Reed
Paddler
Spent five days in Jervis Inlet, returning yesterday.
The area along the shore between Vancouver Bay and Moorsam Bluff in Prince of Wales Reach is being logged.
Just south of Moorsam Bluff, the company has a floating camp. The terrain is pretty steep, so there are no roads. It looks like they will be using a helicopter to pick logs off the slope and drop them in the water. I'm assuming this is the case. When I went by in the morning, the only thing happening was that a helicopter was ferrying loggers up the slope to work for the day.
As I headed south past the camp, early in the morning, the water was rough and I was bouncing around quite a bit. It was still fairly gloomy. That east side of the inlet doesn't get sun until late in the morning. Past the barge, I realized something looked a little odd up ahead. The rough water stopped suddenly and turned flat. Okay, flat is nice, but why?
A string of logs sticking out from the shore is why. Logs that I initially didn't see in the choppy water. Looking at my GPS track, there is a stretch where I stayed 218 metres off shore (715 feet). I wasn't right next to the logs, so let's say the logs were sticking out 180 metres (roughly 600 feet). At the end of the string, there is a red float, which I easily spotted once I started scanning for a way around the obstacle.
This was not the end of it. The string I saw first was just one side of a box outlined by logs. And .... two more boxes outlined by logs. I don't know whether these boxes are where they will be dropping logs or if they will be used to form up log booms. So, that's it, right? A floating camp with a helicopter buzzing around and three log pens.
Nope! After leaving the pens behind, I pulled back into the shore and continued paddling south towards Vancouver Bay. About four kilometers later I unexpectedly discovered another log string sticking out from the shore. I could tell you that this lower string is located between Wales East and Vancouver Bay North camps. Unfortunately, that won't do you any good. BC Marine Trails is not showing these camps right now. So, you will have to make do with 'just outside Vancouver Bay'.
My reading of this lower string of logs, is that the camp and those log pens will slide down the shore as the logging shifts from north to south. If that's the case, this lower string likely marks the southern extent intended for the logging.
Anyone paddling through this region during the coming months should keep an eye out for a helicopter dropping logs (maybe), water taxis servicing the camp (definitely) and log pens that get moved around over time (likely). In rough water, the logs will be difficult to see. Try to scan further out from the shore and spot the red floats marking the outer edge of the log strings. If possible, use the west shore and stay away from the whole mess.
Oh yes, and hope they don't need to do any dynamiting. When I was paddling in the upper end of Queens Reach, somebody working on a logging road set off an explosion. There I was, totally relaxed, enjoying a lovely morning paddling along in calm water. Suddenly, bang, I'm bolt upright, looking around to see if any rocks are coming my way. Quite loud you could say.
The area along the shore between Vancouver Bay and Moorsam Bluff in Prince of Wales Reach is being logged.
Just south of Moorsam Bluff, the company has a floating camp. The terrain is pretty steep, so there are no roads. It looks like they will be using a helicopter to pick logs off the slope and drop them in the water. I'm assuming this is the case. When I went by in the morning, the only thing happening was that a helicopter was ferrying loggers up the slope to work for the day.
As I headed south past the camp, early in the morning, the water was rough and I was bouncing around quite a bit. It was still fairly gloomy. That east side of the inlet doesn't get sun until late in the morning. Past the barge, I realized something looked a little odd up ahead. The rough water stopped suddenly and turned flat. Okay, flat is nice, but why?
A string of logs sticking out from the shore is why. Logs that I initially didn't see in the choppy water. Looking at my GPS track, there is a stretch where I stayed 218 metres off shore (715 feet). I wasn't right next to the logs, so let's say the logs were sticking out 180 metres (roughly 600 feet). At the end of the string, there is a red float, which I easily spotted once I started scanning for a way around the obstacle.
This was not the end of it. The string I saw first was just one side of a box outlined by logs. And .... two more boxes outlined by logs. I don't know whether these boxes are where they will be dropping logs or if they will be used to form up log booms. So, that's it, right? A floating camp with a helicopter buzzing around and three log pens.
Nope! After leaving the pens behind, I pulled back into the shore and continued paddling south towards Vancouver Bay. About four kilometers later I unexpectedly discovered another log string sticking out from the shore. I could tell you that this lower string is located between Wales East and Vancouver Bay North camps. Unfortunately, that won't do you any good. BC Marine Trails is not showing these camps right now. So, you will have to make do with 'just outside Vancouver Bay'.
My reading of this lower string of logs, is that the camp and those log pens will slide down the shore as the logging shifts from north to south. If that's the case, this lower string likely marks the southern extent intended for the logging.
Anyone paddling through this region during the coming months should keep an eye out for a helicopter dropping logs (maybe), water taxis servicing the camp (definitely) and log pens that get moved around over time (likely). In rough water, the logs will be difficult to see. Try to scan further out from the shore and spot the red floats marking the outer edge of the log strings. If possible, use the west shore and stay away from the whole mess.
Oh yes, and hope they don't need to do any dynamiting. When I was paddling in the upper end of Queens Reach, somebody working on a logging road set off an explosion. There I was, totally relaxed, enjoying a lovely morning paddling along in calm water. Suddenly, bang, I'm bolt upright, looking around to see if any rocks are coming my way. Quite loud you could say.
