San Josef Bay

Well, It was a trip that started out with a plan, then it took a plan of its own.

I had never been to the northern tip of Vancouver Island before, despite being born and raised here. I had a bucket list for the year 2025, and this trip was one of them. It so happens that I have a new frie

nd, who I met a few years ago that enjoys all the deep wood outdoorsy stuff, some of which far more intense then me. Anya, will go out on her own, and camp in the middle of the woods for days. I'm not sure I'm there yet, or will ever be, but I am inspired. Anyways, she agreed to come with me on this trip, so we laid out a good plan. Its about six hours one way from where we live, so it was decided that we would camp three nights. One night half way there, one night at San Josef Bay beach, and one night half way home. All the camping sites are free first grab spots, and we packed super small so thought it wouldn't be an issue (foreshadowing). Both of us were excited to see some beautiful views!

So the first day we packed up and headed out !

On our way, we stopped in at Little Huson Caves, and WOW that was so stunning. We walked the trail there, and when we stepped down to the cave mouth my jaw dropped. Now, this isn't a traditional cave that goes deep into the earth. This is a cave that a river flows through. The river bed, the cave itself, and the surrounding area is marbled solid rock. You could see a variety of different rock types compacted into each other through millions of years of formation. The river created art over millennia. The water was so clear it reminded me of emeralds, and there were fish you could clearly see hanging out traveling up the river bed. The sounds were unique as the opening of the huge cave face and tunnel created an eco of water rapid sounds. I looked down the river at the river banks that had trees thriving along it despite the solid rock below. They hugged the river in a unique way that I hadn't seen before. The sides of the river were surreal. Beige rock and emerald green/blue water with the sun shining down was just magnificent. It was one of those moments in nature that is hard to describe with words. From there we stopped by the lake near by, and it was beautiful to, I will have to go back for a swim in the future.

Okay, so back on the road again.

We found the Logging road we decided on before we left to stay the night. This road has free camping spots that are meant for travelers, they were full, as it was busy season. The first spot we decided we didn't want to stay in cause it was packed with logging workers about to party, we both weren't in the mood to stay and party with them, also, there really wasn't a great spot to put our tent up anyways, despite its small size. We moved on and found a spot that looked perfect, there were three open areas with tables and a lake view that I could wake to. One camper with a truck was parked, but we didn't think anything of it and started setting up. As Anya was setting up the tent, we both hear a dog growling behind us. Looking at the dog we realize he is alerting his owner. Out from behind the tree comes am older man, I would guess mind 60s looking pretty unhappy. "I was here first" he declarers. We both are on edge and in high alert. Anya speaks up and says " there are three other camping spots here".

"My Dog isn't going to like that very much" he adds. Well, that was it, we were not going to argue with a threat, cause it wasn't worth staying at that point. We drove around a bit, I saw a beautiful spot I regret not taking a reference photo of now, and we did find a small spot to stay the night.

The next morning we packed up early and were on our way again. First stop was Telegraph Cove. Last year, they had a massive fire and the museum along with many building's burned down, so it was really good to see them re building. I had never been there before. They have many old homes along a dock, and everything is painted in a bright red. It looked like they had a really nice bear and whale watching set up as well as good food. We stopped in at the local Gallery and met the very friendly owner. It was full of beautiful wood carvings that came with a very familiar wood sent that filled the space. I highly suggest stopping in next time anyone is there, Don is super talented himself, and curates his gallery perfectly.

Once we were done in telegraph Cove we jumped in the car and were on our way to San Josef Bay. Even though the Bay is a remote location it was FULL of people. I was a little shocked although it is peek vacation season and its a very popular spot to share on social media so maybe it shouldn't have been a surprise. It didn't bother me, I love people, I was just expecting less people so far out. Its about an hour walk, down a trail to the beach where we were going to camp for the night, so we backed our bags and were ready to go. Down the trail we were meet with giant magnificent trees that looked like cedars but were light beige in colour and had huge knots in the their trunks. They may have been yellow cedar trees, but I will be doing more research on them to find out before I paint one. The path and surrounding forest seemed to be well cared for despite the heavy human traffic, which I was pleased to see. When we came up to the beach I was

in awe. It was magical. The sand was fine and soft, the open sea was vast but had mountains that stretched half way across the inlet to create a pleasing composition to look upon. I looked to my right and spotted the famous unique stacks and couldn't wait to get close. Once I was close I studied the rock formation of the stacks and surrounding cliffs with wind designed trees growing atop. It was like beinf in the presence a celerity for me, as I have seen so may people share this spot online. Anya decided to leave and grab us some fresh water to cook with, and took her water filtration device and left. I decided to stay, take photos and soak it all in. About 45 mins later, Anya comes back ready for us to return to our set up tent and cook food. Once we both arrive to our tent we realize our dinner is gone. At first we think the best, and look around if we left the bag somewhere odd, but it was gone. Someone (or a bear) had taken our food. Next time will be more cautious and put the food somewhere safe. So it was 8:30 in the evening, and we were not about to stay without food, so we packed up and left on our journey straight home. It was a 6 hour drive, but it was going to be very dark outside so finding a spot to stay when we cant see, and there are so many people, it was safer to just go home. As were were driving we spotted frogs, deer, a raccoon and then a ELK; right in front of the car ready to turn the car inside out. Thankfully I'm hear to tell the tale, as Anya made quick work of the breaks. I had never seen an elk that close before. She was magnificent and she dwarfed the car in size. I did not realize how truly massive they are compared to us. I'm now so inspired to paint an elk. I want to try and paint the feel of how truly powerful they feel close up. If anyone has references I could use, I would be truly grateful.

We got home around 3 am the next morning and were tired but both grateful for the experience and the time spent together. We both have stories to share forever, and I have new experiences to paint from.