My friend Kat and I had a wonderful little holiday out here near Port Alberni and were amazed with the wildlife we saw- the salmon run meant we saw leaping fish, otters and eagles eating the salmon and some blustering bears…
We started out in the heat of the day for this very warm walk with a few steep bits up hills and flatter riverside areas. I couldn’t believe how warm it was in the middle of the island as i’m used to the sea breeze rolling in in Tofino. This meant I was going pretty slowly and taking lots of little breaks. We stopped on a couple of rocky shores to view the river in its beautiful clarity. After a while we heard splashing in the water that sounded like more than salmon jumping. We came past some branches to see two big black bears the other side of the river who were quite affronted by our interruption.
They huffed and puffed at us as they retreated up the hill on the other side of the water and I said to Kat we ought to leave. After that excitement we turned back despite not having done the whole trail as it was hot and we’d seen all the amazing wildlife we needed for one day.
We made it back to the campground and rested a little before heading to Sproat lake for a dip in the water. A lovely summers day!
#29 about 9km
1Year/52Hikes 2019 