This wonderful little jaunt away from tourist filled Tofino was a god send. My friend Shea and I got a water taxi to the east side of Vargas island and were dropped off on a pebbly shore where we quickly found the trail head to walk across to Ahous Bay. The trail is about 3km so not long at all, but still a good walk when wearing a pack with gear, all the water needed for an overnight and a bottle of wine. It’s a flat trail going directly across the island to the west side and is interesting for it’s boggy landscape, root systems you have to be careful not to trip on and the occasional fallen tree to climb over or under. The path was quite overgrown in parts, particularly towards the far end, but it was a great feeling to emerge from some bushes onto a wide, beautiful sandy beach.
We made a left on the beach and walked towards the south end to set up camp, fairly near the toilet, food cache and a family who’d canoed in. We’d been told one of the surf rental companies in town were having their staff party on Vargas that night so thought our quiet evening away would be interrupted by a crowd. By about 8pm it became clear they were camped somewhere else, great! We snacked and drank wine watching the sea after setting up the tent. We ate our boil in the bag meals and laughed at the fancy self heating one Shea had brought along. We got a bit tipsy and wandered down to the shore to take some sunset pictures. A movement to the left of us caught my eye- it was a wolf further along the beach! We were so excited to actually see one as we’d heard Vargas has a lot of wolves. It seemed entirely unbothered by us and made its way into the woods from the rocks at the far end of the shore.
We finished our drinks as it turned dark and passed out in the tent pretty early. I woke up in the night still tipsy and went to the bathroom unworried about wildlife. I woke at 5am and sat watching the sea at sunrise. If only all mornings could be as serene. We packed up fairly early and set off back to meet the water taxi as Shea had to work later on. Waiting on the east side again we found lots of sea glass to give to our friend who makes earrings. A beautiful night away!
#26- 6km in total, there and back
1Year/52Hikes 2019 