Pidcock Creek

Vancouver Island is gorgeous. We left the folk fest and headed north to Campbell River. Since the town was nothing special, we went just out of town to Elk Lake Provincial Park to take a short hike where the government is removing dams and rerouting water to create better fish habitats. As part of that work, the company constructed this amazing but odd fortified suspension bridge that crossed over a raging river and waterfall. The odd part was that the bridge crossed over to nowhere. There was a small chain linked fence surrounding a deck on the other side - and that was it. I got a good shot of the waterfall but was too scared to capture the gorge and rushing canyon of water. Sorry.

Quadra Island is just a 10 minute ferry ride over from Vancouver Island - not long enough to bother getting out of the car. I’ve made it a priority to learn more about the First Nations people here in Canada. This island boasts an important Nuyumbalees Cultural Centre. On First Nation’s land, generations of families have lived here and continue to live here. The descendants of chiefs dating back over a hundred years live right across the street from the centre today. (Nice house - I guess that is one of the benefits of being chief.)

The culture centre is charged with maintaining and repatriate some of the sacred and important items that have been used for ceremonies especially for potlatches. They are also preserving stories and histories. It is truly devastating to read about how the British and now the Canadian governments have systematically and deliberately tried to eradicate Indigenous peoples. Banning potlatch ceremonies and gatherings; confiscating and selling off ceremonial and sacred items - a good number of which were collected by the guy who’s collection fills the American Indian Museum in Washington, D.C.; taking all the children and putting them into residential schools and forbade them from speaking their native language. The list goes on and on. This cultural centre eloquently told these personal stories with the names and faces of the people who were directly affected. They have begun to buy back pieces over the years from private collectors and museums. Tracking them down is tough though.

On the south end of Quadra is another First Nations area that we visited (this is a little island) with a nice lodge. There were petroglyphs at the water’s edge, but I couldn’t make them out. The cultural centre did have a few that I could see. They were estimated to be 3000 years old.

After a few days of sitting at a folk fest, it was nice to get out and do a bit of hiking. Quadra has lots of great trails. We went out on the Surge Narrows trail that ends at this incredible passage where the water squeezes through islands at quite a fast clip. It was a nice workout with a perfect reward over crystal clear water. It was a bit too cool and rainy for us to venture into the lakes on the island. We will definitely be back to do more hikes and swim in the lakes.

Next stop - Vancouver for the other Folk Festival.Read more