Over the years, my knee has always given me trouble. Every few years, I would get the doctor to go in with microsurgery and remove a buildup of material. This would stop a large portion of the pain. But then I was told that it could not be done again, the knee was too badly damaged. I was told that I needed to get out of the forest cleaning business and stick to doing art. I had to pass the Forest Steward’s lead roll off to another and stop my work in the clean-ups.
My knee was finished. I was also going to require a knee brace. After being fitted for and getting the brace, to the tune of 1800 bucks. I was able to do most things again. I could hike and mountain bike. I could walk again. I could not believe how well it worked; it was like having a new knee.
I kept at my doctor to get me an appointment with the bone surgeon. He would always say it was not bad enough yet. I would tell him that the only reason I could walk so well was the brace, but it had come to the point where I could not walk on it without my brace. One day, I twisted my knee pretty badly and had to see a doctor; mine was not on duty, so I saw another. He took one look at my knee and said it was pretty bad. This doctor made a referral to the bone surgeon. I was told it would be up to 2 years before my first visit. At least the ball was rolling.
I was told to take it easy on my knee, and things should go OK. I tried, but I was never very good at taking it easy. At first, I would just push it to my limit. After a while, though and with no real visible damage, I began to get cocky and would brag how my braced knee would stand up as well as any knee. I was soon to learn differently.
My youngest son, Forrest and I were going to hike into Bonnel Falls, which was located in the Nanoose Bay area. I had always wanted to visit them. It was late fall, and the creek was running high. The upper falls were pretty impressive. We dropped down by rope to reach the next few falls that were lower. All were just incredible. It was time to head back up. I started to haul my ass back up the ropes, and my knee just popped. There I was, two rope climbs below the trail, in pain.
I made several attempts to get up the first climb but was unsuccessful. Thankfully, I had my young son with me; he would get me to go up a bit, and then he would work his way up under me and put his hands where I could use them as footholds. We inched our way up both climbs until I was back on the path, which took over an hour. For the next few days, my son’s hands were quite painful. He is a tough young fella.
I was back to easy walks on level paths, no mountain trails, no rock climbing, no caving. I could kayak, though, and that was a godsend. By getting out in the kayaks, I was still able to partake in some pretty incredible adventures. A friend of ours owned a kayaking company and gave my wife and me an invitation to a kayaking trip. It would be at no cost if I entertained the other guests with stories of the coast and helped our guide on the trip, I said, “hell ya”.
At 4:30 am, Georgina and l were on our way to Telegraph Cove to head out on the kayaking adventure. This was a chance to go out for three days, with a guide that included all the kayaking equipment, camping gear, and food. It was going to be pretty awesome, and we both were very excited. Upon arrival at Telegraph Cove, we met the other members of our trip. Chet Morrison and his daughter, Alexandra, are from Pennsylvania.
Barbara from Oregon, and our guide, Danial Finer, who hails from Salt Spring Island. After introductions, we loaded our kayaks, with my wife and me in a double kayak. Chet, his daughter and Barbara were also in a double, but the center cargo hold had been refitted with a seat for Alexandra. Danial was in a single. After pulling out of the cove, we headed across Broughton Strait and into the Cormorant Channel Marine Provincial Park. This park is located at the western end of Hanson Island. During the crossing, we saw many Dall’s Porpoises; they are such beautiful animals.
I have had some experience in a kayak, but the other guests were fairly green at it. As we went through the channel between the Plumper Island Group and Hanson Island, we encountered a very strong current that had to be pushed against; it was quite a struggle for my wife and me. It was a great way for the others to learn how to control their craft. It was tough, but all of us got through. We then headed into a small cove on the north side of the island, where we stopped for a wonderful lunch that was put together by our guide Danial, while the rest of the team rested up.
The rest of the day, we travelled down Blackfish Sound along the north shore of Hanson Island. We saw several whales off in the distance, but they were too far away from us. We did get to see deer, mink, seals, sea lions, and a few more porpoises as we headed to the east end of the island. We went between Hanson and Little Hanson Islands on the eastern end and arrived at our first camp, where we would spend the night. The company has 6 of these camps located in various places in the area, and they are incredible. There are 6 or more tents set up on platforms, covered cooking and eating areas, compost toilets and vistas that will take your breath away.
The guides do all the cooking and cleanups. Our dinner on the first night was awesome, and Danial created barbecued salmon, rice, salad, and various treats. We all ate hardy after that first day of kayaking. These guides are pretty incredible, and I have to hand it to Danial, who looked after us very well. After dinner, Danial got the kitchen area cleaned up and then started a fire where we all sat around eating s’mores and getting to know one another better. We could not have asked for a better group of folks to spend three days with. We all got along quite well. Georgina and l headed to bed around 9 pm and fell asleep pretty quickly.
At 3:30 am, she woke me up to say that she thought she could hear whales just outside of camp, but that she was too scared to head out to see. I told her it was most likely just waves from a passing boat and then rolled over to get a few more hours of rest, but just then l heard the unmistakable sound of a whale breaching. It is amazing just how fast we got dressed and out onto the rock bluff overlooking the strait. As we trained our eyes to the early morning light, there they were, a family of Humpback Whales feeding off in the distance. It was an awesome sight. They entertained us for more than an hour; it was incredible, this is what we had come to see. The sound of them breaching was like thunder. There was no going back to bed after this. I sure do wish the others had been up to see these whales.
After the rest of our group woke up and we all ate a wonderful breakfast of banana pancakes and sausages, we carried the kayaks down to the water. After getting them loaded, we headed out for our second day. We headed across the entrance to Black Fish Sound, between Hanson Island and West Cracroft Island. Then, along the southwest shore of the island until we reached the Sophia Islands, stopping for a short break along the way. This was turning out to be a trip of a lifetime; everyone in our group was having such a grand time. Chet informed me that he just returned from a 2-year stint as a trauma surgeon in Afghanistan and needed this adventure.
We saw lots of Dall’s Porpoise but no whales, and after passing the Sophia Islands, we headed across the Johnston Strait to the western boundary of Robson Bight. We stopped for lunch here.
After lunch, we headed west up along the shore of Vancouver Island until we reached the camp for our second night. This was just west of Kaikash Creek. As we finished carrying the kayaks up to the high tide line, we spotted a humpback whale just offshore. It was swimming slowly just on the outside of the kelp bed, and all of us were able to observe it well. I am pleased that the others were able to see it.
After a great dinner of homemade chilli and buns, Georgina and l headed down to see Kaikash Creek. It was nice to stretch our legs a bit. There is a public campsite here that is maintained by the Namgis People, which is only accessible by water. Nice site with plenty of tables and a double compost toilet. The creek is very pretty and the water is fresh.
That night was an early night for us, as Gina and I had gotten up at 3:30 am. We slept very well and woke up to the smell of fresh coffee, eggs, and bacon cooking, and Danial was in the kitchen with a big smile for all of us. Danial was always smiling. He also had a great knowledge of the area and could answer all our questions in a way that we could understand.
After packing our gear and loading the kayaks, we headed west along the shore of Broughton Strait towards our final destination of Telegraph Cove. There was some wind, and we had waves rolling over our kayak; this was quite exciting to Georgina. We made a lunch stop at the Blinkhorn Rec Site, where we had pita bread sandwiches filled with tuna salad and other treats. We then hiked out the trail to the Blinkhorn light, where we had a great view of the strait. There were a few seals and sea lions.
The Blinkhorn Trail is a beautiful, well-marked trail that wanders through rainforests overlooking Telegraph Cove. There are huge old trees and giant rock bluffs along the way. We always see amazing sights along this trail. Sometimes it’s whales in the ocean or black bears on the trail. Other times it’s some sort of mushroom or plant, you just never know what you might see, so keep your eyes open. For part of the way, you walk the old telegraph trail, and then in other areas, you follow natural animal trails. The telegraph trail was put in 1912 when the line was extended to the area, and the cove became known as Telegraph Cove.
Once back at the Blinkhorn Rec site, we had a bit of rest, and then Gina and I explored the rec site. This site can be reached by foot from Telegraph Cove, and the trail is part of the one we used to reach the bluffs where the light is located.
After a bit of rest, we headed back to the rec site, loaded our kayaks, and headed out on our final leg of the journey back to Telegraph Cove and reached the end of our trip, all too soon for all of us. It was a trip of a lifetime. Gina and I had such a great time. My friend sold his kayak business the next year.