Cape Scott Mudfest

Early in the spring, Greg initiated a Great Unwashed plan to assail Cape Scott over the Canada Day weekend. Little did he know at the time just what a damp summer we were heading into...

In spite of a less than inspiring weather forecast, not to mention the unexpected chaos of a ferry crash in Horseshoe Bay, Greg, Taryn, Bill, Tudor, Darren, Michael, Cynthia, Erica, Justin, André, and I all managed to make it to the north end of the Island for this grand adventure!

400km of highway driving (530km for those forced to travel via Victoria), and 65km of logging roads later, we found ourselves at the Cape Scott trailhead, ready to experience the rich cultural and natural wonders of this seemingly remote park. Imagine our surprise to find the parking lot already full.

Day 1:
Vancouver to Ewok Village via Nanaimo and Port Hardy
(aka Glad We Missed the Ferry Incident)

Kar greets Bruno	Bruno's not so into eating	Having a lazy day	Found a cool spot
Portrait of a puppy	A domestic moment	"Please limit your stay to 8 hours," but what about this would make me want to stay more than 8 hours?	Repacking at the trailhead
"Warning: Cougar in area [...] Keep small children at hand and under control"	"Available at Cape Scott Light Station" Now you, too, can hike 48km return to buy a fudgesicle	Our fabulous hiking conditions for the 3.5km to Ewok Village (Eric Lake campground)	André on the trail
There's a lot of moisture in the air...	Laughing too hard to take a good picture, now that we're finally warm and dry

Day 2:
Ewok Village to Nissen Bight
(aka If We Don't See Greg We Can Still Go Home, Right?)

Awesome Ewok Village boardwalk and tent pads	Home sweet home	One of the neighbours	André provides scale for our rain forest habitat
Eric Lake north	Eric Lake south	Bridge	Tudor's life is hell... (having forgot his hiking boots at home and bravely facing this dry, dry, trail in running shoes)
Bill, Taryn, Darren, and Greg	Tudor seems mistrustful of this photography business	"Don't step in teh culture"	André strikes off on a spur trail in search of culture
Is it wrong to flash the culture?	It must have been terribly heavy to haul that granite in here...	Although there was a plan to meet Cyn, Michael, Erica, and Justin at Nels Bight, it was suggested that for safety reasons our group might have to head instead to the closer Nissen Bight. After a long conference, it was decided to head to Nissen and attempt to leave word at the trail intersection. Of course, the sign looked much less scary when we first wrote it...	Hopefully they won't miss this if we put it right at the map, righhht?
Mud-a-plenty	Yayyyyy, the beaaaaach!	Tudor's colourful sock art	Bill enjoys the destination as Tudor frees his feet
André takes a well-deserved rest	Nissen Bight	Considering our next steps	Our lovely abode dries out from the previous night as Taryn looks for tarping paraphenaelia
Tudor does some awesome construction work on his tent site	Surveying the results	Bill and Darren set up their tent	Tarpology 101
Greg and Taryn's tent includes a luxurious porch	Driftwood can be heavy	Tarpology 102	Tudor lashes the crossbeam
Our completed village, complete with community hall	Slightest hint of sunset	Getting brighter	Ooh, pretty
Frisbee at sunset

Day 3:
Nissen Bight to Nels Bight and Back Again
(aka The Hunt for the Missing Party)

Fanny packs are all the rage at Nissen Bight	André models this year's must-have fashion accessory	Willy B.'s party moved our Lim sign to a useless location, but we moved it back just in case the hadn't been through yet for some reason (felt sort of bad for Willy, who had taken an injured party out and now had to refind his group)	Mechanized culture
Culture-on-a-stick	More culture-on-a-stick	Greg checks out the culture	Seems like a strange place to leave a tractor, really
A closer, if blurry, look at the mechanized culture	Horse collar thingie?	Giving her a push	Taryn scouts a large pasture not yet reclaimed by the forest
Fence posts along the roadway are still visible	Mud and sand, together at last	Lunch time at Nels Bight	Hey, what are the chances of running into people we know all the way out here?
What a coincidence, Justin and Erica are here, too	Michael and Cynthia	The whole Nels Bight gang	Teapot or Thai salute?
"Does this jacket make my butt look big?"	Skipping	Darren, Greg, and Taryn	The Nels Bight fortress
Erica checks out a shell fragment	Taryn, Cynthia, and Michael	Showing some leg	Mud monster
Much cleaner after the hike back	Sandy	Nobody tents on the gravel of Fisherman's Bay	Willy's group tried hard to communicate with him...
... that they had moved to Nels Bight	Trawler off shore	Kicking back	Greg in our community hall
Sweet, Tudor and Bill made fire!	Sizing the firewood	Tending the many drying boots	Spiney baby urchin
Dinner by campfire	Fire gooooood	Tudor, Fire-giver	A brighter version
Darren attempts to write "Cape Scott" for André, but all I got was this "A"...	Fire patterns	More fire patterns

Day 4:
Nissen Bight to Vancouver via Holberg, Port Hardy, and Port McNeil
(aka Hypothermia and Flat Tires are Not my Friends)

Can you tell the new bridge from the old bridge?	Something's not quite right with this picture...	Taryn and Tudor provide moral support while André learns how to use our jack	Our spare is just a little timbit of a thing
"Be prepared for the unexpected"	We saw a bear, and he was thissss close	Roar!	Yummy clover
The ferry was remarkably empty, perfect for a midnight nap

Day 5:
Drying Out
(aka The VSB Mistakes us for Protesters)

Drying out our gear on our adopted front lawn... VSB staff were initally concerned about the tent, fearing that we were protesters, but were very reasonable when we assured them we were simply very damp

Picnic on the VSB lawn