Quadra Island/Campbell River, BC
Tuesday, 29 August, 2023
View from Chinese Mountain.
We made the turn onto the road up to Strathcona, the highest point on Vancouver Island, hours later than planned Monday night. About 45 km/28 mi from the park where we had camping reservations, the persistent haze in the air was taking on qualities more characteristic of smoke than fog. The situation worsened as we drove higher up and closer to the park. We tried opening a window, and even Eric was gasping for air. We turned around and abandoned our plans for Strathcona. Always listen to the postal clerk in Port Alberni.
We had seen a couple of other parks with campsites further back down the road. As we neared one, we tried opening a window again. While the situation was much improved, the air still smelled very smoky.
When we opened a window at Elk Falls Provincial Park, the air was good. We proceeded through the loop looking for an open campsite. Unlike the Forest Service campground in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, the sites were smaller and closer together. It was unpleasantly crowded, almost like a typical US national park campground. We found a site that was reserved for Tuesday night but that was available for the night. We pulled in, got out of Mather, and assessed the situation.
BOOM! A roll of thunder pounded through the sky.
"It's a sign," Eric declared.
So, we headed into the unassuming City of Campbell River, on the east side of Vancouver Island, and found an alpine-themed Ramada. We got a fantastic loft room with a kitchenette. Incidentally, I was able to book it on Expedia for considerably less than Austin, the desk clerk, had offered--a tip to keep in mind for the future. I told Austin that we were supposed to be training for a steep hike and asked whether there was any suitable place nearby. Austin proposed that we take the frequently-running ferry out to Quadra Island. This looked like a great spot! Austin booked the room for us for two nights.
Looking down from the loft of a kitchenette suite we were very lucky to get for the price we did.
Eric photographed the view across the Strait of Georgia from our room.
While we were waiting to board, Eric photographed the ferry for Quadra Island coming in. Eric believes that what you do on Vancouver Island is mostly wait in line with your car.
Hazy views from the ferry.
Eric took my picture as we headed into the woods, up Beech's Mountain.
The trail was definitely sufficiently challenging to suit the purpose of training for Mt. St. Helens.
Eric climbing through the lush Pacific Northwest moss.
The place was gorgeous,and we saw very few other hikers. Austin had given us such great advice! The only bad thing was a persistent hum of wasps around us, rising and falling like the soundtrack as the threat increased in a bad horror movie. Whenever we stopped, they would buzz all around us.
I had thought I had smelled a little bit of smoke, and when we came to an overlook, and I was alarmed to see what appeared to be several fires breaking out.
We descended steeply from Beech's Mountain, then climbed and descended from South Chinese Mountain, and then, on the way to North Chinese Mountain, took a side trip out to this overlook.
View from the overlook.
Eric took my picture as I photographed from the overlook.
Eric's view from the beautiful overlook.
We descended a long way from South Chinese Mountain. As usual, we were not making great time, and we had reached the point in the day when the frequency of ferries dropped from every half hour to closer to every hour. We decided that it would not take too long to climb the final summit, North Chinese Mountain, to complete the entire area.
We were still descending to the turnoff for the North Chinese Mountain spur when tragedy struck.
I heard Eric scream behind me, and looked back to find him fallen on the ground, having slipped on a wet rock, injuring his right ankle.
I handed him four ibuprofen, and asked him whether he wanted an ice pack and an ace bandage. He was afraid that, if he took his boot off, he would be unable to get it back on again.
We trudged slowly the rest of the way back down the steep slope to the parking lot, Eric wincing and balancing on his poles. Our plans for hiking into the Mt. St. Helens crater in a mere four days weighed heavily on our minds.
Eric wrapped up the foot and elevated it while I drove back to the ferry and then the motel. In typical Vancouver Island style, we had to wait about 40 minutes for the ferry. The ice pack I had been carrying with me unfortunately failed, so Eric was unable to ice the ankle until we returned to our room.
Eric cut up the vegetables from the grocery order we had picked up in Port Alberni while waiting to get through the road closure the day before, and made the tortilla chip dinner he had planned for camp in Strathcona.
In the morning, Eric was thankfully in considerably less pain. But to be sure, we went to North Island Hospital Campbell River and District. After four hours, we were able to determine that his ankle was merely sprained, not broken.
We found one geocache, a puzzle, since we had been staying practically on the 50th parallel.
Returning to the urbanity of central Victoria was jarring after several days in the peace further out on the island. Eric took this picture standing next to Mather in a 10-minute hotel loading zone parking spot while I hurried to check in and return with a luggage cart.
Initially planning for the two nights in Victoria earlier in our stay, I had booked this old Bedford Regency Hotel right near the wharf. Eric photographed the room while I went to park Mather a couple of blocks away. With his rooftop carrier, he did not make the clearance of the closest garage.
Eric did not feel like managing the walk down to the wharf for Red Fish Blue Fish, so I went down and brought back take-out.
Map of our eventful hike on Quadra Island
On to Mount St. Helens.