Day 75: Back to Vancouver - by air

Rather than travel back down the coast for three days by ferry and bus we decided to take a shortcut and fly back to Vancouver from Masset. The airport is within walking distance of the town which made it very convenient - only two hours and a quarter to cover all the territory it had taken us three days to cover by land and sea! And it was (finally) a clear day, which made for a very scenic flight.

North Beach, Rose Spit and East Beach on Graham Island, as seen from the plane

Even in these remote locations, logging has made its mark

Coming into Vancouver, over Horseshoe Bay

Days 73 - 74 - 75: Massett

Whether you spell it with one T or two, Masset(t) is on the northern edge of Haida Gwaii. The next land mass is Alaska, and I'm saving that for another trip! 

Our trip to Haida Gwaii ends here. 

The twin towns of Old Massett (Haida) and Masset (mixed Haida and non-Haida) are located only 1 km apart, at the northern end of 100 km long Graham Island, and each have a population of about 800. There are carved poles in both towns, but especially Old Massett, which has seen a true Renaissance of Haida art, now practiced by a new generation of carvers and painters and recognised and valued by collectors all over the world. As we were checking in with the owner of our B&B at the Raven Gallery, where she works, a young man from Vancouver came in and purchased a $500 hat hand-woven and painted with Haida designs in the traditional colours of red, teal and black.

After stopping by a pole carving shed, we settled in, made a late lunch and then took a walk out to Old Massett, where there are galleries and pole carving sheds scattered around town. Nobody was about, however, as it was Saturday evening and they were all at a big potlatch.

Sorry about the light. It was raining

Haida street sign

Skilay memorial pole

By artist Jim Hart

The following morning we hitched a ride out to the start of the Tow Hill trail, a boardwalk trail through the forest up to a viewpoint atop Taaw or Tow Hill, a volcanic plug which formed a basalt column 2 million years ago and was then eroded on one side by glaciation so that it now forms a steep cliff on the seaward side. From the lookouts on the trail there are fantastic views over North Beach on one side and Agate Beach on the other. In between is the Blowhole, where water spouts up through the rock when the tide is high (unfortunately, it wasn't).

Tow Hill seen from below

Where the Blowhole would be if it were blowing

Tow Hill seen from Agate Beach

Why it's called Agate Beach

Walking along the edge of the world

This trip ends here!

Day 73: Spirit Lake hike

Said farewell to our kind airbnb hosts and hitched a ride with a grandmother and small granddaughter to the start of the Spirit Lake trail in Skidegate. Put our bacpacks undr a picnic table where they'd stay dry. No need to worry about them there - we've stayed in three houses on Graham Island, and never once have we been given a key! Nobody locks their doors here!

Spirit Lake trailhead

A red-breasted sapsucker has been at work here

This, on the other hand, is a "culturally modified tree". Many years ago, when they were still living their traditional lifestyle, Haida people harvested strips of cedar bark for making waterproof clothing and watertight food containers. They also dug into the centre of a tree, put burning embers in and looked to see if smoke came out the top of the tree; if it did, the tree was rotten in the centre and would not be cut down to make a canoe. This one evidently failed to pass the test, because it's still here.

Day 72: Louise Island boat tour

Took a tour around Louise Island in a zodiac with Moresby Explorers. The excotement began before we even got to the spot where the dinghy set out from at Moresby Camp: we got a good look at a big black bear that was walking right down the logging road in front of our van, and then moved off to the side of the road. 

Unfortunately getting a good look is not the same thing as getting a good photo, especially when shooting with a phone from a moving vehicle in low light... but I did get a REALLY GOOD picture of bear scat!!

The first stop on our tour was Arrow Camp, also referred to as New Clew. In the late 1800s some of the Haida relocated here after 90 to 95% of their population was killed by smallpox and other European diseases. Missionaries attempted to convert the survivors, and there is a small Christian-style graveyard on the site (though the Haida do not traditionally bury their dead underground). One of the gravestones reported that the person named "tried to be a Christian". The Haida are now taking back some of the bones of ancestors buried in this way and giving them a traditional burial in a mortuary house. 

Also on the site is an abandonded logging camp, set up in the 1940s to provide Sitka Spruce for making Mosquito aircraft. When the war was over the camp was abandoned, along with everything in it. The ground is littered with old machinery, logging trucks and parts, an old stove, caulked boots and empty bottles.

After a picnic on the beach we donned our waterproofs and clambered back into our dinghy to continue our tour. We visited a few spots of interest and watched seals and eagles on the way to our next stop, the old village site of K'uuna, also known as Skedans. 

The Haida do not attempt to preserve poles but allow them to return to nature. The result is a unique blend of nature and culture when ancient carved cedar poles become nurse logs out of which new trees are born.

Former longhouse site.

Our guide's great-great-great grandmother lived in this house.

Emily Carr painted this pole when the stump in front of it was just a seedling like the one now growing out of its top.

A fluted pole, probably made after local carvers had been to Victoria and seen fluted columns there, and decided they wanted some too!

Fluted pole with toppled carved pole

Poles are not normally propped up but this one already was, so they left it that way

Sara enjoying the trip

Coming through the narrows on the way back to Moresby Camp