Mike makes a new friend

Mike makes a new friend
Originally uploaded by mikebrooke.

So our backpack trip in the Queen Charlottes was quite eventful. We spent a beautiful sunny day in Picton getting ready and walking around the town. The woman at the DOC office who helped us to plan the logistics of our trip said, "You sure couldn't pick better weather!" Well guess what happened...that night a huge storm blew in and it was rainy and windy like crazy. We had to catch a boat to the trailhead and it was sure a memorable trip. It felt like the intro to Gilligans Island. Waves were splashing over the top of the boat and in the doors! Boy were we happy to reach dry land.

We started hiking in the pouring rain, but about 30 minutes down the trail there was a sign pointing to a house on the water which had hot tea and fresh baked blueberry muffins. You can be sure we spent some time there before continuing down the trail.

Later in the day the weather cleared and we came to our first campsite of the trip which was in the orchard of a farmer. He was a jolly fellow that kind of reminded us of a hobbit (he he). It was so great there.. with lots of barnyard animals to keep us company. Here is a picture of Mike making friends with one of the locals.