Wildflower-nut wrote:Planning a trip to Vancouver island, north cascades area and Mt Baker. Any suggestions on route or what to see. Also could use suggestions on how much time to allow and where to stay. Not able to do long hiking trips any more (over 3miles). More into photographing from the road these days. Have 4wd pickup camper.
You don't say what you're area of interest is, is it "wildflowers"? If so, about the only wildflowers left now in any quantity on Vancouver Island will be in the high Alpine areas.
The only easily accessible such area is Paradise Meadows at Mount Washington ski area (near Courtenay). This is not truly Alpine but you can drive there and there is a wheelchair accessible loop trail. Also a slightly longer trail that has a few sections that are not boardwalk. (Take Highway 19 to Courtenay, continue north to the Mount Washington Parkway, turn left and head uphill).
Bear in mind two things,
[ul]
[li]Most logging roads on the island are private and are often gated. Some are open to the public, for example Lake Cowichan to Bamfield and Port Alberni, the road from Woss to Zebellos, and from Port Hardy to Holberg at the north end of the island.[/li]
[li]Almost all landscape visible on the island has been logged and is "second growth", meaning single-species uniform-age forest, or a clear-cut in various stages of regeneration.[/li]
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Consider hitting Pacific Rim National Park and the Wild Pacific trail in Ucluelt. They are very busy this time of the year and accommodation is in short supply. However, they are the most accessible West Coast seashores with a mix of wide sandy beach, sand dunes (two locations), driftwood and Rocky headlands.
On the way stop briefly at Cathedral Grove at the West End of Cameron Lake. This is a small grove of protected old-growth trees (although some logging has taken place). The best trees are on the left side of the highway (heading west) but park on the right and cross with extreme caution!
There are waterfalls at Englishman River and Little Qualicum River Provincial Parks just outside Qualicum, however the river flow will be quite low this time of year. After Sutton Pass, there are several areas of rapids along the Kennedy River.
From Qualicum on Highway 19 head west on Highway 4 through Port Alberni to Ucluelt Junction, turn left for
Ucluelt or right for Tofino. Be aware of road closures for reconstruction at Kennedy Lake (
http://www.drivebc.ca/#mapView&z=9&ll=4 ... t%20Region, then navigate the map to the cone symbol near
Ucluelt for current details.)
You could also consider heading west from Tacoma on Highway 101 to Port Angeles and visiting Olympic National Park. Hurricane Ridge, Obstruction Point and Deer Park may still have a few alpine flowers out (these are closer to true alpine areas). It's advisable to make a reservation on the Coho ferry to get to Victoria, it's a popular route!
Wildlife: Black bears are reasonably common, we have a very high density of cougars on the island but they're very difficult to find. Our deer are tiny but there are several herds of Roosevelt elk. There are some wolf packs but they're hard to find. The biggest wildlife interest is probably whale watching (add sea lions, seals and seabirds). We have two groups of Orcas, resident and transients, as well as humpback and the occasional grey whale. You can find charters in Victoria and all the way up the east coast of the island. Further up the island you will also find boat trips to the mainland inlets looking for grizzly bears.
Hope this helps.
Richard
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