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Question about Toquart Bay Parking

C

cyberhun

Paddler
Joined
Jul 19, 2006
Messages
254
When you park at Toquart Bay, Barkley Sound, is it all 'paid parking' only, like in Telegraph Cove, for instance, where the traffic is funnelled into 'all-pay' areas where every inch of road is staked out with huge signs saying, 'You Must Pay to Park Or Face Dire Consequences Such as the Costly Abduction of Your Vehicle ...', etc, etc.
Also, is this where the camping fees are collected for the Broken Group?
 
Cyber, you'd be well advised to park in the official lot, for $3/night (as of two years ago) in lieu of the side of the access road or some lonely spot. There are lots of people around at the designated lot, and much less potential for car clouting.

Camping fees are collected at the eight campsites by attendants who scoot around to the eight sites, daily. Looks like the fee runs about $10/night these days.
 
Yeah, eh Dave? Hmmm. I don't know why I resent these parking fees so much. But you never used to have all this nit-picky, money-grubbing behaviour, and for some reason it just rubs me the wrong way. But it's false economy, I know, to spend several hours looking for somewhere "free", only to have the car vandalized like mine was at Storey's Beach in Port Hardy.
By the way, if anybody needs to launch from Port Hardy, PM me, I've got an excellent, totally free, and (so far) safe from vandalism too, parking spot. I parked there prior to my last jaunt across QCSound, leaving it there for ten days, and no problems.
 
Pay a few bucks and have a smile on your face while doing it.

You're using the resources of the community by being there (roads, water, etc) so it doesn't hurt to put a few bucks into their community. I generally buy a few restaurant meals, purchase fuel, and pick up last minute supplies if needed. I certainly don't balk about paying a few dollars to park my car (in their community) for several days. In Bamfield we paid $3 per night for parking and $2.50 to launch each kayak. I was happy to do so.

Bear in mind that the people living in these small communities also have a need to keep their economies going. Another thing to think about is that when you go into Vancouver (or White Rock, or any many other lower mainland communities) you have to pay for parking there too -- and generally you're paying a whole lot more than $3 or $4 per day.

btw: the little cafe in Bamfield has excellent food and the great service was well worth leaving a tip for.

*****
 
another question comes to mind.

when camping in the gulf islands park, where fees are by the honour system. how do we feel about paying those fees? to me, it seems like 5$ a night is pretty cheap lodgeing, and i always pay it. i may not include all the info that they ask for on the envelope, but i pay for the nights i stayed, just the same.

DarenN..........
 
What Dan said about supporting these small communities in the outback. If we don't, they won't be there some day when we need them. BTW, Cyber, there is (was?) the equivalent of a convenience store west of TB, on the adjacent IR, with ice, staples, etc., in case you forget something No alcohol.

Bamfield is one of my fave west coast spots. I suspect it is the power boatin' salmon-slayers that keep Bamfield in business these days, but kayakers are very visible there. Some nice B and B's, too. Check out the Boardwalk for a treat on a warm afternoon.
 
Dan_Millsip said:
You're using the resources of the community by being there (roads, water, etc)*****
Click to expand...

Not really. I think road funding is either provincial or federal so I don't think I'm "consuming their resources..." just by driving there. I live in a large city where most of the tax money is generated to begin with, and so having roads built way out into the sticks could be seen as being a consumption of MY resources, and hence shouldn't they be subsidizing my activities, not vice versa --- I know, that's bullshit but I was just making a point about how it's all how you choose to look at things
I bring my own water and etc with me, and even if I didn't, if you're asserting that I should give somebody money because I put a few liters of water into a container, you're overvaluing water in my humble opinion.
If the choice is between pay parking or a vandalized vehicle obviously the choice is pay up. But not only is this NOT the case at least in most remote places I've experienced, but it's only recently that this money grubbing, pay-parking trend has really put the screws to folks. It didn't used to be that way. I dove at Telegraph Harbor in the late 70's (the octopus at 90 feet is still there, apparantly), and nobody gave a damn where you parked. Now, it's laughable the way every centimeter of roadside is so exhaustively staked out with these "YOU MUST PAY..." signs. It must have cost a fortune just for all the signs. It turns me off, and many of my friends feel the same way and simply don't go there at all.
Sadly, this is probably just the thin end of the 'money-grubbing' wedge, and in a while, all of the out-of-the-way little spots will be similarly staked out.
If I was better off financially (I'm on a medical disability pension, that explains my need for frugality, sad to say) I'd be generous with it, too.
If you can afford to do all that and still go 'yakking --- good for you. It must be nice.
 
Astoriadave said:
If we don't, they won't be there some day when we need them.
Click to expand...
and we need them now.... more than ever in this increasingly over developed world, I'd like to park for free when I go into 'the big city', but it ain't going to happen! Often my wife & I have to go (medical reasons, not by choice) we have to pay for parking, even at the hospitals.. we want that facility therefore we must pay for it... as with most other things in life. We're on a fixed income too & I guess folks like us just have to budget more carefully than many perhaps.

Cyber said.. "I live in a large city where most of the tax money is generated to begin with, (& where most of it is also spent :evil: ) and so having roads built way out into the sticks could be seen as being a consumption of MY resources, and hence shouldn't they be subsidizing my activities, not vice versa --- I know, that's bullshit"

Your solution??? Let those who can look after themselves do so & screw the rest who can't? Why say something like that when you admit it's BS? :roll:
 
Cyber, it puzzles me how a few bucks for parking (a very small part of the total cost of getting to a place like Toquart Bay) can become a major issue for you. If the parking fee annoys you, then the camping fee ought to annoy you, also. There is a reasonable solution to this: go to areas where you do not have to pay to park or camp. That's what a reasonable person would do. In the Deer Group, for example, there are no fees to camp, outside IR's. Yes, you need to pay to park, bcause parking is very scarce in Bamfield, and there is not enough "public" parking to handle all those who want to park there. Visiting Clayoquot Sound is about the same deal.

As to "it ain't the way it used to be [paraphrase]": what is?

I'll stick by Dan's espoused efforts to put some bucks into the local economy when I visit a remote place. I want those businesses and services to be there the next time I visit.
 
Kermode said:
Your solution??? Let those who can look after themselves do so & screw the rest who can't? Why say something like that when you admit it's BS? :roll:
Click to expand...

To make a point?

I never said, "Let those who can look after themselves do so & screw the rest who can't." Where did that come from?
 
Astoriadave said:
Cyber, it puzzles me how a few bucks for parking (a very small part of the total cost of getting to a place like Toquart Bay) can become a major issue for you. If the parking fee annoys you, then the camping fee ought to annoy you, also. There is a reasonable solution to this: go to areas where you do not have to pay to park or camp. That's what a reasonable person would do. In the Deer Group, for example, there are no fees to camp, outside IR's. Yes, you need to pay to park, bcause parking is very scarce in Bamfield, and there is not enough "public" parking to handle all those who want to park there. Visiting Clayoquot Sound is about the same deal.

As to "it ain't the way it used to be [paraphrase]": what is?

I'll stick by Dan's espoused efforts to put some bucks into the local economy when I visit a remote place. I want those businesses and services to be there the next time I visit.
Click to expand...

It isn't a "major issue", for me Dave, it's just something I find somewhat annoying.
I'm all for pumping money into economies---I wish I had more of it to pump with.
I'm interested in this "Deer Group" --- where is it?
 
I'm reading up on "Deer Group" --- but where could one launch from? I bet I could find free parking in Port Alberni! Then it's only a 40km paddle down the Alberni Canal --- hmmm, you've got me thinking now, Dave.
 
Geez. No matter how you look at it, you're using resources of local communities when you leave your car somewhere. This is not difficult to comprehend and as has been said (quite eloquently) above, if you don't like it, find somewhere else to paddle.

WRT to the Deer Group, you'll have to pay to park if you put in anywhere near there. But go ahead and save a few measley dollars and paddle the 40+ kms along Alberni Inlet if you think it's a better deal for all concerned -- my guess is that paddling Alberni Inlet is not as nice as you might think.

I'll continue to be grateful to the small communities that put up with people leaving their cars for several days on the sides of roads and in parking lots by tossing a few (and usually very few) dollars their way.

I ask that you please don't dissect every point in my post -- I really don't wish to argue any of these points any further with you -- I think the point has been adequately made by myself and others posting in this thread. To me, paying a few bucks to ensure that some of the services that I would like to utilize in these small towns just makes sense and there's absolutely nothing wrong with it.

And fwiw, I interpreted your posts to basically say the same thing that Kermode did.

*****
 
CH wrote: I'm interested in this "Deer Group" --- where is it?

Drive to PA. Follow logging road to Bamfield. DG is chain of islands parallel (more or less) to SE shore of Barkley Sound. About 3-5 nm SE of BG, across Imperial Eagle Channel.

The 40 klicks down PA Inlet is a known wind tunnel, always blowing in your face :wink: , studded with log dumps and clear cuts (excuse: cut blocks). Halfway down PA Inlet, you'll wish you had spent the $3/night to park in Bamfield at the Grappler ramp.

Check out this thread: http://www.westcoastpaddler.com/communi ... php?t=1281

Or, buy Mary Ann Snowden's excellent guide to Barkley Sound and Clayoquot Sound. Much good info in there: access, cool spots, etc.
 
Geez --- for a guy who "doesn't want to argue these points any further", you've sure argued them darn pretty far to begin with.
So, stop arguing them then, if that's what you want to do--- I'm certainly not stopping you.
It's just a friendly discussion about a paddling-related issue, isn't it? If I said something that somebody interprets as some kind of insult, I assure you this was not intended. I think it's a good thing for people to have opposing viewpoints.
;)

Nevertheless, the argument that when you leave a car parked by the side of a road in some community you should subsidize them financially because you're "consuming their resources" is invalid, in my opinion, only because I don't think resources are being consumed, it's not intended as some kind of personal affront against anybody who thinks otherwise.




lol
 
Astoriadave said:
Bamfield is one of my fave west coast spots. I suspect it is the power boatin' salmon-slayers that keep Bamfield in business these days, but kayakers are very visible there. Some nice B and B's, too. Check out the Boardwalk for a treat on a warm afternoon.
Click to expand...
Mmmm... ice cream treats in Bamfield:

ice-cream.jpg


*****
 
I can see why Barkley Sound is popular, but for my tastes, it's too crowded, at least, at this time of year. I will do Barkley, but not in August. After having done my homework on this area just now, I've decided to head north to Port Hardy again, and spend more time exploring Nigei, Balaklava, Hurst, Bell, etc Islands and then up Goletas Channel and around Cape Sutil as far as Cape Scott, but not around it. That's 180km return, just right for the time I have, AND there'll be no "GIVE US MONEY OR WE KIDNAP YOUR CAR", signs, and no people showing up demanding money for various fees, money that I don't have to begin with.
;)
Don't get me wrong, I do understand the concept of user pay and I'm a beleiver in free markets, I'm just on a VERY restricted budget and as much as intensive management is necessary when use is heavy, I personally prefer to be where the use isn't so heavy to start with. I didn't really realize how intensively managed Barkley Sound was. Intensively managed, heavily used areas aren't my cup of tea. I suppose when an area does become heavily used though, then these user-pay fees are the way to go to keep numbers down and pay for services, absolutely --- in the meantime, I'll pull up stakes and head further north.
This ten dollar a day camping fee --- if I had to pay that, I couldn't afford to go at all.
 
Ok Cyberhun - I'll bite! I don't normally get personal but you keep bringing up that you are on a fixed income - medical disability - as if you should get a break....
...such as Cyberhun said "...having roads built way out into the sticks could be seen as being a consumption of MY resources, and hence shouldn't they be subsidizing my activities, not vice versa..." as well as many other comments in this thread...
So how come you are able to solo across QC Sound solo etc. and you are on medical disability? If you don't want to answer that's fine too but it seems that if you can paddle all these distances you could be paying your way in this world as well...at least paying to park your car at someone else's home(town), no? :? They are your hosts while you are there!
With all due respect,
Kathy
 
The disability is foot and lower back-related. I'd prefer to hike but can't do that--- hence the paddling. I never said I should "get a break" because I'm on this subsidy, like I never said any of this was, "A major issue" for me.
Anybody else want to jump on the bandwagon?
 
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