438 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

It looks like a tenting campground has opened in Jordan River above the climb out heading west, and just before Jordan River near Sandcut there’s something similar as well. Both are private.

@ASE, were you camped next to the bridge? Was it busy out that way? We didn’t end up in the Nitinaht but instead went to Renfrew.

[AllseeingEye]

Close Mike: we actually drove over the bridge for about 100 meters then turned right into the forest following a fire break road, proceeded for about half a click literally down to the river's edge; the road there definitely required 4WD as it was very rough and partially flooded due to heavy rains; only two other vehicles showed up when we were there, both turned around and left.

 

We were the only ones fishing that entire section of the river and had it entirely to ourselves. There were four of us spaced out by ~ 200 hundred meter intervals, so tons of room for each guy to manoeuvre and re-position along the river as desired. Its a great ecosystem and quite remote.

 

My guess since the Dididaht FN town-site is the northern terminus for the West Coast Trail, is that most visitors stick to the town and its immediate area. The surrounding forests further out, where we were, are for the most part bereft of humans - which we like! Not busy at all that way either on the roads or the river. IOW it was perfect....

Edited by AllseeingEye, 06 June 2022 - 10:32 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Hasn’t camping been spurned on by the availability of “things to do” now that everyone can bring along movies and video games to keep especially restless kids busy?

I know, I know, camping is for the outdoors / wilderness experience but I’m sure video is good for some of the down/night time.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 07 June 2022 - 01:55 AM.

[Mike K.]

Ah, very good ASE.

I ask because it was very busy and hectic when the protests were going on. So many vehicles around the village and cars coming to and fro on weekends. I know the spot you speak of, I’ve camped out that way too many times to count. Beautiful country out that way.

Funny story about your camp spot. Some years ago there was a rager of a party there and a huge disgusting mess was left behind. But alas, one of the goofballs had somehow dropped their license. Cops tracked him down and made him clean up the mess.

[AllseeingEye]

The Dididaht FN are some really fine folks, friendly beyond belief and whenever we've gone to the village or passed through it they are nice as pie and extremely helpful. And in case you haven't sampled it go to the cafe at lunch or dinner and you will discover......one of the very best hamburgers you'll ever have! On the last night between the five of us we all ordered one burger or another. For ten minutes after they arrived not a word was said between any of us. Oh and the onion rings are highly recommended as well....

 

Lots of evidence of camping at that spot for sure, mostly old fire pits. Given the periodic garbage dumps we saw along the main coming in    we were pleasantly surprised_not to see piles of junk or garbage out in the forest. Nice thing about the rainforest is that it provides lots of trees densely grouped enough to provide convenient supports to tie off the tarps. That's not always the case especially in the coniferous forests just north between Gold River and Tahsis, where you need to sometimes get very creative in order to build out "tarp city".

[Victoria Watcher]

I think Kleecoot would be better than Sproat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two men working with residential school survivors say it’s time to rename Sproat Lake in the spirit of reconciliation.

 

The lake is named for Gilbert Malcolm Sproat, a businessman and government agent who helped to establish the first sawmill in Port Alberni. Sproat is also the author of a book called Scenes and Studies of Savage Life, which offers an account of the Nuu-chah-nulth people from the perspective of a colonizer.

 

Joshua Dahling and Vernon Williams Jr. of Lumara Grief & Bereavement Care Society approached the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District board on Wednesday, May 25 to request a name restoration for Sproat Lake. Prior to 1864, the lake was known as “Kleecoot” but was renamed in honour of Gilbert Malcolm Sproat.

 

Dahling said he would like to see the name restored to “Kleecoot,” but said the ultimate decision should be up to the local First Nations.

 

 

https://www.vicnews....reconciliation/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 07 June 2022 - 07:01 AM.

[AllseeingEye]

Hasn’t camping been spurned on by the availability of “things to do” now that everyone can bring along movies and video games to keep especially restless kids busy?

I know, I know, camping is for the outdoors / wilderness experience but I’m sure video is good for some of the down/night time.

 

In a slightly different but related steam of thought; I have a co-worker who is perhaps in his early-mid 30's who is by far the youngest member of our team. "Mat" is very hard working, technically very strong, a great problem solver, total techno-nerd - not married, no kids, games all the time, nights, weekends, even on vacation. And he is American. Like some Americans while he excels at certain things, geography - specifically Canadian geography - is not his strong suit. But technology and gaming above all is. Recently we had the following conversation after a recent team meeting....

 

Mat: You're going fishing......again?? Where?

Me: Well we kinda keep the exact location under wraps but somewhere north and west of Campbell River..

Mat: Oh yeah? *In that blank sort of voice which tells you the other party has_no idea about what or where you're actually talking about.....

Me: About 5-6 hours north *My attempt to tax his brain as little as possible AND to keep a lid on exactly where we're going by being deliberately vague...

Mat: Sooo...um, you're out there fishing all day?

Me: Days actually; and nights, sometimes 3,4 days and nights.

Mat: What about mobile service? Internet? Online....?

Me: Nope. None. Only use for a phone out there is the camera for taking pics.

Mat: Really?! No web, nothing...??

Me: Nope. Its perfect we like it that way. The only way to do these trips!
Mat: *Clearly he is in a state of semi-shock at this point.....Uh....ummm...wowwww: I couldn't do_THAT....!

[lanforod]

Well *actually* we were at Saratgoa Beach as recently as 2019 and at Elk Falls last year - both fully serviced, including "proper" washrooms and showers and we had exactly zero issues booking either one.

 

If by "this level" of camping you mean I expect a *real* camping experience, all of the above amenities, and be able to drive to it in 25 minutes, barely leaving the urban containment boundary behind, then you are correct. My point was simply in response to your post above mine - there are IMO and in my experience which is quite extensive, plenty of the so-called 'missing middle'' existing campgrounds; however if that assessment is inaccurate, and a private entity thought otherwise and there was a profit to be made, not to mention a sound business case, I'm sure more would be built and/or expanded. With everything else going on post Covid I'm pretty sure government doesn't have more campgrounds on its priority list....

 

No doubt current supply is more in line with the island population of ~ 20 or so years ago making it tougher but not impossible - in my experience - to reserve a site; however acquiring and assembling the requisite land, or expanding an existing facility probably has to run a gauntlet of issues more than ever, including in 2022 environmental impact assessments, funding, government permitting and - oh yeah - FN land claims in more and more of existing vanisle real estate which, it appears increasingly, is to say FN real estate. 

 

That's actually incorrect. The government has recognized the need for more campgrounds.

 

I fully agree with you, the off grid 'real' camping you describe is readily available. Not everyone wants that, particularly those with a trailer/rv of sorts.

Note, Elk Falls does not have showers. Saratoga Beach has options, but we are talking at 3+ hr drive, and Miracle Beach, the only provincial campground there in this category, is full, as mentioned. You can get lucky and get a spot, but it requires... getting lucky. Most people looking for the kind of camping I'm talking about are families. Families with younger kids where it takes planning and stability to go camping, reservations are wanted, and some level of amenities.

 

This is not meant to devolve into an argument about what is 'real camping' by the way. If you want bush whacking, pack it in, pack it out - lots of options. If you want your 4x4 required, campground close to fishing rivers, lots of options.
There is a need here that the government has chosen to fill in the past. The need has grown so there is some expecatation that the government should expand their service to meet the growing need.

 

This image tells it all (and this is just for 1 tent, not any sort of RV etc.):

[Spy Black]

Complaining about "no available camping" with showers and hot water wash up facilities is like complaining that "all the hotels in downtown Vancouver are full, what's the government going to do about it"?

 

If folks want to camp ... go camp!

 

If folks want a parking space for their RV, that's an entirely different discussion ... one that presumes the government (Provincial or Federal) owes you a spot to park your RV!

[Mike K.]

Yeah.

Camping at campgrounds isn’t camping. It’s just loitering with your vehicle and junk

Hang a bag full of river water over a branch and let it soak up the sun’s warmth. Then take hot showers, and use that warm water to clean up your stuff. Being a little port-a-pottie tent, get it set up with a little loo and you’re good to go. Put all-terrain tires on your vehicle and you’ll navigate logging roads no problem. There are countless drive-up spots in the wilderness easy to get to with a crossover and even an RV (unless you’re driving a bus).

We live in camper’s paradise and so long as the tourists take all the glamour camping spots that means the good stuff in the wilderness is left over for us.

[AllseeingEye]

That's actually incorrect. The government has recognized the need for more campgrounds.

 

I fully agree with you, the off grid 'real' camping you describe is readily available. Not everyone wants that, particularly those with a trailer/rv of sorts.

Note, Elk Falls does not have showers. Saratoga Beach has options, but we are talking at 3+ hr drive, and Miracle Beach, the only provincial campground there in this category, is full, as mentioned. You can get lucky and get a spot, but it requires... getting lucky. Most people looking for the kind of camping I'm talking about are families. Families with younger kids where it takes planning and stability to go camping, reservations are wanted, and some level of amenities.

 

This is not meant to devolve into an argument about what is 'real camping' by the way. If you want bush whacking, pack it in, pack it out - lots of options. If you want your 4x4 required, campground close to fishing rivers, lots of options.
There is a need here that the government has chosen to fill in the past. The need has grown so there is some expecatation that the government should expand their service to meet the growing need.

 

This image tells it all (and this is just for 1 tent, not any sort of RV etc.):

camping.jpg

 

Yeah its all good but from what I gather from this link below is that the BCG is committed to improved campground infrastructure - not necessarily expanded park/camping/RV facilities:

 

https://news.gov.bc....1ENV0005-000098

 

I don't have the energy to go looking but at a guess, given most of the usual campgrounds were originally created decades ago - well before FN Reconciliation was a gleam in anyone's eyes - trying to expand them today may be problematic if some, many or all of the existing campgrounds are on or even abut FN territory.

 

The BCG makes lots of hay re: reconciliation however given several FN land claims are currently being litigated by it in the courts, not sure at this time how receptive FN A, B or C is going to be if a private or government operator approaches them wanting to expand that campground is all I'm really saying. Paving existing roads or installing more toilet facilities is one thing, but acquiring potentially significantly more acreage to expand those campgrounds may be very problematic given the realities of land ownership in 2022....

[Mike K.]

Expect more private campgrounds to emerge in the coming years. We’re already seeing it.

But like I said, wherever you start clustering people you start inviting problems as well. All it takes is one rowdy group at 11PM to set off a couple of drunk dads and you’re off to the races.

[lanforod]

Expect more private campgrounds to emerge in the coming years. We’re already seeing it.

But like I said, wherever you start clustering people you start inviting problems as well. All it takes is one rowdy group at 11PM to set off a couple of drunk dads and you’re off to the races.

 

Oh? Where?

[Mike K.]

Two along Highway 14. No RVs though, just tenting.

The RV thing really soured on communities since COVID. There are broken down rigs all over the place as bright eyed 20-somethings suddenly wanted to become explorers but didn’t think about the logistics of maintaining 40 year old vehicles. There are trailer and camper remains all over the place, and broken down RVs with occupants stuck because they can’t locate parts.

[lanforod]

Nice opinion. It's not rooted in any fact.

 

https://www.sunjourn...ll-time-highs/ 

[Mike K.]

I’m just telling you what is going on, here on the Island, not wherever Lewiston is in some place in the US.

People hate RVs in their communities. From van lifers pissing off Fairfield residents to RVers pissing off people in Shirley the novelty has worn off if you have to deal with the outcomes of people making good intentioned choices that turn out to be bad ideas in the end.

Right now in my neighbourbood there is a broken down RV from Alberta. This weekend when I went camping, someone had discarded a camper at my spot. Thanks.

[Spy Black]

Mike is right, and even if purchased brand new, most RV's sold today are just stapled together "manufactured wood" junk ... most are trailers/campers/motorhomes that literally fall apart in even the smallest of accidents.

 

All but the most expensive (Airstream for example) RV's are an incredibly poor investment ($30K to $50K+) considering their lifespan is often less than a decade (and that only if you're lucky) before they start leaking rainwater and rotting away.

 

Whereas a $300.00 Big Agnes tent will last you a lifetime, and actually get you out into some real Vancouver Island camping country ... away from RV's, generators, screaming kids, hard drinking party's, and everything else that accompanies "camping" within a couple of hundred feet of 50+ other "campers".

 

I get that folks like to zip out to Goldstream for an overnight bonfire and quick-camp ... but it's nothing at all like being out in the kind of country where real bushcraft skills are intrinsically tied into your entire camping experience. 

 

One is actual camping, the other is nothing more than finding a parking spot.

Edited by Spy Black, 07 June 2022 - 11:07 AM.

[AllseeingEye]

To Mike's point about the "good stuff" being gobbled up by tourists we were well into organising a trip to Tunkwa Lake Resort in the interior near Merrit/Logan Lake for late August. It is a world class fly fishing resort drawing fishermen from as far away as the UK, Germany and Italy.

 

It has a large campground, an RV area and so-called 'fisherman's cabins" both 'rustic' and 'luxury'. I've fished it twice in the past although not in almost 19 years now. Its been greatly expanded since my first trip there in 1992 and lo and behold we called this morning and discovered they are completely booked up in the campground/RV area, through and beyond Labor Day; the only options remaining being the 'luxury cabins' - per guy for 4 nights/5 days assuming that option, it would cost $1000 including food, ferries, boat rentals, taxes etc. That is before gas. Darned foreigners....

[Matt R.]

I’m just telling you what is going on, here on the Island, not wherever Lewiston is in some place in the US.

People hate RVs in their communities. From van lifers pissing off Fairfield residents to RVers pissing off people in Shirley the novelty has worn off if you have to deal with the outcomes of people making good intentioned choices that turn out to be bad ideas in the end.

Right now in my neighbourbood there is a broken down RV from Alberta. This weekend when I went camping, someone had discarded a camper at my spot. Thanks.

All over salt spring too, probably similar to what you are seeing Mike. People come over and find a nice wooded spot to park and end up stuck there due to mechanical or financial issues. They also can’t drive them very well and end up on their sides in ditches or on soft shoulders.

Not long ago, the Islands Trust said they would stop enforcing the bylaws surrounding living in tiny homes and rv’s and they started popping up all over. On my street there are four or five right now in various states of tarps or wheels off, lol. I live in a subdivision, most lots are .5 to 1 acre, it’s not like these are parked in someone’s 100 acre field, although there are lots of those too!

We watched over the spring as someone converted what appears to be a bc gov surplus cube truck into living quarters, complete with sketchy looking wood stove. He’s just parked in someone’s driveway.

We have an acre near town that we are considering putting a tiny home or four season rv on ourselves for staff accommodations. Good access to water, power and septic tie ins.

[Mike K.]

And since we're ragging on RVs, how about how dang slow they are on the highways, and how notoriously unaware their drivers are! One of those '75 Okanagon campers is virtually guaranteed to be doing 70 in a 100 and the driver won't have the courtesy to pull over so vehicles behind him can pass 

 

Ok, I'm done ragging on RVs.