We set out early Thursday morning for the 4 hour drive to Cape Scott National Park, on the most northerly tip of Vancouver Island. At one point we left civilization and paved roads to travel 46K along the dreaded logging road. These roads were built by the logging companies for the sole purpose of transporting timber out of the area. They are gravel and just wide enough for a logging truck. Above left - the loggers warning to tourists (yes, that was a car) to be ready to get out of their way. We reached the main parking lot at about 2:30, got our gear together and headed for San Josef Bay, a 2.5K hike along mostly flat gravel trails for our first night of camping.
There's lots of interesting things to look at along the trail, like this tree Roy thought he should climb. (I think it was just an excuse to drop his pack for a bit). Roy took this picture of our group when we made the beach at San Josef Bay. We set up camp in the trees along the beach and then did some exploring. Roy and I had visited this spot 15 years ago on our first visit to Vancouver Island and had always planned to come back prepared to do the longer hike to the Light House.
If you are a lover of unspoiled, deserted beaches, they don't come any more spectacular than this. In a few places the high tides have worn away the rock and created caves and sculptures called "sea stacks". Sadly, the rising tide and setting sun drove us back to camp way before we were finished exploring. We had dinner, sat around a campfire for a while - then time to turn in.
An uneventful night, lulled to sleep by the sound of the surf hitting the beach. To avoid night-time confrontations our food had been cached in bear-proof receptacles provided by the park. Day 2 was to be the long hike to Cape Scott so we ate breakfast, broke camp quickly and headed back to the parking lot to pick up the food and water we needed for the longer hike.
The weather was ideal for hiking and with spirits and energy high we were ready for anything!
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