Waterfall Wonderland

Princess Louisa, British Columbia, Canada

September 25-27, 2010

  

Why “Waterfall Wonderland”? Well, it was! The up side of having some rain fall is that it makes for absolutely spectacular waterfalls. They were so numerous that we lost count and then the centerpiece of Princess Louisa Inlet, Chatterbox Falls was pretty amazing when we arrived. After Saturday night’s torrential rainfall all night long, the Falls were a once in a lifetime sight for us.

   

We were very lucky to have our good friend, Rose, along with us for the trip up Jervis Inlet. She arrived late Friday night and did not complain at all when we left at 7:00am to time the slack tide at Malibu Rapids. The trip up was uneventful and we only saw a few minutes of bumpy water right where the locals had said we would at Egmont, the opening to the Skookumchuck Narrows and Sechelt Inlet. After that, it was smooth motoring. The trip through the Rapids was also, uneventful, thankfully.

There were only two other sailboats at the dock when we arrived and they were very welcoming. Our first night brought the above mentioned torrential rains, but Sunday dawned misty and beautiful although, this time of year it takes until mid morning for the sun to peek over the tops of walls of the Inlet. Rose and I explored the Beyond Malibu site which is pretty well boarded up for the season. After lunch, Brad and I climbed the near vertical “trail” to the mythic trapper’s cabin. Convinced we had made a wrong turn, we stopped about a hundred yards from an impassable waterfall only to find out upon our equally grueling return that we were “there”.

 

Monday, we had a relaxing morning before leaving for the early 9:00am slack tide at the Rapids. Just back into Jervis Inlet, we answered the call of a small powerboat that had been on the dock with us the night before and had apparently run out of fuel. We caught up with them after about an hour and towed them back to Pender Harbor (about 30 miles). They offered to take us out to dinner, but all the restaurants were closed because it was Monday!

While we were away from Garden Bay, the resident bear has continued to enjoy the apples that are on the ground at the neighbors’ house. The caretaker and another club member snapped some pictures of what we are supposed to be looking out for!

Re-Entry Update: We are chipping away at our re-entry tasks. We have bought a car. We have secured moorage and live-aboard status at Shilshole. We have laid the groundwork for our return to skiing after two years of not being on or near snow.