31 August Ucluelet to Courtenay/Comox

Wednesday 31 August

The weather had improved such that it wasn’t actually raining. Still cloudy and cool, but that’s fine. So we checked out of our B&B and headed off to walk another small section of the Wild Pacific Trail. It was a pity we could not spare the time to walk the long section which really hugs the coastline but we had a fairly long drive and with stops on the way.

Black Rock Resort in the distance where we dined

This is the ancient wreck which was cast up during a storm more than a century ago

We left Ucluelet and headed back towards the east coast, passing through Port Alberni again. This time though we stopped at Macmillan Provincial Park. Here is a forest of Douglas fir trees on one side of the highway and beautiful red cedar trees on the other side. The main attraction is the more than 800 year old Douglas fir, however. It was absolutely enchanting wandering through the trees, following the walkway, of course, and seeing the light filtering through the dense forest. A worthwhile stop.

Some seriously tall trees here

In January 1997 a huge wind storm ripped through the forest felling many of the huge trees

These felled trees are now providing habitat for other plants and the undergrowth is developing due to the increased amount of sunlight penetrating the forest floor

This massive tree was sawn through to regain access to the trail

The sunlight through the trees was really lovely

The light falling on silvery foliage

Too tall to capture

Across the highway into the red cedar forest

Felled trees here too

Moss on old branches create almost insect-like giants

Getting down to things

Interesting funghi

We also slightly diverted to Coombs which we had passed through on our way to Ucluelet. The highlight is the Country Market which has a turf roof – kept in good condition by a family of goats! We just caught the end of the season for seeing the goats before they are brought down for the winter. There’s lots of other fun things to see and do to encourage any travellers, in particular families, to stop and while away some time.

Look carefully and you can see three goats on the roof

Inside the market

It's hard enough to choose from a dozen flavours!

We reached Courtenay by mid afternoon and after checking in we went for a walk along the waterfront walkway. Not as scenic as I had hoped but interesting nonetheless. Dinner recommendation this evening was at the Waverley Hotel in Cumberland, about 10 minutes from Courtenay. This was a good recommendation, especially as it was Wednesday special night – build your own burger! The pub has much to recommend it, a hundred year old building in an old coal town, with loads of atmosphere.

The hundred year old Waverley Hotel in Cumberland

Old buildings in Cumberland testament to a bygone era