Bill had pushed his camps north beyond Seaforth Channel as
far as Wallace Bight but I don’t think that he fancied the reaches and may have
found them claustrophobic and leading to nowhere that he wanted to be. There is the issue of bears, too, which the
majority of his camps avoided by location.
In general, his camps seemed strategically located to avoid population
and provide stepping stones to increasingly remote locales.
Aristazabal Island forms the western edge of the Outside
Passage at Swindel and Price Islands.
The southern tip of the island is separated from Price by 7.1 NM of
Laredo Sound which tapers down to Laredo Channel and just 2 NM south of
Shotbolt Point. It can blow up fast and
strong anywhere along the length of the island so most crossings occur in this
area with few choosing the longer exposure in Laredo Sound. In that context it makes sense that Bill
would choose the longer crossing supported by camps established on both sides.
CAMP I
Higgins Pass Camp provided that jumping off point for
crossing Laredo Sound to Aristazabal. He
named the “receiving” camp south of Lombard Point on Aristazabal “Camp I”. It also served as the site where he could
wait out bad conditions until a weather window would allow a safe crossing of
7.1 NM back to Higgins Pass.
Camp I is located 1 NM south of Lombard Point. It is protected by offshore islets and is
fronted by a lovely white sandy beach. The
top of the beach is littered with large drift logs that make access to the
forest camp a bit less than a straightforward affair.
I don’t believe that Bill used this camp during the last
year of his life as he had established Camp II and Camp III around the
“corner”. Camp I was there if he needed
it but I think that he had moved on and didn’t give any thought to maintaining
camps that he no longer needed.
In 2015 Camp I was well on its way to being taken over by
the forest as undergrowth was head high and most of the windscreen
collapsed. The firestand, wooden ridge
pole and bed were still in place. I
understand that Glenn Lewis and friends have cleared the forest floor near the
camp enough to allow for several tents to be set up. Camping on the beach is an option when tall
tides aren’t anticipated. This all makes
Camp I a viable camp site to consider when coming or going from Aristazabal or
just looking for an isolated and out-of-the-way spot to camp and hang out.
This site is referred to as “a8” in the
free downloadable publication "West Coast Aristazabal, Price & Athlone Islands - a field guide for paddlers"
Fire Box
CAMP II
The western coast of Aristazabal is shattered and ragged
with rocky islands trailing off into Hecate Strait. Near the southern end of the island lies
scenic Weeteeum Bay on a slight NNW to SSE orientation. The western edge of Weeteeun Bay is defined
by Breckinridge Point and the islands that trickle off to the south. Thistleton Island is one of them. Bill located Camp II here which allowed a
clear view of conditions in Hecate Strait and ensured isolation.
I have not seen this camp nor have I found anyone who has
been successful in locating it. I think
that it is in the narrow passage on the northwest edge of the island where
rocky beaches pinch in from both sides. I’m
not sure if it is friendly at all tides which may be why Bill established Camp
III.
If you know where this camp is I would like to hear about
it.
CAMP III
On the opposite side of Weeteeum Bay the islands are located
in a general north-south orientation.
Narrow passages separate them and on the western side of the
largest island is Camp III. The sandy
beach at Camp III is between 40 – 50 meters wide depending on tides.
Unlike Camp I it doesn’t collect a lot of large drift logs
so camping at the top of the beach is easy.
The windscreen stands just above the beach and is marked
with a buoy hung from a tree. This camp
is in the best condition of any that I have visited since seeing Dallas in 2007.
The undergrowth is taking over the camp but all of the
primary elements are there. The bed,
bench, firestand and fire wood rack are all in decent condition. Instead of a wooden ridge pole Bill used rope
with a simple yet effective tensioning mechanism. The
fire wood rack is full of precisely split and perfectly dry cedar. You can light it with a single match which is
remarkable since it has been in the rack for at least 14 years along with 4
rusty saw blades.
Bill’s water source is found just inside the forest at the
north end of the beach. The platform over
the seep is rotted to the point that you don’t want to lay on it to scoop
water. When we were there the seep
overflowed onto the beach where we dug a hole for it to collect in.
Bill stayed here for 5 days in July 2003 and complained of
mosquitoes, black flies and no-seeums. He
last stayed at this camp on September 26, 2003 before returning to Higgins
Passage Camp and journaled that he had gathered “13 huge mussels”. He would never return. In a month and a half he would leave for
Goose on what turned out to be his last trip.
This camp is referred to as “a6” in the free publication: “West Coast Aristazabal, Price & Athlone Islands – a field guide for paddlers”
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