Island Hopping

CAs I continued my Vancouver Island exploration, I took the 4 p.m. 20-minute ferry from Port McNeill to Sointula on 15-mile-long Malcolm Island. This tiny community started life with Finnish colonists who hoped to create a Utopian colony. Sointula means harmony in Finnish. Present residents have settled into charming homesteads of a century ago.

As I made my way to Mount Waddington Campground, the pavement disappeared into gravel. I backed carefully into a tight campground spot facing Queen Charlotte Strait. With no sewer dump or water hookup, and electric only from the wild current bushes, I felt fortunate to have large-capacity tanks, and solar to last for months. Each evening, Marnie came by for the $10 campground fee and conversation. She and a friend shared a tiny RV as summer park hosts.

Shortly, I met Robin, a music major working with whale sounds, and Troy, an independent whale researcher. We had great views from Bere Point’s two new wildlife-viewing platforms, and from the rocks. Robin set up her binoculars, cameras and an underwater sound recorder, sharing her stories and one day, even her home-canned salmon for lunch.

Troy created a work area incorporating the shallow root system of a downed old- growth tree, driftwood, and a canvas tent covering. It unobtrusively blended into the scene. Licensed for monitoring and researching marine mammals through Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Troy tracks whales from July through October.

Whale Watching
What brought me to this island were the orca whales that come to rub their bellies on the rocks. Troy said he had seen some the night before. Several nights I hiked down that spooky rainforest path in the full moon but never did see any belly-rubbing whales.
Troy generously allowed me the use of his powerful binoculars and pointed out porpoises, sea lions, orca whales and even a few great gray whales. He said, “The great grays are the friendliest. They were near extinction twice but came back.”
High tide noisily lapping at the shore awakened me. In the wee hours, huge ships slithered silently through the fog like great white ghosts, much as the ferry did on my way back from Alaska almost exactly four years previously.

Rhonda, a naturalist interpreter, and Mark, a guide on Victoria whale-watching tours, tented next door. Rhonda explained that the whales are highly identifiable by pods and types. She pointed out a pod of sleeping whales in the distance. “They bunch up with-in touching distance when they sleep,” she said. “ They sink, then surface altogether, taking a collectively noisy breath.”

Reluctantly I drove into town and by chance met Rhonda and Mark. We shared a table at the Wild Island Foods Co-operative. It was also a bakery. Enuf said! Across the street was British Columbia’s oldest cooperative store. Unique gift shops, bike rentals, wildlife tours and historic buildings were within walking distance.

The Port McNeill ferry awaited me.

Unwelcome Intruder
The paved road to Telegraph Cove turned to gravel (Sound familiar?), this time a really muddy mess. Miscalculating my time, and leery of boondocking in mud and construction, I reached a closed campground. Instructions sent me to a primitive campsite, barely carved out of the soggy forest, but perfect for evening reading. Mr. Mouse thought so, too, although he was more into exploring. I peanut-buttered two traps and by 6:30 a.m. I had him. If they hadn’t thrown in the mouse, I wouldn’t have minded the $21 fee.

Most of September, late afternoons to late mornings were quite cold. Telegraph Cove was no exception. The Stubbs Island Whale Watching excursion was not quite full and with their willingness to lend me a jacket, I went. Regardless of the cold, it was beautiful winding through the small islands.

About 40 orcas, mixed with a school of dolphins, arrived with the sun. They swam around and under the boat. Captain Wayne dropped a hydrophone below the surface so we could listen to their conversations.

Marine biologist Jacklyn was extremely shy but came alive when she talked whale. She recognized each orca with markings unique to that individual. She said, “The Northern Residents live longer because they are in cleaner water. Transient orcas are most polluted because they eat other marine animals that are already poisoned with toxins and chemicals.”

She played seasonally different male humpback whale love songs. “All the money from the whale adoption program goes into research and nothing says ‘I love you’ like adopting a whale.” Each pod has its own sound and related whales do not mate. Once the matriarch is beyond breeding age, she teaches dialects to younger ones. One known female is between 80 and 90 years old. Males can live 40 or 50 years, less with toxins. Sons stay with their mothers for life.

It was a fascinating but cold morning. I should have waited until later in the day with properly layered clothing, gloves and a hat.

Whale Exhibit
The Killer Whale Interpretive Center behind Stubbs Whaling, displayed a fin whale skeleton with a broken vertebra. It had the misfortune to be jammed against the bottom of a cruise ship bow on its way into Vancouver. After sea creatures cleaned its bones underwater, it was brought up and re-assembled.

A halibutburger and green salad in the thankfully warm Killer Whale Café was fresh and delicious.

Telegraph, built on pilings and support timbers to accommodate the tide, is a 1920s-30s sawmilling village. Each building bears a historic plaque:

“The onset of hostilities in 1942 (WW II) forced the construction of a new, more secure telegraph line to North Island…Relay watchmen patrolled the line daily to protect against enemy sabotage.

“They used an oil drum for heat and the outhouse was a plank on the edge of the boardwalk. Infrequent showers were taken next to the steam boiler in the sawmill. In 1942, this new bunkhouse was erected. With a flush toilet, furnace, and shower, it was hailed as a virtual palace….”

And with that, I took off in my virtual palace. In the future I’ll tell you about visiting the Pacific Rim National Park.

Autographed copies of Revised RVing Alaska and Canada ($16.95); Adventures with the Silver Gypsy ($14.95); Full-Time RVing: How to Make it Happen $14.95); In Pursuit of a Dream ($8), and Freedom Unlimited, The Fun and Facts of Full-timing ($9) are available through author Sharlene Minshall, Box 1040, Congress, AZ 85332-1040, www.full-time-rver.com or Amazon.com. Postage and handling are $4 for one book and $1 for each additional book.