Haida Gwaii: Arrival

Well, it's been a while since I posted -- but now, we're starting on Haida Gwaii.

 

On May 22nd, 2025, Joan and I flew to Vancouver, BC, to begin our Haida Gwaii adventure with Natural Habitat Adventures (NatHab). We spent the night at the airport hotel (Fairmont) due to airline schedules. The Vancouver airport was clean and pleasant, but has the helter-skelter layout of a facility that's long outgrown its origins. In one lobby, there is a sculpture, the Spirit of Haida Gwaii, honoring the indigenous culture of those islands. (Click on any image to enlarge.)

From Vancouver there's one daily flight in the early afternoon to Sandspit, the landing strip on Moresby Island, where our NatHab guide met us. Travel tip: if you can't find your passport, lift the seat cushion you've been sitting on. It could be under there.

 

Now we were at 53° north, give or take a smidge.

That evening we walked from our neat but modest lodgings to an in-home restaurant, the first in Canada to be allowed to forage for wild ingredients, including herbs and other ingredients buried in the backyard to age.

Some of us glimpsed a black bear moseying through the back lot.

The next day, we took the ferry to Graham Island, a (long) stone's throw north of Moresby.

Our first stop was grocery shopping for the expedition. The signs were bilingual, one side in English and the other in Haida; Northern Haida (X̱aayda Kil) is spoken around Masset, and Southern Haida (X̱aad Kil) around Skidegate and the southern islands.

Next, we visited the Haida Heritage Center, at Ḵay 'Llnagaay. Photography is not allowed inside the museum, but outdoor exhibits are fair game.

Very tall totem facing the sea; note the tables and figures near the bottom of this photo.

Canoes, cut out of a single tree, were how the Haida and other indigenous groups in the region traveled, for long distances -- more here.

This mask allowed the dancer to transform from a raven to a human by pulling a cord.

The indoor portions of the museum were fascinating, including geology (Ice Ages!), history, and culture (bentwood baskets). As you might expect, some aspects were tragic, including the European introduction of smallpox (likely deliberately), which reduced the population to as low as 600.

 

After we visited the museum, we drove to the Spirit Lake trailhead (GuuhlGa Siiwaay K'yuu).

The walk offers glimpses of many birds, such as eagles, and significant plants, including devil's club and culturally modified trees.

The trail was rehabilitated in 2021 and 2022, but there's still a warning about one bridge.

From the lake we drove, bumps and all, down old logging roads to reach the embarkation point for our sailing.

Just offshore was the Island Solitude, our remarkably comfy home for the next several days. Zodiacs carried generous provisions aboard, and then ferried us over.

Orientation, unpacking, and dinner followed. Our "expedition" had begun.