Western Canada Wilderness Committee

Micah Hermesmann's Day Off: Carmanah Valley and Cathedral Grove

In the in-between time, you know the ‘days offs’ I got on the Island, I had some funfilled adventures that I’m gonna share with you now…

I got back from China Beach and met up with my girlfriend, Meagan, at the ferries in Sidney. I had decided that it was definitely time to check out the Carmanah Valley, since I never have. So we drove and drove and then hit a logging road and then drove some more. In case you want to go there (and you should because it’s awesome), the last 80kms of the drive are on a dusty logging road with potholes the size of kiddy pools. Okay they’re not that big, but they gave my shocks a nasty workout.

The whole way there you get to see the kind of ‘sustainable’ logging that has been occurring on the Island for all these years. Clearcuts everywhere. And once you get close to the park, slash piles all along the road, some charred, some not.

Once we got to the park, I saw that there was a parks operator doing some weed whacking in the parking lot, so I thought I’d chat with him. It turns out that even the Carmanah and Walbran parks have been privatized. He also pointed out that about 100 - 150m before the entrance to the park, the logging company (Timberwest, I believe) has put up marking tape on some of the trees. It seems they plan to build a logging road right next to the park. Not that it’s not within their rights to do so. It’s just kinda sad.

So we did the short hike from the lot down to the Three Sisters. It’s really quite an amazing forest. Meagan had never been to a forest as old as this one. She grew up in Lynn Valley and her father had taken her camping a lot when she was younger, but there aren’t a lot of forests this old left in BC. And being right on the ocean, there was the fog and the mosses… It’s a hauntingly beautiful place to be.

We drove to Ladysmith that night to my friend of many years Tim’s place. And after what would be the first of many nights of unbelievable hospitality from Tim’s mom Christine and his dad Glen, Meagan and I set out to visit Clayquot Sound. We brought Tim’s dog Ocean with us. She had a pretty good time on the drive. We never did make it to Tofino however, because once we got to Cathedral Grove, we had to stop in and chat with the protestors camped out there.

If you’re unfamiliar with the issue, the government has plans to build a 150-car plus 20-bus/RV parking lot right in the middle of the pitifully small MacMillian Park. There’s a second growth stand just southeast of the park where everybody else thinks the lot should be. Currently, people park along the highway and the place is viewed as something of a deathtrap (which is the prime reason for not sending the BC Park Lovers Tour there – we seek to avoid any potential fatalities).

If you’ve ever met anyone involved in direct action protest, then you know they’re a fairly eccentric bunch. The ‘leader’ of this camp was Ingmar Lee. If you google his name, you’ll get many, many pages of matches. He’s clearly a loose cannon but very compelling. He had nothing but negative things to say about the WCWC and any other ‘mainstream’ environmental group you can think of. He’s convinced that direct action is the only way to get the government to listen. He had a fair deal of contempt for the notion of petitions and newsletters. “If it was up to the WCWC, this place would be a parking lot by now,” he said. One person he particularly didn’t care for was Ken Wu, WCWC’s executive director in Victoria.

In a recent interview in the Whistler Pique, Ken had this to say about direct action:

"People go through a step-by-step process. They start off generally using more moderate tactics, and as time goes on, the movement has to progress. The government doesn’t respond to the letters and the rallies. People get frustrated, and some will then step it up.

"The ones who are most involved, usually, become the most frustrated at not seeing success from their previous tactics, so they tend to step up to civil disobedience. Civil disobedience is not a substitute for the rest of the movement, but it is an important catalyst. It strengthens the campaign."

So the WCWC has a new newsletter and petition for Cathedral Grove. Hopefully, between us and the protestors in the woods, we can get the government to see the light.

Despite the differing perspectives, Ingmar gave me lesson on how to climb the trees, with the ropes and whatnot. After an hour of making me climb up and down 15 feet, he gave me the green light to try to climb to the 120-foot platform near the top of the tree. I only made it 90 feet up before I was exhausted and had to come down. In my defense, I was already sweating from the training before I started to climb. That being said, these folks do it in the middle of the night with very little sleep and have to deal with local thugs coming to attack them with knives and bats. So my hat goes off to them.

Finally, I’d just like to say that I hope Ingmar has a full recovery. I visited the camp a second time just before I left the Island and was told that he had an ear infection, which exploded and began to infect his spine. The term ‘meningitis’ was mentioned. He was apparently in a coma and on seriously high doses of antibiotics. I’m not a praying man, but you’ll get the idea: my prayers go out to him, his family, and his friends.

Why do they call it China Beach?

This is pretty much the big one. If you’ve been reading along with my adventures and were looking for a climax, here it is. This is the point at which I will show you the ocean…

Having spent time with my girlfriend and my friend Janine (J9), and having been able to re-explore and re-discover Victoria, I began the trek to China Beach, the most eastward of the Juan de Fuca beaches. Along the way, I stopped at Sooke Potholes. This was where last week’s stop was original scheduled but for a couple of reasons (most notably that it’s a regional park and not a provincial one) I ended up at Goldstream. Honestly, I expected more from the area. The Land Conservancy (TLC) is trying to buy an addition to it now. I’ve got a TLC membership and I wish them luck.

The drive to China Beach is a funny one because you round to southern tip of the island. At that point, the ocean mist forms a fog in some areas where it had previously been totally sunny. The bright point of this is that the area is somewhat wetter than most of the province and the fire ban wasn’t in effect here. This meant that I got to have a fire for only the forth time this summer, which has been a fairly long one and during which I’ve spent about a million hours driving and about a thousand nights camping. A fire is a nice commodity. I want to get into a finding-firewood-in-the-forest story but I think I’ll save it.

So the ocean is beautiful. It smells very strongly and brings cold winds from across the world, but it has such power that I really started to feel primal stirrings in myself. The gods of the mankind’s myriad mythologies are based on the physics of the sun shining on the endless series on waves that the boundless ocean brings crashing to the sandy shore. It’s truly majestic and invigorating, certainly befitting of a longwinded description.

The Juan de Fuca area is out of cell phone range. As such, I spent a fair amount of time waiting to use the sole payphone on the campgrounds. With nowhere nearby to buy a phone card, I recommend coming equipped with one.

The kiosk was a big success at this park. The lot is very central and popular and a parking meter in such a remote area is very out-of-place. All the parks operation staff were great. The lone ranger (park ranger, that is) that operates from Botanical Bay to China Beach (about a 45 minute to an hour drive) came by to see me. He was going to kick me out of the park (something about having a structure set up) but when I asked for a second opinion, whoever he called told him to forget about it and leave me be. So I got to carry on with my petition gathering.

One interesting thing that I’ve learned is that only government employees have the ability to ticket you. The private operators can only give you warning. So this lone ranger was the only guy who could hand out parking fines. I guess he does it on some days, but not on the weekend I was there. Enforcement in most areas of the province seems pretty limited, in that there are very few rangers left, most having been replaced by cheaper private sector employees.

Another remarkable facet of China Beach is Smitty, the Parks Watch guy. Crime in the Juan de Fuca has been a problem (car break-ins, vandalism, etc.). In response, private industry from Port Renfrew to Sooke has sponsored Parks Watch, a program to have someone watch the parking lots during the day. While the RCMP officially sponsor the program, the provincial government doesn’t. I’ve heard from a lot of people that the would like to see someone is watching there cars, particularly if they have to pay for parking. But that’s not where the meter money goes. Smitty, by the way, used to be a truck driver. He is a tall, slightly hunched middle-aged feller and very friendly. I had a very good time chatting with him intermittently throughout the day. If you go to China Beach and see him there, tell him I say ‘hi’.

I went to Botanically Bay while I was in the area because I was told the intertidal pools were great. I was planning to wake up at 6am and go see it at low tide, but having meet up with some ‘volunteers’ (they never did volunteer) and had a few drinks the night before, 9am was the earliest I could manage it. I highly recommend this beach! There is a massive limestone deposit there. When the waves bring large rocks in and they bang down on the limestone, dents are created. Then sea urchins for colonize in the dents and enlarge them further. The result is beautiful pools with purple urchins and green sea anemone and other plant and animals I don’t know the names of. Plus, I saw a black bear on the way there. Overall, it was very awesome.

And though I probably don’t need to prove my point to you, the reading audience, I will make it anyway. When people wonder how parks generate money if they don’t charge you, one answer is: Port Renfrew. This is a town with absolutely nothing to other except the opportunity to hike the West Coast or Juan de Fuca trail. The protection and public accessibility of wilderness near Port Renfrew are the means by which the town’s economy stays productive. Every business you see is there to supply lodging, food, or souvenirs to visitors. And it’s a small town. It doesn’t even have a gas station. But when visitors drive all they way out there and pay taxes on all the good and services they purchase, it fills the government coffers. Considering that this influx of cash creates jobs and those mean more tax money, the least the province could do is let you enjoy the beach for free. You’ve paid for it and you’re entitled to it.

In conclusion, I don't know why they call it China Beach. An elder English lady really wanted to know. One theory is that you could see China from there if the earth was flat. Another is that maybe Chinese immigrants would land there or stop off there. Or maybe explorers thought they were getting close to Cina when the first came upon it. If anyone does know, put it in the comments section.

Next I head north to Nanaimo, to visit nearby Rathtrevor Park. More good stuff to come, so check it out.

A Goldstream at the end of the Rainbow

So there was quite a bit of running around with my arrival on Vancouver Island. It was raining crazily and I ended up heading to Goldstream park for the weekend. I love this island...

One of the best parts about Victoria is that the papers actually cover nature stories. One article that got me going was about a black bear being shot at the Kaslo jazz festival. An RCMP officer shot the bear while it was eating cherries nearby and with a gaping hole in it's leg, it went over a barrier to the festival and drag itself into the lake where it drown right in front of a horrified crowd. Over 800 black bears were killed in BC last year. And now the Liberals have reduced the number of conservation officers in the province by 15%, meaning more RCMP, who are untrained in bear management, will be dealing with bear-person conflicts, likely meaning more bears will be shot.

On a similar topic, WCWC has printed up a new "Stop the grizzly hunt" card. If you find trophy hunting of a species whose population is in question offensive and can help gather signatures or distribute the cards, please do contact the WCWC office.

Oh, right, Goldstream. Let's see... The parking lot there is awesome, in that they built it with the trees in mind. There are numerous red cedars in the lot that are around 450 years old. Very pretty. And during the fall, spawning salmon pass through here, mate and then die. However, as far as getting signatures on a petition, the long, segmented parking lot setup limits the amount of foot traffic passing by the booth. So, while fun and relaxing, it was a bit of a slow weekend. And the weather was somewhat more 'iffy' than 'go getter'.

On monday, I went canvassing with the crew form the Victoria office. They're a fun bunch. I met a woman while canvassing who told me how the Liberals spending cuts have affected her. She's a nurse and took an 11% pay cut due to cuts to healthcare workers salaries. The school that her daughter attends also had its funding cut and, to make ends meet, the school dropped 2 weeks off of the education schedule. That means she has to pay for 2 more weeks of day care with less income. She told me that since they still have to eat and the mortgage still has to be paid, what it boils down to is just less money for her kids. They're the ones who will suffer. And when it comes to environmental policy, there are now more fees with less services... well, I guess you already now a little something about that. Despite all her own monetery problems, she renewed her membership with us. I promised that I'd try to make sure it wasn't a wasted effort.

My next stop is China Beach in the Juan de Fuca stretch. I'm very excited. Stay tuned and I let you know how it goes in the next entry.

From Brandywine to Alice Lake: My long weekend on the Sea-to-Sky

So I went up to Brandywine falls and was planning a full and exciting weekend of hanging out in the parking lot and camping in the small campsite there. What I didn't count on was Murray, the campsite manager...

Before I start discussing my weekend at the falls, I would like to talk about my bitter disappointment that the Liberal government deparked the eastern boundaries of the Southern Chilcotins. I've personally been discussing this issue with people door-to-door for two-plus years and I really thought we should not have seen this kind of nonsense happen. I guess it just goes to show you what a bunch of jerks we're dealing with. It really is a time when parks aren't safe and it drives home that this Park Lover's Tour is quite important. Reflecting also on the fact that we managed to prevent the Working Forest inititive from taking place (in this mandate, at least), I think that although the situation is kind of scary, there is hope for making the Liberals pause. While we can't win 'em all, hopefully they can't win another election (though I guess if you're reading this, you're probably the choir and I'm probably preaching).

So back to Murray. Murray is a cool guy who's various charming qualities I'm not going to elaborate on, but I'll just say, I liked him. He is a crdit to his profession and I wish there were more of him. He works the very small Brandywine area from 7am to 11pm everyday. He lives in the little A-frame in the lot. He did, however, call his supervisor and then ask me to move outside the park boundaries (about 30 meter from where I was). So I sat by the dusty highway and gathered signatures from those who were aware that if you park just off the highway, you don't have to pay for parking. After a full day of that and a night of listening to the trains that drive by right next to the campsite at all hours of the day and night, I decided to move down to Alice Lake for the last 2 days of the long weekend.

Alice Lake is a really nice place. It was smokin' busy on the Sunday I was there. I was told that it used to be the swimming hole for Squamish locals but now that the meters are there, it's mostly Vancouverites that go there. I learned here that management of every park on the sea-to-sky corridor is done by one company. Upon coming to power the Liberals cancelled all the bids of the park operator and got new ones submitted. Ben, who now works for the company that runs these parks, used to operate Alice Lake for about a decade (I forget if it was 8, 9 or 14 years, but it was one of those). I was told by another visitor that he used to consider it the best run park on the corridor. Ben was a good fellow who told me that new regulations take the onus for taking care of the parks away from the government and leaves them at the discretion of the park operator. So, if I wanted to maximize the profit of my company, I could probably cut all kinds of corners, by not repainting things or fixing picnic benches or whater it is (one of the handicapped parking spots was faded away and people kept parking in it). Ben told me some years he would lose money on the operation but that it was a good job and he really enjoyed it. He had a fair amount of contempt for the meters. They were always breaking down and the company that made them was a huge operation with meters from here to New York (which is where the guy who needed to fix them was headed on business one day when Ben called about a broken meter in Alice Lake). If they were going to get meters, he asked, why not get decent ones?

Lastly, I'll echo the sentiments of a Scottish man who spotted to sign the petition. "What aboot tha single moothers and poeple tha' can nay affoord to come to tha park with these stewpid fees?" (Okay, I'm no Bobby Burns, but you get that he had a strong accent). Yeah, people forget that poverty isn't just beggars on the street. Their are all kinds of hard situations in life (check out the Anti-Poverty Committees website if you doubt it) where charging people $5 to visit the lake means that some people can't go. That's not the kind of country where I want to live. A Persian lady added (and I won't try the accent), "What are we, all Donald Trumps trying to make a dollar off of everything?" Makes you wonder. This is about keeping our wild places wild and public. Let's not forget that the government works for the people, not the other way around.

Golden Ears and Good Times

Golden Ears Park is in the backyard of the folks from Maple Ridge. I’m betting that it is one of the major contributors to the local economy (on the basis that it’s the only reason I’ve ever had to go there). The weather was great and Alouette Lake was calling…

Okay, so the biggest suprise I got at Golden Ears was that someone had actually read these journals (someone besides my girlfriend and the WCWC staff, that is). These folks came up and we started talking and I mentioned the website and the guy was like, "Yeah, you had trouble with the wind in Manning, right." Whoa. I guess I'm famous then. I'll try not to let it get to my head. And thanks for the comment, Mr and Mrs, Kaybertoss!

One funny part of the weekend at Golden Ears was the fact that the banner we were using was from an old campaign. Maybe you remember, or maybe not, but Blue Mountain (the other side of Alouette Lake) is unprotected and there are two active cut blocks there. The removal of lumber from these cut blocks is very limited but, hey, knock it off and protect the damn thing already. It’s part of the Kanaka water shed that supplies about 15,000 people with water. So the banner read something like, “STOP LOGGING plans for Alouette Lake and Blue Mtn. – SIGN THE PETITION!” I used it for the “SIGN THE PETITION!” part but there was some confusion. People would come up to the booth and go, “Stop logging? Where do I sign?” Others, when we’d try to draw them over by telling them that we were trying to get rid of the parking meter, would say, “No, you’re not, your trying to stop logging.” Ah, what you have go through when you have a non-profit supply budget.

Really though, the banner wasn’t a big issue. We had an unbelievable amount of support. This is one crazy busy park. Part of the success came from the fact we got to set up on the grassy area in the center of the lot right next to the parking meter. There were line-ups for most of the morning just to pay for parking. And while in line people were given the opportunity to vent their discontent by signing the petition and were supplied with a WCWC newsletter (reading material for the beach!).

I’d like to thank Meagan (my girlfriend) and Sean (my hommie from waaay back in tha day) for coming out to help. This place was way more than one man could handle. If you were there, you’ll remember Sean as the guy with dreadlocks down to his butt, pierced nipples and brandings on his chest and lower back (the ones on the back were mostly covered by dreads). Mostly, he played hackey sack and only tried to speak to the cute girls as they paid for parking but he was the major getting-set-up and taking-it-all-down guy of our operation. While I got last minute signatures, he did all the manual labour. Thanks dude!

[Before I start this next story I should mention that the parking meters I’ve seen around the lower mainland do give change, unlike the ones I saw in the Okanagan.]

On the Saturday, Sean and I are hacking and two blonde teenage girls come up giggling away. They saw our “Save the Parks” banner and started whispering to each other, “All the parks should be turned into malls.” Giggle, giggle. Then, they make a production of trying to figure out the meter. We give them some advice on the meter’s workings and they put in a twoonie. Out of the change comes $2.30 in the from of 9 quarters and a nickel and *poof* the machine was busted! For the rest of the day it just said “Returning Coins…” and did nothing. Way to fight the power, girls! After that, they signed the petition and paying for parking became passé for the rest of the day.

The local paper, the Maple Ridge Times came up to see us. They did photos and an interview and everything. Sadly, we didn’t make their website, so I haven’t seen their story on us. I heard it was short. They have, however, put a poll on their site about whether or not people think the meters should stay in the park. As I write this, the vote is 40-9 against the meters. If you want to vote, it’s at http://www.mrtimes.com/ in the top right corner.

In a funny story, while Sean and I were getting our camping spot, a couple of 30-something women pulled in. They were very clearly a lesbian couple but the camp manager, an older fellow (he looked somewhat like Lanny MacDonald with his moustache) suggested to them that, “two young fella’s are available.” The lesbians laughed and we laughed; I don’t think Lanny understood his gaff.

Lastly, I’d like to take a moment to comment on those that won’t sign the petition. There are a few different kinds. Some don’t think that they can make a difference with a petition and that the government won’t listen to anything, so why bother? To them I say, if you think that way, they’ve already won. I’m reminder of the scene from Lord of the Rings: Return of the King when King Theoden of Rohan addresses his men upon the unexplained departure of Aragorn. They say, 'We can’t defeat the armies of Mordor' and he answers, 'No we can’t; but we’re going anyway.' They end up winning without hope, so with hope… Hey, you never know if you don’t try.

Some folks are afraid to approach us for whatever reason. I can’t help you people. If you’re really in that big a hurry, okay.

But the real reason I got on this rant is: Ralph Klein guy (after this called RK-guy). RK-guy loved, I mean loved, Ralph Klein. Thought he was a genius. Quote: “If an election was held today, Ralph Klein would get 99.9% of the vote.” I know he didn’t hear my point but I looked into it further after we talked and here it is: Ralph Klein was in the right place at the right time. The reason Alberta is out of debt: OIL. There was/is an OIL crisis in the world. Alberta was declared out of debt as a direct product of the OIL industry. His politics are not a cookie-cutter fix-it job for anywhere in the world. Fire as many government employees as you want, it won’t solve the debt, RK-guy. Believe it or not (and I know Ralph Klein and his guy don’t), the environment matters. Point-in-fact: My sister lives in Calgary. She recently had a miscarriage that resulted in cancer (she had kemo and is doing fine now). She works for a chemical company in a province that doesn’t regulate sour gas emissions. Is that why she miscarried? Maybe not. But I would suggest that minding environmental matters is certainly more than a secondary concern.

That all I’ve got on the matter. If you want more, check out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Klein

I’ll be back soon with more anecdotes and less ranting about Brandywine Falls.