September 3, 2015
James and I often go out to Rupert Inlet to camp with his son, Dakota, and daughter-in-law, Cassandra, and a lot of their friends and neighbours. The land is owned by Western Forest Products, and people get to camp there by their good graces. The sites are undeveloped, but there are the necessary couple of outhouses for sanitation, and the view is amazing! The time spent there is taken up by catching prawns and crab, digging for clams, picking berries and sea asparagus, cooking, eating, drinking and socializing around the fire…the usual North Island weekend warrior kind of stuff. It doesn’t make for much of a story; or, it makes for too much of a story…so I won’t bother delving into it. I will simply cut down my workload and share some of our photos. On this trip James brought his daughter Tyra and her dog Sweetie up from Campbell River. One afternoon James, Tyra, Sweetie, Chloe and I broke away from the party and went kayaking out onto the inlet. On the way back, we kayaked up Rupert Creek, passing under the bridge and winding through the forest until we could go no further. Coming back around the estuary, Tyra noticed a house in the bush and wanted to check it out. Being adventurous and curious people, we obliged her and found quite a surprise indeed! It was an abandoned house, slowly destructing over the years and pregnant with hidden stories.
To get to Rupert Arm, turn left from Highway 19 at the Port Alice turnoff to Highway 30, “The Port Alice Road.” Follow it for 10.6 kilometres, until you reach a gravel road crossing the pavement, and take a right onto Hardy Main. Follow the gravel road until it loops around. It should only take a few minutes go get there. Be careful to stay on the main road. There are at least a half dozen possible wrong turns you could take that could lead you heck knows where! You will pass the fork in the road that leads to Varney Bay to your left, so stay right. After the loop, you will start noticing the inlet through the trees and several driveways going to the shore. One is private property and the other ones lead to camping spots. When you see the outhouses, the main road veers away. You need to get off the road before it does. Take the left fork by the outhouses and it will lead you to the last camping site, which is the one we usually camp at. Keep in mind, they tend to fill up on weekends, especially long weekends in the summer, so get there early, go there during the week, or have an alternative in mind in case it’s full. Maybe James, Chloe and I will see your there someday!
Tyra and Sweetie.
Texting on the kayak.
A happy dad.
Captain Chloe on the bridge.
House in the trees.
Checking things out.
Leaning with the years. *
That last party must have been a doozie.*
Winding stairway to nowhere.
Chloe and Sweetie investigating.
Barbie a casualty.
Ferns growing on the roof.
Harmony in green.
View of Rupert Inlet.