Motoring along Pacific Rim

My last major stop on Vancouver Island took me a hundred miles across the island to Pacific Rim National Park. It was my kind of road, narrow, winding, and with at least one 16 percent grade. It was paved, but under construction. They were working on it with a passion.

The park follows the coastline south from Tofino almost to Sooke, with three unconnected sections, Long Beach Unit, Broken Islands Group, and West Coast Trail Unit. Each section has one campground, but only one for RVs. In the northernmost, Long Beach, I found a dry-camping site at Greenpoint Campground. A steep hike took me down through the rainforest to a beachside sunset.

Canadian “tell-a-mouse” works very well. I trapped three mice during the night, taking each one on a personal hike well away from my campsite to throw it into the woods. After the third one, I fired up The George, parked on the huge paved parking lot, and finally got some sleep. Mice love my brand of peanut butter. They keep spreading the word and I keep spreading the traps.

On the way out, the lady on gate duty asked why I had parked on the paved lot. I explained and assured her that I wasn’t running off with any national park creatures.

This is one place where I would definitely use a tow vehicle if possible. Unless you are spending several days or weeks, I wouldn’t take an RV across the mountains on Highway 4. I would find camping closer to Port Alberni. The two towns, Tofino and Ucluelet, with few exceptions, were not RV friendly, offering few places to park even my 27-foot motorhome. There are a few private campgrounds. Daily bus service is available between Tofino, Long Beach, and Ucluelet, and an express bus comes from Victoria and Nanaimo.

Tough on RVs
My dream was to find a beautiful place on a high bluff and watch the ocean, hike the beach, and generally enjoy that whole length of park. That wasn’t possible. Once you get to the beach, it is marvelous and there are lots of places to get to it, but few are big enough for RVs. Mostly, the ocean cannot be seen from the road because a rainforest lives between the road and the beach. I’m not complaining you understand. Without national park status, the area would no doubt be growing condos and hotels. The experience was definitely worth the $10, 24-hour permit for beach-lot parking.

Typical of Canada (and a great idea), if they don’t want you trotting through it, they build a boardwalk over it. The forest smell was delightful and earthy as I went down through the forest. Steep, wide, well-packed walking trails sported benches, not for catching one’s breath you understand, but for admiring the intricacies of the old-growth trees.

The sun was so bright it hurt my eyes, but I was grateful for its warmth. I pulled my sweatshirt sleeves down and hunkered behind the huge logs thrown on the beach by passing storms. Creative visitors left behind lean-to driftwood structures for keeping the wind at bay. A gull landed near me in pretense of friendship, but I knew he wanted food scraps and I didn’t have any. Warnings of dangerous currents didn’t stop the surfers. Couples wandered the beach, and bikers rode on the packed sand. The sound of thundering surf took the world away and ran peacefully through my mind.

Fancy Food
Wickaninnish Centre provided interpretive exhibits exploring the natural and cultural Pacific Rim history. The movies on otters and intertidal life were interesting.

I treated myself with a corner table and outstanding ocean vistas in Wickaninnish Restaurant. The waves mesmerized me. When the apple pie (warmed) with ice cream (a dollop) and whipped cream (a dollop), both on the side, arrived on a three-cornered ceramic plate with a dainty cup of coffee, I knew instantly I was in for a big bill. Actually, it was worth it. A fancy restaurant with fancy food and fancy surroundings doesn’t guarantee good food but this was absolutely delicious and worth the $12. (For a piece of pie? I’m definitely going back into baking.)

Ucluelet was like Tofino—interesting but not many places to park an RV. At the Coast Guard Station, I found the 1906 Amphitrite Lighthouse, named after a shipwreck. I walked part of the Wild Pacific Trail along the coastline. Now that had some terrific ocean views. Humpbacks whales were blowing in the distance.

If you can work out the RV parking, the activities are endless—summer theater, gardens, hiking trails, biking, kayaking, surfing, fishing, and tours involving bears, whales and other sea creatures. A hike through the ancient forest silence is greatly enhanced by taking your time and getting the proper information to explain what you are experiencing. December through February is high storm-watching season.

Trees Down
I made three more stops. One morning very early, I followed the interpretive signs through the area’s largest and oldest old-growth forest, the Cathedral of Trees near Port Alberni. A dog-walker from Victoria told me about the huge “Qualicum” wind that hit on New Year’s Day 1997, taking down many of the trees, explaining the “jackstraw” appearance.

In Coombs, I visited the “Goats on the Roof” market. Actually it is the Coombs General Store. Restaurant, bakery, odds and ends, you name it and it is available. It was sunny, cheerful, and if I lived there, I would go every day for breakfast and coffee. I loved the friendliness of everyone, not to mention the scrumptious breakfast I had that included homemade thick toast. It was a most pleasant experience and they actually had RV parking.

I enjoyed my time on Vancouver Island. Although I really enjoyed all the places I visited and the neighborly people I met, I didn’t see half of what was there. I’m sure there is another Vancouver Island RV trip in my future. I took the ferry from Duke Point to Tsawwassen and went down into Point Roberts, Washington, just to see what was there. In wandering, I found a marker commemorating the western terminus of the Canadian / US border, the world’s longest undefended border, and a nice ending to my Canadian exploration. God Bless.

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.