The ferry from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert is timed such that you could enjoy the daytime views. This is not as productive when the weather is gloomy (which is often). Most annoyingly, after an early morning departure, it arrives close to midnight.
With hotels being a) scant and b) expensive (more so when your plans are touch and go and you don’t book ahead), we decided to spend the night inside a true Canadian icon – a 24 hour Tim Hortons. It rained most of the night, but inside was cozy and the sandwiches were better than ferry food. Eventually when the city began to wake up, the rain stopped and we headed to … a different coffee shop for breakfast. After 6 hours in a Tim Hortons, we were ready for something a little different. But hey, if you want a place to spend a sleepless night between ferries in Prince Rupert, they have my sincere recommendation.
Yes, between ferries. Somewhere along the way we decided more islands is always better. Our next island adventure was taking us to Haida Gwaii. A quiet archipelago 6-7 hours of sailing away from Prince Rupert, it consists of about 150 islands, and populated by close to 5000 people, half of them – indigenous Haida people, who have lived here for 13,000 years.
North of Haida Gwaii is the Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. They are separated by Dixon Entrance, which forms part of the marine Canada-US boundary. From the beach on the northern end of Haida Gwaii’s Graham Island you can actually see Alaska on a clear day. Will see if we can spot it.
While on the ferry we met another rider, Mike, who lives on Haida Gwaii with his family, and was coming home after a bit of riding on the mainland. We chatted about the islands and the various places we might visit there. It always warms me to meet riders in places seemingly so inhospitable – it rains a lot here, and riders from dry climates often appear shocked to find out that riding in the rain is a thing at all.
We arrived at the port in Skidegate in late afternoon. The rain has just stopped, and was about to begin again. We had a window of beautiful light in which to travel through the main town of Daajing Giids to the cabin we rented for a few days. The living room sofa was facing a gigantic window overlooking Bearskin Bay, where we could see the dramatic tides and numerous bald eagles. The chickens outside were getting acquainted with our motorcycles, and we indulged in hot tea.
