Elkhorn Revisited

After a failed trip to Elkhorn last fall, I vowed to return with a partner and a rope. I have heard bad rumours of how loose the rock is in the west gully (a fellow on an ACC trip there last year took a pretty big block on his leg which sounded fairly serious). So we figured that it would be good to go early-season and do the climb as a snow route. My original plan was a fairly ambitious 4-day project heading over King's Peak to Elkhorn, then Elkhorn South, then heading over to do something on Colonel Foster. In the end, Tim joined me for a 3-day trip from Elkhorn back to Elkhorn South.


Elk River crossing

Rambler Peak

King's Peak

Elkhorn

Colonel Foster from camp


The West Gully on Elkhorn. Route heads up to the right of the big chockstone, and was where I got turned around last time

Working around the chockstone

Climbing in the upper gully. The weather socked in on us and it snowed. Not much visibility, but we made it up.

Heading back to camp. Afterwards we traversed around Elkhorn to the south, and set up camp below Elkhorn South (aka Colwell). Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate on the third day, so we decided to not try to climb Elkhorn South. So we headed back down to the Elk Vally, another crossing back to the Elk River Trail, and then the long hike out.

Elkhorn from our camp to the south

Crossing back over the Elk River

Clayoquot Canoe Expedition

We've been planning a "big" canoe trip with the kids for a while. I've heard really good things about the paddling up Clayoquot Arm on Kennedy Lake out near Tofino. There are lots of great rocky islands to explore, and in theory the Arm isn't as exposed to big winds as the main part of Kennedy Lake.

Day 1 we just headed a short distance up the arm and set up a base camp to explore around.






Day 2 we headed further up the arm and spent the rest of the day in camp keeping warm by the fire and playing games on the beach. The weather wasn`t quite as nice as we were hoping.




Mmm....grill-cheese sandwiches

The final day wasn`t so nice. We got some good showers, and I was a little worried that the winds were going to pick up a bit (the lake is pretty much right on the west coast afterall). Luckily it wasn`t too far of a paddle back to the car, but the kids were plenty cold enough.


Before taking off we checked out the Kennedy Lake Cedar. It has the biggest girth of any known cedar in BC.

Beachcombing on the West Coast

Sombrio Beach is a great base for exploring around Port Renfrew and Juan de Fuca Park. There is fantastic tide pools to explore. It can get a bit crowded by the surfing and party folks, but we figured by not coming down on a long weekend it might help a bit. We spent a couple of nights camping on the beach.

Sunset on Sombrio Beach

On our second day we headed for a day trip to Botanical Beach. The tide was only partly out, so it wasn't quite as spectucular as last time we were here, but there was still a lot to see. We also tried to find the "Red Creek Fir"-the largest Douglas-fir in Canada. After a bit of cruising along logging roads out of Port Renfrew (following signs nonetheless) we could't find it (maybe next time)

Botanical Beach

On our way home, Kessa was off dancing in Victoria, so the kids and I headed to Fort Rodd National Historic site and the Fisgard Lighthouse.

Sailing race by the Fisgard Lighthouse

Newcastle Island

Originally we were thinking about heading out for some climbing at Crest Creek, but I was vetoed as it is a pretty long drive. Instead we opted for a 'Plan B' trip to Newcastle Island by canoe.

Looking back to Nanaimo

A friend recently published a little pamphlet Guide to Flowers in the Pacific Northwest. I picked up a copy and was excited to have a look at flowers around and sort out what they were. Saw some Miner's Lettuce, Dovefoot Geraniums, Black Medic, and these English Daisies.