John Harvey Photo

Shearwater to Codville Lagoon

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We woke up to muffins (home made of course), fruit salad and Yogurt.  Jacques, Jenny and Charles had left at 7:30 am to see the McAllister's - a long lost cousin they had never met.  At 9:30 the store in Shearwater opened (we couldn't get eggs or toilet paper in Bella Bella) so Mike went out to pick up the remaining supplies and our European guests.  Back on board, we were under way!

Map from Shearwater to Codville Lagoon

Today's destination is Codville Lagoon - a provincial marine park.  The park was created in 1965 because it is a significant site to the Heiltsuk People.   It was a rainy day so we spent most of the time getting there in the galley reading and keeping up journals.  The move was short and we arrived at Codville Lagoon before lunch.

Entrance to Codville Lagoon


Map of Codville Lagoon

The Eastern most end of Codville Lagoon was full with boats so Jan anchored the boat in the Northern corner.  We got the Kayaks in the water and packed for a hike.  The Kayak there was about 2 kilometers and the forest looked pretty impenetrable.

We found the beach head (no nice place to park a boat but the plastic Kayaks will be okay) and prepared for our hike.

Landing for Trail to Sagar Lake

Hiking Trail to Sagar LakeClimbing a Rope

The trail is in pretty poor condition - it's either mud pits or exposed rocks.  The trail is pretty short - perhaps a kilometer, but the slippery conditions make the hike a lot more work.  In some sections people have put down logs - they keep your feet out of the mud, but they are really slippery so you have to be careful.  Mike had the best idea - he wore plastic sandals without socks and knew he would wash off his feet when he got to the destination.

Walking the Beach at Sagar Lake

Sagar lake is pretty cool!  (You can pay for a day trip here from Shearwater) The pinky orange sand is interesting to and plentiful!  Mike (who took geography degree at Simon Fraser University) thinks the sand is coloured by feldspar.  The combination of orange sand, blue lake and green forest is a nice combination - I wish it wasn't raining so I could have brought a larger camera.

Beach at Sagar Lake

Getting Back to Kayaks

We hiked back down to the bay and got back into the kayaks.  The nice part of kayaking and hiking is that is uses two different muscle sets (not including your back.)  Four kilometers of kayaking, two kilometers of hard hiking, it was nice to get back to the boat.

Jenny and Jacques Kayaking

We were in for a treat tonight!  When we came into the lagoon Mike laid a prawn trap (in 300 feet of water) and after dinner he went out to collect it.  Sure enough - full of Prawns!   Some of the prawns we cooked immediately, others we we bagged and froze for a latter day.

Bowl of Humpback ShrimpBowl of Humpback Shrimp

Dan Sealing PrawnsPackaging Prawns

Full day - we went to bed!

Next: Nootsum River



Packaging Prawns
Entrance to Codville Lagoon
Location: Go To...
Tags: coast
Beach at Sagar Lake
Tags: beach
Walking the Beach at Sagar Lake
Location: Go To...
Tags: beach, lake
Hiking Trail to Sagar Lake
Tags: hiking, trail
Jenny and Jacques Kayaking
Tags: kayaking
Climbing a Rope
Location: Go To...
Tags: hiking, trail
Bowl of Humpback Shrimp
Tags: fishing
Landing for Trail to Sagar Lake
Location: Go To...
Tags: beach, kayaking
Bowl of Humpback Shrimp
Tags: BC fauna
Getting Back to Kayaks
Tags: beach, kayaking
Dan Sealing Prawns
Tags: fishing
Tags: beach(4), kayaking(3), trail(2), hiking(2), fishing(2), coast(1)
From: John Harvey Photo > Mid Coast of BC on the Curve of Time > Shearwater to Codville Lagoon
From: John Harvey Photo > John's Overnight Page > Mid Coast of BC on the Curve of Time > Shearwater to Codville Lagoon

Overnighting here the native owned RV site by the Lions Gate Bridge in W. Vancouver (in the rain).
A resident camper was telling us about his escape from Belle Bella after 6 months of contract work.
Couldn't handle the isolation.
So we stumbled onto you very entertaining travelogue to enlighten ourselves concerning these remote parts of our "wet coast" . Not without it 's challenges but good to have your experiences as a reference.
Thank you.
Ray Haynes
Little Qualicum Cheeseworks
Ray Haynes
Friday, October 4th, 2013 at 19:35:40

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