Vancouver Island Trip - Day 6

On Wednesday October 23rd we repeated the drill of the day before.  Brad, Rob and I were up at 6:30AM, had a quick breakfast, packed our gear, and hit the road by 7:45AM.  Once again we headed over to Buckley Bay to catch the ferry out to the Gulf Islands.  This time around we only took the first ferry across to Denman Island.  

The tide was getting a little later every morning.  At the beginning of our trip the low tide was in the early morning hours, well before daylight.  Now, a few days later, low tide was occurring somewhat after sunrise.  

We drove up to the northern tip of Denman Island where the road ended.  From here it was a short walk through the trees to the top of the bluff above Morning Beach.  The girls and I were here a few years ago and really liked the area.  There is a steep staircase down the bluff to the beach below, and when we arrived the tide was out.  We made our way along the beach up to the spit at the northern tip of the island.  At low tide you can actually walk across the flats out to a spot called Tree Island, in Sandy Island Marine Provincial Park.  Not sure how long the tide would stay out, we did not venture across to the island.  After hiking and photographing on the beach for a while, we made our way back to the staircase.  By the time we got there the tide was well on its way up again.  The stairs were rather steep and narrow and climbing them with my heavy camera pack on my back was no small feat.  The burning in my thighs reminded me that I'm getting too old for this.

We got back to the truck and headed down to the south end of the Island.  We parked at the other end of the road, this time in Boyle Point Provincial Park.  From here there was a short hike through the trees over to Eagle Point.  Here there was no staircase and it was a bit of a scramble down to the beach below.  I understand that the locals call this Betty's Beach.  It is scattered with large eroded boulders, black in color, that have tumbled down into the water and become rounded and worn.  The tide was pretty high by this point and the shooting was a little limited.  

Once we finished up here we scrambled back up to the cliff top and once again my thighs reminded me of the weight that I was packing around.  My phone recorded my steps and indicated that I walked the equivalent of 8.6km on this day, and climbed the equivalent of 16 flights.  It would take a few days for the soreness in my legs to ease off...

After we got back to the truck we took the ferry back across to the main Island and headed back up to Courtenay and our rental house.  After the evening meal we repeated the usual routine... more visiting, beer and guitar playing.