was to see, we stopped at the Ocean View, a seafood restaurant on the south end of town, where we had a delicious meal. We shared a jalapeño popper appetizer, then a grilled salmon entrée, with rice and vegetables and finally a slice of coffee chocolate cheesecake. The fish especially was delicious, locally caught, and topped with an Oscar concoction, made of crab and prawns in cream sauce.

We then headed north towards Naikoon Provincial Park, where we hoped to find a campsite at Misty Meadows campground. This drive was probably the most lovely of our stay in the Charlottes. It wound along the coast nearly the whole way, about 50 km. The highway, which is actually the last stretch of the Yellowhead, is excellent, though we found the bridges odd - all had wooden surfaces, which are clearly prone to being slippery when wet or frosty. There was almost no traffic. We went very slowly to take in the views - beautiful pebble beaches along the whole stretch. We saw many deer browsing along the sides of the highways, mostly does and many of them with fawns, often with twins. We also saw many eagles, both in flight and perching on trees or rocks by the water. And many ravens, all of them enormous in comparison with the crows we are most used to from home, and many of them much more cocky and bold, too. I wondered if there were bears on the islands, because I never saw warnings about them, and was told there is a native species of black bear, which is much bigger than the mainland bears. I imagine with so much wild country here, they may stay far away from the inhabited parks of the islands. While camping, we observed the same bear care we always do, but never saw a warning sign about bears.

Just before reaching the campground, we passed the local annual music festival, going on in a field - lots of cars, campers, tents, and people, and we wondered if this would mean the campground was full, but we were lucky. The bad weather of the last few days apparently discouraged many locals from camping nearby, and there were many open spots among the 30 sites in this little park. By the time we made camp and were ready to retire, it was probably 11:00 pm, and the sky was still very light. The days are very long this far north. I had been expecting it to get pitch black in this remote area at night, but I never woke that I couldn’t see some light in the sky, and the moon is new right now, so it’s not diffused moonlight producing this celestial glow. I think the only times I was not awake to observe some light light in the sky was perhaps between midnight and 1:30. Certainly by 2:30 the sky is already starting noticeably to lighten. I don’t know precisely what time the sun actually comes above the horizon, but the twilight lingers here longer than anywhere I have been yet. And this is even farther south than Prince Rupert! I don’t remember noticing the light come quite so early there, but then it was raining and thickly overcast the whole time we were there.

The weather here is very on-again off-again. One moment the sky is blue, then 10 minutes later it clouds over and rains. We are told this changeability is very typical

---

Photos

Deer are everywhere in Prince Rupert
We captured this photo while driving around a residential street in the middle of town.

Prince Rupert is a really pretty town
Lots of hills, with great views.

Approaching the Charlottes
At the end of 6 hours of seeing nothing but ocean, this was our first view of the north island.

Coming into Skidegate
We docked just after the ferry that connects the north and south islands.

Unloading
The bow lifts to permit vehicles to exit the ferry. Kind of cool.