You can spend days walking the beaches between Ucluelet and Tofino, and in the process discover why some folks spend their whole lives caught up in the surf and tidal rhythms here. Radar Beach, Long Beach, Combers Beach, and Wickaninnish Beach run successively from north to south and stretch for 15.5 miles (25 km) between Cox and Quisitas Points. Together they comprise the Long Beach Unit of beaches, and the most visited portion of the park. Despite its popularity, Long Beach remains a magical place of sand and surf, sea lions and starfish.
Friendly Faces
Andrew writes: Terry, the wood carver; not just any carver though, he uses a chainsaw. I asked him how he got started and he told me his story.
“I was lost in life and didn’t know what to do, or where to go. So one day, I flew my plane up the coast and landed it on this beach. I spent some days on that stretch of beach, thinking about the direction my life should take. Then I saw this log, and and took to it with my chainsaw as if compelled by a higher power. The end result was a black bear. It was then that I knew my calling.”
I asked him whatever happened to the bear, and he shrugged.
“The log was so big, no one could get it off that beach, so it’s probably still there…30 years later.”
Today’s Highlights
Andrew writes: Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP) with Megan. Megan is a water-baby; born and bred to be in and around boats and the water. She is comfortable at sea aboard any vessel. What I really enjoy is how encouraging Megan is with Amanda whenever we get out on a SUP with her. In my case, I end up spending more time *in* the water than I do on the board. With her help though, I was able to stay steady enough to catch my first wave. What a rush!
Today’s Lowlights
Andrew writes: Cold. Foggy. This is beach weather!? It is in Long Beach. Fortunately the 5mm wetsuit I was wearing made swimming in the ocean bearable. Outside of the water, I was actually a little too warm. I guess I should get used to cooler temperatures since next week we’ll be in Inuvik where the average temperature is 10C.
Andrew writes…
I enjoyed a nice sleep-in in the tent with Amanda. Oh wait, let me back up a bit. Before we came on this trip, we made sure to ask Megan to pack us a tent, since all of our gear was shipped to Inuvik before we left. Her words to us were, “No problem, we’ll have everything you need – just bring a sleeping bag”. I remember when we were packing that I was giving Amanda grief for packing her sleeping bag.
“It’ll be too hot! We won’t need it”, I scolded her.
“I want to bring it, and I’m carrying it, so that’s that,” she fired back.
Fast-forward to last night, just before we crawled into the tent.
“Where’s the sleeping bag?” I asked, shivering in the cool night air.
“You said not to bring it,” she answered, just as cooly.
Fortunately, Megan had an extra sleeping bag for us, and it turned out to be perfect.
Ok, so we wake up, and Denisha (Paul’s niece) made everyone pancakes. Then there was a bit of running around as we moved two campsites over. The new campsite is on a corner, and seems a lot(?) better than the previous one. Around noon, we drove up to the Relic Surf Shop (www.relicsurfshop.com) to rent some SUP’s and wetsuits and what not. The staff were really friendly, and were quick to fix a billing mistake. Even though it took a few minutes, I never got the feeling like the staff were frustrated with us. Everything about Relic is laid-back and loose. Soon enough we were on our way, and we headed down the road to Long Beach.
Long Beach is in the Pacific Rim National Park, and everyone who uses the park needs a “permit”. Somehow, between parking the car/RV and checking out where we were on the beach, we ended up with parking tickets. It’s OK though. The tickets just ask us to pay the permit fee, and we have 7 days to do so. We paid on our way out and the Parks Canada staff were super-friendly.
It was pretty cold at the beach, and socked in with fog. There was so much fog that we couldn’t see the water until we were practically standing in it. The tide was out though, so the edge of the water was pretty far away. Paul and the kids started making sand castles while Megan and I suited up to hit the water. Amanda stood by taking pictures of everything. Thanks for the photos today Amanda!
As cold as the water was barefoot, as soon as I had my wetsuit on, I was nice and toasty warm. We quickly paddled out past the break, and the group of surfers there were really nice and gave us lots of room. The first wave came on the horizon and Megan started paddling, and I started paddling, and WHOOSH! Megan was surfing, and I was coughing up seaweed. I pulled myself back up onto the board, and a short time later I was hooting and hollering, the wave foaming blue, green and white underneath me. What a thrill! What a rush! A similar rush to cycling, except…wetter? I love being in the water and really look forward to when we get to a warmer climate so we can spend more time learning how to surf and whatnot.
We may have burned ourselves out at the beach, as when we left around 5pm everyone was pretty tired. We were also STARVING! A short trip to the store produced a bag of potato chips and liquorice which was quickly consumed. That was enough to tide us over until some hamburgers and hotdogs could be cooked on the grill. It’s so nice sitting at a table with friends, laughing and sharing the little things that we each experienced today.
Dinner reinvigorated us, as towards the end of the meal Megan challenged someone to go out on the water in search of the crab trap we had put down yesterday. Terry loaned me a kayak, and Megan hopped on her paddle board and away we went. I was really amazed at the dexterity Megan showed by pulling up the heavy trap, opening it, and releasing the lone female occupant, all without getting wet! We had the wind in our face on the way back to camp, but it was a lovely night to be out on the water. When we got back, Paul had started a campfire and everyone was making s’mores. The kids went to bed and the adults played cards, and all was right with the world.
I just really enjoy being outside, playing, whether it’s in the snow, the water, or with two wheels between my legs. I am the little boy, inviting you outside to play! Where shall we go tomorrow??
Today’s Photographs
