Boulders and a day of wildlife: Tent shake is 6 am. I am up 30 minutes beforehand. At 5:30, it is dark and a light mist falls blanketing everything is exposed. It is important to keep boots and pack under the tent fly to keep them dry. Kelsey and Philipp start heating water for our breakfast – oatmeal and hot drinks. As we are finishing breakfast, a black bear wanders down to the beach just a hundred meters away. She has two cubs in the forest near the edge with the beach. She goes away with a little encouragement. A mink with something small in its mouth runs pretty much the length of the beach near the ocean.
We start hiking at 7:45 along the shore. It is slow going as we are walking on and around rocks and boulders. There is some scrambling through the more difficult sections. Around 11 am, we reach Owens Point. There is a cave system and Philipp suggests that we take pictures and relax while he checks out the point. After a minute, we hear Philipp urging us to hurry. The tide is coming in and the ability to get around this ‘pinch’ point without getting wet is rapidly disappearing. On the other side of the point is a stomach high shelf so we take off our packs and pull ourselves up. Three other hikers coming along ten minutes later need to remove boots to get around the point.
[Owen’s Point is also marked by a sea stack – a small tower of rock that has been made by the sea and the tide wearing away the earth and shore around it. It is topped by a couple of trees adding to its appearance. There are several sea stacks along the shore].
Around Owens Point after lunch, we spot a grey whale playing and feeding in the kelp not far off shore. There are also islands stocked with seals lolling lazily; a few are swimming. As we round Owens Point, the shoreline changes dramatically. It is now sandstone rock. We use ropes to clear safely a couple of surge channels. Lunch (pitas, beans, ham, havarti, raspberry dressing) is at 12:40. After lunch we leave the shore back into the rain forest. It is messy, muddy going as we navigate deteriorating boardwalks, roots, mud and stumps. At times, we balance carefully as we balance along tree trunks laid down to form the path.
Along the forest path, here and from here on, are silal bushes. These have leaves like rhododendron bushes and berries like blueberries with a thick skin. They are good to eat. The bears feast on them. Later in the hike we come across many samples of blue-purple bear spoor.
It has been a great day of hiking. At around 5:00pm, after a long day, we arrive at Campers Bay tired and happy. After setting up camp, Marlene, Malte, Joy and I swim in the mouth of Camper Creek. It is fresh water and only deep enough for dunking and shallow dives. The water is cold and refreshing. We spot a snake along the beach that disappears under a nearby log. Dinner is chicken curry with rehydrated zucchini and mushrooms on rice.
Dinner is late and we do not start a campfire. We are invited to join the fire of other hikers; Steve, Marlene and Malte join them for a little while. The rest of us go to bed.