June 15 – Short Walks at Pacific Rim

We are down to our second tier of things to do here. We could spend a bunch of money and take one of the whale watching trips but we have been on several of these in other places. Also when we go on our tour into Haidi Gwaii it will be by zodiac so we should get our fill of small boats.

We just did some of the shorter hikes in the park for completeness. I circled the places we went on the park map.

First up were the two Rainforest Trail loops, one on each side of the highway. Each is just over a kilometer. They weren’t really that different but we did both of them. Just to add to the ambiance of the rain forest, as soon as we parked it started to rain. Not very heavy but enough to put on raincoats.

Someone in the parking lot really likes stickers. It will probably need a repaint to ever be sold.

Both trails are entirely boardwalk, made somewhat slippery by the rain. There were not a lot of flat sections.

What goes down (and down, and down),

 

Must eventually come up.

Lots of big western cedars and hemlock.

I could see lots of faces in this stump.

Jennie didn’t mind this bridge. The floor was a giant tree that had fallen so it was really stable.

Over on the other loop, the first section was flat so we thought that we might catch a break.

Nope. This side had even more stairs.

Jennie just fit under this tree. She said she could feel it with her hair.

She was really moving it here. Just a blur of blue off in the distance.

I guess the skunk cabbage will be in bloom soon.

Next up was the 0.8 km Shorepine Bog Trail. It was a really easy flat boardwalk. We were also back in the sunshine.

It was kind of strange to see this small bog area with all the stunted old trees surrounded by all the giants.

The rain was coming our way though.

We were right on the edge.

Jennie liked the size of the trees here.

Checking out the plants.

The signboard said that there should be some carnivorous plants here. I think this might be a pitcher plant without the pitcher.

It started to get darker but no rain.

And out.

We finally made it to the beach at Florencia Bay but we cheated and drove.

Carefully negotiating the logs to get out.

Time for some lunch. That line of dark clouds is advancing our way.

Watching the ever present surfers waiting for the right wave.

She took the easy way in.

While we were sitting there a helicopter swooped and landed far down the beach. It only stayed a few minutes before taking off again.

Jennie thought that this cloud looked like a shark.

We started to wander down the beach.

We saw something that we have never seen before. Every time a wave would come in, the sand would erupt with little bumps that floated out with the wave. Once the water was gone the bumps would sink back into the sand and it would be smooth again.

It was really hard to get a picture because they would disappear so quickly.

From this horribly blown up shot I would guess from the legs that they are tiny crabs.

It was quite mesmerizing to watch.

Little fishies.

Farther down, the sand was covered in these crazy scribbles.

There was whatever this thing is at the head of each one.

Jennie turned over a rock and we wondered if these were baby sand worms from the Dune planet Arrakis. Probably not. It is too wet here.

Darker and darker.

And then …

We got two separate showers. They were not really hard but enough to get us to dash to the cover of the tree line for a few minutes until they passed.

Heading back in the sunshine.

And back up the long set of stairs.

One last look.