Rainbow Colored Cliffs

Vancouver Island
West Coast Trail

The camp at Culet Cove was really far out. The beach was enclosed by
rainbow colored cliffs. For hikers going from south to north, it was
not a place that you would arrive at after a full day's hike. It was
perfect for the girls though; as it turned out they were deliberately
trying to go slow, so their friend could catch up. Mike and I liked
the place so much that we decided to stay. The girls told us that the
rest of the trail was not as awesome anyway. According to them, there
was a large waterfall and another river you had to cross, but except
for those two scenic wonders, the best part of the trail was behind
us. From Culet Cove to Bamfield it was mostly beach hiking. Apparently
the river that had to be crossed (if you were going to Bamfield) was
deep. There was a raft to put your packs on. That sounded like fun,
too bad we had to miss it.

Actually, Mike and I wanted to hike the whole trail, but that meant
we would have had to hitchhike back to our truck from Bamfield, not a
happy thought. When the girls left in the morning we said good-bye,
and then proceeded to take over their campsite. We had the place to
ourselves, and the weather didn't disappoint. It was hot and sunny.

We tried out hand at ocean fishing, but didn't catch anything. Mike
did manage to catch a few small trout in the stream that extended
inland, but he threw them back because they were to small to eat. We
spent most of our time lying around in the sun. I did spend one
afternoon trying to see what the shipwrecked sailors had to contend
with only I did it in reverse. I started from the trail and tried to
get to the beach. After getting lost, I finally returned to the trail,
bleeding, sweaty, and disappointed. I never left the beach after that.

Culet Cove was the ideal vacation spot. The whole time we were there,
we were chaperoned by a friendly sea lion. Actually, we were his
guests, since it was his home. In the daytime, he would stay out
around the kelp, swimming. At night, however, he would come in close
to shore. Maybe that was his way of showing us his hospitality.
Whatever it was, Mike and I sure enjoyed him.