Vancouver Island 8: Pacific Rim

The coastline between Ucluelet and Tofino is taken up mostly by Pacific Rim National Park and its many beaches — our first destination yesterday morning was an unmarked pothole-filled gravel road that ended at an unceremonious little parking area and a trailhead for Willowbrae Trail. We walked through some beautiful woods in the chilly rain, eventually reaching the rickety stairs that zig-zagged among more enormous trees down to Florencia Beach. It was cold and misty, and we found some really good shells [pictured].

On the way back to the car, we passed a couple who told us they'd just seen a bear near the path; we kept an eye out but luckily/unluckily, we didn't see it. There were "bear in area" warning signs posted everywhere, and some helpful visitor had even taped a hand-written sign to the map at the next path indicating the exact time and date they'd seen one there (the previous evening, 6:30 pm). But our entire day was bearless, probably because we dutifully followed the rules and loudly explained to any possible bears that we were coming through and that we definitely weren't carrying any sandwiches (we were!).

The Bog Trail looped through a bog, believe it or not, filled with colourful flowers and cool stunted shore pines. It was lovely and peaceful. As the rain slowed down a bit, we pushed on to the big and popular Wickaninnish Beach. We walked a long ways on the hard-packed sand, past crowds of surfers wearing full-body wetsuits and murders of crows digging in the sand for tiny bright-red worms. (B thought they were cool; CLB thought they were gross.)

Next was Comber's Beach, where dogs are not allowed in order to protect migratory birds. We saw plovers and some gulls that looked different from regular ones. And just off the coast were a pair of islands filled with sea lions, a bit too far to be sure with the naked eye but close enough to confirm it with a zoom lens.

Before heading home, we drove up to Tofino for ice cream and some views of Clayoquot sound. Tofino had a lot going on, but we were glad to get back to the more relaxed vibes of Ucluelet.