April 1, 2016
A mountain range divides the Queen Charlotte Sound from the neighboring Kenepuru Sound (in the Pelorus Sounds), and the track that runs along its ridge has some beautiful views of both areas. Here, above the Punga Cove Resort, a saddle of land sits between the head of the Kenepuru Sound and our current location in the Endeavour Inlet, and it seemed a given it would have a good view.
We began our hike with the “easy” walk up through the resort to the parking area. If this was the easy part, I was afraid to see the rest of the hike. We passed the restaurant as we neared the parking area and realized if nothing else, our dinner would come with an amazing view. After that steep climb through the resort we were now pretty high up.
From the parking area, we walked up a road for about 30 minutes, noticing the vegetation become more dry as we gained altitude. We made it to the top and were disappointed to find no view! There was, however, the Queen Charlotte Track; so we decided to walk it for awhile and see if we’d come across any views of the Kenepuru Sound.
It didn’t take long before we came to a great viewpoint near a spot called the Gatenby Gulch. There was even a bench constructed there to serve as a viewing platform. Spread out below us was a wide, deep valley leading to the head of the Kenepuru Sound, surprisingly far in the distance. We didn’t feel like we were that high up until we noticed the black spots on the valley floor below us were, in fact, cows. They looked like ants.
Now that we’d come this far, we decided to continue on the Queen Charlotte Track for awhile and see if we could find any good views of the Queen Charlotte Sound nearby. We didn’t, but we did enjoy the fantail birds flitting around us and the most amazing-looking mushrooms we’ve ever seen. Their big bright orange tops with white poka dots looked like something out of Disney’s Alice in Wonderland ride.
Each walk generally brings some new discovery, and this time it was orange mushrooms. (Later research revealed that these are a mushroom called “fly agaric” and we might have missed out on a good hallucinatory experience!)
Above, a gallery of photos from our climb, including the Kenepuru Saddle, our climb up to the saddle, and views of the Endeavour Inlet. Mr. Grumpy Bird is a fantail (and he really wasn’t grumpy but very friendly).
Below the psychedelic mushrooms. (Click to enlarge and scroll though galleries.) –Cyndi
