download - WaveLength Paddling Magazine

way to our next meeting place, we were left
with the whispers of our paddling strokes,
the calls of bald eagles and ravens, the
barking of seals and, some days, the deep
breathing and thunderous breaching of
humpback whales. Stops ashore took us to
Haida heritage sites, where people from the
Haida Watchmen program communicated
their love for the place. During walks
among the giants of the forest we shared
the silent glance of an owl or the ethereal
song of the hermit thrush.
BEYOND THE LANDSCAPE
Life on board was as gentle as the pace of
our ship. The rich collection of natural and
local history books in the ship’s library soon
became the second most used resource on
board—just after the galley. We also used
any opportunity to probe the knowledge
Barb had accumulated over all the years
she has lived and worked here. Little by
little, the search for an icon of wilderness
gave way to an awareness that these islands
were a place where many people had lived
rich and probably comfortable lives for
most of the last six thousand years. These
lives had left signatures in the land that
became easier and easier to read as our
eyes became trained.
Some of these features, such as culturally
modified trees or old village sites, were
subtle and could easily be overlooked by a
naive traveler. When the southern Haida had
to move to the northern island over a century
ago, decimated by imported diseases, what
they left behind them was absorbed into the
forest. Other signs, easier to read, witnessed
the short period of time during which miners
and loggers ruled the place.
Off-loading the kayaks.
But the most striking change since the
islands emerged from ice and water 10,000
years ago has probably resulted from
the introduction of deer. This expanding
population has patiently browsed away
the formerly dense forest understory, and
given birth to the open cathedral-like
atmosphere that strikes the first time visitor.
By doing so, they impoverished not only the
plant life but also the insect and songbird
communities that depend on it.
The knowledge gathered while reading
or listening to our host became a discrete
but invaluable companion of our paddling
forays. During these times of contemplation,
In the wintertime, when she is not
chartering the Anvil Cove, Barb
Roswell is part of a team dedicated
to the development of a Tourism
Heritage Strategy for Haida Gwaii.
This strategy was recently adopted
in the Land Use Plan. When the
National Park Visitor Centre was
returned to the local community, she
helped develop a new vision and
business plan for the centre. Barb
also acts as the local coordinator of
a research program on the impact
of introduced deer (Research Group
on Introduced Species: www.rgisbc.
com) and with her husband, Keith,
charters the boat to scientists and
government agencies. She willingly
shares the knowledge she has
gathered during these experiences
with her guests.
reflection and communion with the place,
the alchemy between knowledge and
first hand experience silently operated.
Imperceptibly, the southern shores of Haida
Gwaii had ceased to be ‘just’ a landscape
of unrestrained beauty or an ocean teeming
with life, but had become a place with a
rich history, a complex present, and an
uncertain future: a place alive.
MISSING THE ‘ADVENTURE’?
But what about the ‘Adventure’—fighting
foul weather, challenging the elements
and roughing it? Well, there was not much
opportunity for that. First, we hit the longest ➝
Luxury accommodation
and gourmet meals afloat
at Hotsprings Cove
Clayoquot Sound, BC.
www.innchanter.com
250-670-1149
June/July 2004 www.WaveLengthMagazine.com
7