Haida Gwaii: Moresby Island

BOU AVENUE
Haida Gwaii: Moresby Island

At the midway point of our tour of British Columbia's Haida Gwaii, Zosia Zgolak and I had a rest day of sorts on 9 August 2021. After checking out of the quaint Bunkhouse Campground Resort (staying here was a unique experience in itself), we spent the first part of the day poking around the village of Queen Charlotte. A favourite highlight was seeing a variety of sea creatures at the local marina. We later hiked to Spirit Lake--actually two separate lakes--near the village of Skidegate, and while the network of trails here are well-maintained, I found both the lakes and the hike to be underwhelming. Following this, we went grocery shopping to stock up on food before taking the ferry over to Moresby Island.

Arriving at Alliford Bay on Moresby Island, Zosia and I did a quick loop of the Onward Point trail which culminates at a gazebo overlooking Skidegate Inlet. Like Spirit Lake, there is nothing remarkable about this hike, and we quickly moved on to stop for dinner at a roadside rest area. From there, we drove east to the village of Sandspit where we enjoyed a short walk to Spit Point near the north end of the local airport. Rounding out our day was a bumpy drive south on back-roads to Sheldens Bay. The free campground at Sheldens Bay feels remote and neglected, and the access road is not easy to drive. Not surprisingly, we had it all to ourselves when we camped there for the night.

Parking is apparently expensive in the village of Queen Charlotte on Graham Island.

Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak

A shield-backed kelp crab and sea anemone are among the many interesting creatures that can be found at the Queen Charlotte marina during low tide.

Can I get some ranch dressing with this?

This looks like a starfish salad!

	Just below a strange fluid-filled orange sac is a tunicate of some sort opening its mouth.
	A couple of jellyfish bob amongst some anemones beside the docks at the marina.
	Sonny stands smartly next to a government vessel. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	The daily ferry between Skidegate (Graham Island) and Alliford Bay (Moresby Island) runs nearly every hour. Reservations are unnecessary, and payment is only required when departing from Skidegate. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Zosia approaches something on the beach at Spit Point near the village of Sandspit on Moresby Island.
	Sitting on the beach is an oystercatcher. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Sonny does his best impression of Moses as the tide slowly recedes from the spit at Spit Point.
	"Spirit of Sandspit" is a sculpture of a salmon created by local artist Lon Sharp. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	This picnic table at the campground near Sheldens Bay has a tree growing out of it. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	This is one of many little crabs found at Sheldens Bay during low tide. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak

On the morning of 10 August 2021, Zosia and I had breakfast at Sheldens Bay before driving out the difficult access road. The campground at Sheldens Bay will likely disappear when the forest swallows it up completely in a few years. The free campground at our next destination, Gray Bay, was much more vibrant in comparison. Many of the campsites stretched along the crescent-shaped beach were occupied when we arrived in the morning, but we still found a few nice empty ones away from the crowds. After setting up camp, we went for a leisurely walk along the beach to Gray Point to the east. With the tide out, we spotted a lot of live crabs hiding in the sand along the way. It is possible to continue southward past Gray Point for a multi-day trek, but having already done a long beach walk only three days earlier, we were content to just stop at a nearby intermittent island for an extended break before returning to our campsite. As we prepared to return to camp, we were a bit shocked to see that the tide had come in. We were still easily able to walk off the island before becoming stranded, but we had to take a slightly longer route back to camp along the shoreline (round-trip distance of 10.7 kilometres in 6 hours 47 minutes). We spent the remainder of the day relaxing on the beach near our campsite.

	The tide is out at Sheldens Bay as Sonny eats breakfast with a tainted jug of orange juice. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	The access road to Sheldens Bay is badly overgrown. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	The tide is still out at Gray Bay as Zosia begins her hike to Gray Point.
	A sea otter escapes into the ocean after being startled by Sonny and Zosia. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Zosia heads toward Gray Point in the distance.
	Sonny finds lots of live crabs partially buried in the sand. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	This Dungeness crab almost looks big enough to eat.

Waterproof boots are a must here!

This rocky section of Gray Bay is a bit more challenging to walk across.

	A black bear wanders along the tide line at Gray Point. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	An intermittent island near Gray Point can only be reached by foot during low tide.
	Zosia and Sonny stand on the intermittent island near Gray Point.
	Sonny watches the path to the island shrink because of the incoming tide. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak

Gray Bay looks beautiful though at high tide.

With the tide in, Zosia has to take a slightly longer route along the shoreline to get back to the campground.

	The beach at Gray Bay is perhaps one of the finest in all of Haida Gwaii.
	Sonny catches a Pacific tree frog lurking in the campsite. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Zosia goes for a dip in Gray Bay.
	Zosia uses binoculars to get a closer look at Gray Point on the horizon. The intermittent island is also barely visible.
	Gray Bay abounds with hermit crabs.

Zosia and I enjoyed a nice breakfast on the beach at Gray Bay on the morning of 11 August 2021. After packing up our camp, we drove to a nearby trailhead and hiked to Secret Cove which is just slightly north of Gray Bay. We had some fun scrambling on some of the rocks here before returning to the trailhead. We then hit the dusty back-roads again with a brief stop at Skidegate Lake and then lunch at Mosquito Lake Recreation Site (day use area and free campground).

At Mosquito Lake, Zosia and I discovered that the jug of orange juice that we bought two days earlier had burst inside our cooler. The best-before date was not until the end of August, but somehow, the juice had gone bad. I had already noticed that the juice tasted rather tangy the day before but mistakenly attributed it to the particular brand. Furthermore, the deviled egg salad that we bought also tasted a bit funky, and we ended up tossing that out as well. Fortunately, neither of us had any perceivable ill effects from ingesting some of the tainted food, but I was still choked up about paying so much for the jug of bad orange juice! I had Tang orange crystals as a backup, but they are a poor substitute for real orange juice.

After lunch, Zosia and I drove to Moresby Camp Recreation Site at the head of Cumshewa Inlet. There is a spacious (and free) campground here next to a huge parking lot used by commercial operators for launching boat tours to Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site. While some RV enthusiasts were camping in the parking lot, the campground itself was surprisingly deserted. Since we did not have a boat tour reservation, we had to content ourselves with poking about Moresby Camp for the rest of the day.

	Zosia finds Secret Cove deserted in the morning.
	Zosia practices her figure skating pose on the rocks near Secret Cove.
	This hermit crab has a remarkably beautiful home. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Deadheads and lily pads populate Skidegate Lake. Mount Moresby, the highest mountain in Haida Gwaii, is visible on the right horizon. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Zosia looks ready to kiss this wooden fish at Mosquito Lake Recreation Site. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Zosia has an unobstructed view of Cumshewa Inlet from this strip of land near Moresby Camp.
	Mount Moresby (centre) is visible from the same strip of land.