Last year at about this time Darryl and I attempted to do a ranger cabin adventure and discovered through the internet that the old cabin at Nels Bight was being torn down and a new one was being built. I was very pleasantly surprised to hear this past fall that the new ranger cabin was complete and left open in the off season. Thus, we decided to make the long trip and mucky hike into Cape Scott for our first over night hike of 2015.
Day #1
We left on our adventure last Saturday night and spent one night in Campbell River. Bright and early on Sunday morning we met our pal Aaron and he piled into our truck. We were on Hwy 19 and headed for the northern tip of the island by 0630 before the sun came up.
When we started to hike again we headed back into some trees towards Fisherman River and ran into a couple guys hiking out. They said that they had spent the weekend at the lighthouse with their pals Todd and Harvey (the lighthouse keepers). I was slightly jealous that they had such cool friends to stay with at the lighthouse...
We took a few pictures at Fisherman River and then carried on to the old settlement and split in the trail for Nels and Nissen. Here we took the left towards Nels and popped out into the old farmland at Hansen Lagoon. It started to drizzle slightly, but not enough to put on a jacket.
Out of habit we took a left out onto the beach and headed west for the old ranger cabin. We walked almost all the way down to the end of the beach before realizing that the new cabin was actually built on the other end of the beach. We therefore turned around and headed back down the beach on tired legs to the clearing visible in the woods that Aaron had spotted. |
We dropped our bags and immediately began investigating the new cabin. It included two rooms with bunk beds, a decent sized common area equipped with a wood stove, desk for writing a novel, and a table for eating supper and playing cards. There was also a loft for extra space and star gazing out the windows, cooking area outside with a sink, shower, pit toilet, rain water reservoir (still needs boiling), and fire wood galore. I felt guilty for staying in such a high class establishment when I anticipated potentially having to huddle in a tent in the freezing cold all weekend.
Eventually the rain stopped and we were able to venture out on to the beach. My favourite part of hiking to Cape Scott has always been beach combing. I am always on the lookout for glass balls (which I have never found...) and am often flabbergasted by the other things I find. This trip was no exception.
The trail off of Nels towards Experimental Bight was boggy and wet. I think all of us got a good soaker to start off the morning. Thank goodness for gators! | Day #2 The next morning I awoke early at first light to the sound of birds chirping outside the cabin. Darryl, Sparks, and I were the first people up and about. What a gorgeous place to wake up. The windows from the cabin faced directly out onto the beach and there was blue sky peaking through the clouds. We cooked ourselves some oatmeal and sipped coffee until the others were awake and packed up for exploring our way out to the lighthouse. Darryl, Sparks, Aaron, and I headed out just after 0900 and made our way down towards the old ranger cabin site and the trail to Experimental Bight. |
Eventually we made our way to the north end of Experimental Bight just barely making it before the ocean tide engulfed our path. We noticed some wolf tracks just down below the high tide mark, probably made in the morning. It appeared to be three wolves, one of which was very large. Even though Sparks is obedient and stays very close by, we immediately leashed him knowing that the wolves would be out on the cape wandering around just like us. I noticed along the trail that there were "no dog" signs, which is new. I guess I will have to keep that in mind and find Sparks a babysitter next time. |
As we headed up onto the trail into the bush we again noted fresh looking wolf tracks and scat along the trail. Eventually we found a buoy hanging in a tree to the left and a small rough trail down towards the ocean. We took this and eventually ended up out on a rocky beach with seven sea stacks. We also found a totally intact bag of Old Dutch salt and vinegar chips! What a score! Must have fallen out of a fisherman's lunch...
Once back on the trail we ran into the other members of our group again, this time heading back down from the lighthouse. We told them about the sea stack trail and then carried on our way up to the light house. When we arrived it was starting to get quite cloudy and we had a bit of a rest taking in the views all around. Eventually one of the lighthouse keepers came out and had a chat. He told us about the large wolf he saw roaming around the lighthouse in the morning. At this point I was very surprised that we had not seen one! |
After starting the fire, eating warm food, and a having a small power nap I felt rejuvenated again and ready for some more fun. We passed around some warming fireball and mixed some vodka drinks while talking about the awesomeness of our trip so far. Our other hiking pals told us about a large sea lion carcass they found on the beach by the lighthouse surrounded by wolf tracks! The wolves must have been too full to come and find us!
Eventually we made our way onto the beach and Darryl and Aaron decided to have a dip in the ocean. I was not feeling quite so adventurous and decided to take pictures instead! Not long after those to crazies made their way back into the cabin, Andre came out and decided he would take a dip as well.
The next morning our alarm went off before the sun was up. We packed up our bedding with the light of our head lamps and started making breakfast. We swept up the cabin and made sure that all of our garbage was cleaned up. By the time we were packed and on our way it was barely light out at 0745.
The hike out was dry and beautiful in first light. We only stopped a couple times for bathroom breaks and hustled our way down the trail as best we could. We made it to the truck at 1140 and started heading towards home. We made a quick stop in Holberg at the Scarlet Ibis for our ritual of a burger and beer before carrying on home.