WALKING IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS Vancouver Island Tsunamis

We were all in agreement and hit the lake to outmaneuver each other at any cost. There was a slight headwind pushing down towards us, and I already knew, observing the canoes the Three French Musketeers were occupying, that is was going to be no contest. As it turns out, I lost them at the lower dogleg where the lake straightens out from the launch; pretty much smoked them – never to be seen again. No flowers ever arrived but I expect that they are probably still out there having the time of their lives.

It was my goal to spend at least one night on Sterling Island on Amor Lake; I had thought I could make it there in a day but with my late start and heavy portage, this goal seemed to be slipping away with the daylight. From the top of Mohun, I had to paddle through Goose Lake and complete two larger portage sections from Goose to Twin Lake and then into Lak La More. It was still gorgeous out but it was close to 6 pm when I started the first of these two grinds to reach my Day 1 goal.

Oddly enough, I popped out of Twin Lake feeling pretty good still. No tears of frustration or exhaustion; fairly hydrated considering the heat wave temperatures, and ready to tackle this next section of dirt and forest. It was a true test of will for me. I had been in this portage section, years ago, between Twin and Lak La More; I had a faint memory of my son and I in the forest and him running along the park-built boardwalks. Memory lane can be a beautiful thing and I think it was the only thing that kept me going through this section because I was tired now, fatigue had set in and so had the sunset.

When I got to the end of this portage, some brainiacs had parked their tent right in the small lakeside launch location. Note to reader: please don’t set your tent up and camp in pathways or boat launches; it just creates obstacles for the next guy! Even when you don’t think anyone is coming! They were surprised to see me as it was around 8 pm at night; they were kind and told me how impressed they were that I was doing this circuit solo. I thanked them and kind of brushed off their words about me; nothing to celebrate yet, I thought, I haven’t even made it to today’s goal.

The sun was setting and Lak La More was stunning. I felt the freedom of being on the water and the back country, and glided along quickly enjoying every little scenic view that appeared along the way. What a lovely little lake; the wind crept up but being in a kayak gives you the advantage of floating close to the top of the water and you can still move fairly quickly. I knew that I was close to Amor Lake… and that meant there was still a chance I could reach my Day 1 goal and camp on Sterling Island that night.

It was time to really focus on the conditions around me as the moon appeared and stars started to twinkle in the sky and along the beautiful mountain tops. I was close to Amor and determined to at least get into the mouth of the lake and camp for the night. Once into Amor Lake it was dark, and I pulled my flashlight out to scan the shoreline for a place to throw up my tiny tent and lay my head for the night. Ugh… nothing. As I focused across the body of the lake, I saw three campfires roaring on the other shoreline. I knew I wouldn’t go there as the campfire ban was on and I would be controversial with whomever was burning. I had already encountered a camper who had a fire going at the Twin Lake Campsite; I had some choice words for him but he carried on burning without caring about consequence.

I was starting to panic a little; I wasn’t seeing any hard landings for my tent or boat along the shoreline as I paddled in the dark, now deterred from crossing the lake. I had to make a choice and it needed to be right then; it was well after 10 pm and exhaustion had set in, along with hunger and thirst. Only two ways to go, I told myself, right or left! Left it is, I thought, turning my boat hard. A few minutes passed and still nothing opened up on the shoreline once I had committed to the left. My arms were tingling and I was worried. It was just then that it came into faint sight: Sterling Island. My goal was only half a kilometre away. How glorious! What an accomplishment. I pulled onto the small sand beach and landed my kayak, threw up my tent and got my bed ready. I was in total shock that I had made it; the moon was up and stars were sparkling – it was 11 pm when my head hit my makeshift pillow.

I was pretty pleased with myself the next morning; I heard the other campers get up early and bug out back on the canoe route at about 7 am. I lulled myself back to sleep and popped out of my tent closer to 8:30. I had been video docu-ing along the trip, so took the opportunity to grab a few thoughts and then got up and explored this little lake treasure. It was closer to 10 am when I was all packed up and ready to hit the water again. This little island is truly special and I remembered visiting it before with my son, many years ago.

which by the way is a great camp spot sandwiched between Amor and Surprise Lake with a tiny portage in between. I was anticipating this section and it was good to tackle it in the morning with fresh legs and a fresh perspective. Next up was Brewster Lake and it’s one of my favourite lakes to camp and play in – I know it well! Lucky for me the wind was at my back as I launched into Brewster; this was a great sign to start the tail end of this journey and it appeared that I would complete the canoe route in two days, way ahead of my estimated schedule.

I blew through Brewster at lightning speed and was very prepared for the upcoming section as I have done it several times, hosting youth and cultural groups throughout the years. This time of year it’s hard to know what the height of the water will be, and it can create positive and negative impacts on your day. Due to the heat spell, the trickle was low and I literally crawled through most of Whimper, hopping in and out of my boat and hauling through the small pothole and rocky sections. I was blessed with the visit of two young turkey vultures, who simply stared at me struggling to get my kayak over the rocks. I knew they knew that I knew what was up. They were really the first wildlife I encountered, close up, along the entire route. I battled my way through the skinny and low channels leading me towards Fry Lake, finally popping out at the head of Fry, which is another favourite lake of mine. I was excited to stop at the Narrows and have a bite to eat and a quick swim.

I crossed the Lower Campbell with little to no boat traffic on July 2 and kept course for Long Point, ready for my air mattress at base camp and my chocolate stash. The conditions were excellent, and I had no problems as I pulled into the main bay at the point. Four girls camping were on the beach and as I pulled across the finish line, right at 4 pm, one of the young ladies handed me an eagle feather that she had picked up from the sand. She said, “It was here waiting for you.” Exhausted and moved by her words, I accepted the feather and gave her a big smile. “You are very kind to share,” I said, tucking the feather into the seat of my kayak.

And there I was, back on the beach I had launched off of some 28 hours earlier. I abandoned my kayak at the beach, grabbing only what I needed from the boat, trudged up the hill to the camp site, dug out my chocolate and mandarin oranges and crawled into my bed. What a wonderful solo summer adventure off the beaten path, never to be forgotten!

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POWELL RIVER

Underwater view of a Dall's porpoise © Josh McInnes

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WALKING IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS VANCOUVER ISLAND TSUNAMIS

KEALY DONALDSON

It was March 27, 1964, when the first of six tsunami

waves hit the Port Alberni area of Vancouver Island. Sparked by North America's largest earthquake in a century far north in Alaska, the tsunami tore up trees, flung cars and swept homes off their foundation. There was major damage caused by the "wall of water" as residents struggled to recover. Prior to that, there were two tsunami incidents during the same century.

When we say tsunami, up pops a mental image of a single, giant wave rising out of the ocean to swallow cities whole. In reality, tsunamis (meaning 'harbour wave' in Japanese) are a series of waves that start small and grow as they approach land. They are the result of oceans attempting to smooth out their surface after a disturbance.

A massive, magnitude 9.5 earthquake off the coast of Chile caused a 1.2 metre wave in Tofino which ran up along the coast of Vancouver Island in late October of 1960. It inflicted widespread damage to log booms along the coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands and Vancouver Island. The same earthquake caused the infamous tsunamis that obliterated large parts of the Hawaiian town of Hilo. In June 1946, an earthquake on Vancouver Island caused a small tsunami in the northern part of the Strait of Georgia, but it never hit shore. Tsunamis are triggered by any phenomenon that causes a large part of the water’s surface to rise or drop relative to normal sea level. These events are usually the result of earthquakes occurring along undersea fault lines, the cracks in the earth’s crust between tectonic plates. When these plates collide or grind against each other, they can elevate, lower, or tilt major sections of the ocean floor, suddenly offsetting the level of water at the surface. The displaced water then rushes to level out, causing a tsunami. The waves travel outward in all directions from the place where the earthquake occurred, just like the ripples created when a stone is thrown into a lake.

It begs the question… are we prepared? Locally in the Campbell River and Sayward Valley region, Strathcona Regional District is gearing up for virtual regional engagement sessions for further feedback on the community tsunami inundation maps that were recently released.

The Strathcona Regional District (SRD) would like to invite everyone who lives, works or plays in the northwest coast of Vancouver Island from Gold River to Cape Scott Provincial Park to join them in these sessions. Included will be a presentation by Northwest Hydraulic Consultants and Ocean Networks Canada of tsunami mapping followed by an interactive question and answer period.

“Detailed maps of future tsunami flooding (inundation) are needed for the allocation of evacuation routes and long-term planning in vulnerable coastal communities,” said Strathcona Regional District Board Chair Brad Unger. “For the past year, the focus of this project has been obtaining data as well as local knowledge to develop inundation maps for the northwest coast of Vancouver Island. We are excited to be at the project stage where we can now present people with the preliminary maps that show how a tsunami will affect their community.”

“The SRD would like to thank everyone that offered their feedback through the Tsunami Risk Project survey earlier this year. Their input has provided a great deal of support with helping us understand what the community’s concerns are associated to tsunamis and what they have learnt from their past experiences with tsunami on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island,” added SRD Protective Services Coordinator Shaun Koopman.

The Strathcona Regional District (SRD) in partnership with the Ka:’yu:’k’t’h’/Che:k:tles7et’h’ First Nations and Nuchatlaht First Nation have funded the high-resolution tsunami modeling for the northwest coast of Vancouver Island. This is a collaborative endeavor with five First Nations, four municipalities, two Regional Districts and several private and provincial stakeholders.

These virtual presentation and engagement sessions will take place via Zoom on the following days:

Wednesday August 18 | 1:00-2:30 pm Thursday August 19 | 7:00-8:30 pm Wednesday August 25 | 1:00-2:30 pm Thursday August 26 | 7:00-8:30 pm No preregistration is required, and the same content will be presented at each event. The event zoom links are available online at: www.srd.ca/nwvi-tsunami-risk-project