A remote coastal hike with
beautiful beaches, fewer hikers, an interesting
history, and a fabulous assortment of mammal, bird and marine wildlife.
The Nootka Island backpacking trip offers a wide variety of terrain and scenery, packed into a fun and challenging 43km's of classic coastal hiking.
We will take a float plane from Gold River to
our access point at Starfish Lagoon on Nootka Island. You will experience amazing sandy beaches, interesting sandstone formations and true old growth rainforest. We finish our journey at Yuquot or Friendly Cove where Captain Cook first made contact. We will visit the local First Nations family, the historic church and the coast guard lighthouse.
The area around Nootka Island is believed to have been inhabited for
thousands of years. There is evidence to suggest that human
presence at Yuquot at Friendly Cove dates back at least 4,000 years.
The area’s inhabitants were first called Nootka by James Cook in
1778. As was the case when cultures with different languages met,
communication was reduced to gestures and drawings, which were
often misinterpreted. Although there is some debate over the origin of
the term “nootka”, the best guess is that it comes from “nootk-sitl”
meaning to go around or make a circuit. It probably was used by the
inhabitants to indicate that Nootka was an island, and not to their
name.
The people who claim Nootka Island and who maintain a presence at
Yuquot are the Mowachaht (“place where the deer come from”).

. This trek, on Vancouver
Island's rugged west coast, promises and delivers a great wilderness experience.
2013 D A T E S and C O S T
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June 6-11 |
5 spots left |
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Aug 14-19 |
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Sept 16-21 |
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THE SEA TO SKY ADVANTAGE
Another great coastal hike, as challenging, historical, scenic, with plenty of marine wildlife is our North Coast Trail Hike. Please check it out!
LINKS
NOOTKA ISLAND ITINERARY
A complete itinerary along with maps, clothing and equipment list, will be
issued upon registration.
Included: Transportation from
the point of origin and return, any charter flights or water taxi, camping
fees, cooking gear, camp stoves, tents, meal preparations, meals/snacks/beverages
on the expedition, tarps, major first aid supplies, emergency radio or
satellite phone, and professional guides. We can provide sleeping bags,
sleeping pads, and backpack if required.
Excluded: Transportation to point of origin, transfers,
accommodation and food other than included in the itinerary, gratuities,
and personal equipment.
Meals: All meals while
on the backpacking portion of the trip.
Day 0: Arrival in Vancouver. This denotes the day or days
spent in Vancouver before the listed start date of the trip.
Day 1: We will meet at the Tsawwasen Ferry Terminal
for our sailing to Vancouver Island. We will then drive to Gold River on the west side of the island and catch our floatplane flight out to Nootka Island. A short hike will bring us to our first camp on the coast at Third Beach.
Day 2: Today's hike is a full day with a wide variety of rain forest and beaches, from sand to small boulders, forming our path. Our goal is Calvin Falls, a fantastic spot to enjoy on a warm day. This is our longest day km wise at approx. 14km's.
Day 3 :Beano Creek is our destination today. Beano often has a perfect swimming hole to enjoy after a day of hiking. We will cover approx. 11km's today.
Day 4: Today's hike will be dictated by the weather and how the group is feeling. We might take a short day to Callicum Creek or push on past Maquinna Point towards Friendly Cove. We could cover anywhere from 3-12 km's today.
Day 5: This is the day we will designate as our lay-over day. We might in fact use this lay-over at any point during the journey. Every campground offers a good excuse to slow down and get our bodies attuned to "Island Time".
Day 6: Today we will say good-bye to Nootka Island. We will catch a water-taxi from Friendly Cove and then retrace our steps from Gold River back to Vancouver.
GENERAL
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BACKPACKING/HIKING EXPEDITIONS
Hiking Overview | Arctic
Circle Tour | Garibaldi Park | Chilcotins | Chilkoot
Trail | North Coast Trail | Wilder
West Coast | Tombstones | Tuktut
Nogait | West
Coast Trail
BACKPACKING/HIKING EXPEDITIONS - PHOTO ESSAYS
Arctic Circle Tour | Canadian
Rockies | Chilcotins
- Wildflower Heaven |
Chilkoot Trail | Wilder
West Coast | West
Coast Trail
SEA KAYAKING EXPEDITIONS
Kayaking Overview | Georgian
Bay | Nootka Sound | Orcas
of Johnstone Strait | Pacific
Otters of Nuchatlitz
SEA KAYAKING EXPEDITIONS - PHOTO ESSAYS
Georgian Bay Photo Essay | Nootka
Sound | Orcas
of Johnstone Strait Photo Essay | Pacific
Otters of Nuchatlitz
CANOEING EXPEDITIONS
Canoeing Overview | Algonquin
Park | Bowron Lakes | Nahanni
River | Pelly River | Teslin
River | Wind River | Yukon
River
CANOEING EXPEDITIONS - PHOTO ESSAYS
Algonquin Park | Bowron
Lakes | Pelly River
| Teslin River | Yukon
River
RIVER RAFTING EXPEDITIONS
Raft Overview | Babine
River | Nahanni River
| Tatshenshini River
| Tatshenshini River
Photo Essay
