Glenn Lewis and I had been searching for this camp for
years. We had a copy of Bill’s chart
showing the location of the camp on an island less than a kilometer from the
main campsite at the west end on Higgins Passage. ‘We had pretty good beta on the location but
the site was confusing.
Glenn had talked to a power boater who had met Bill at
Higgins Passage and visited his camp. He
described it as having no beach and set far enough back that it wasn’t visible
from the water. Further, he mentioned
that in spite of the lack of a beach Bill had concocted some means of dealing
with his kayak.
From the carefully placed ink dot that Bill used to locate the
camp on his chart it was hard to discern exactly what he was pointing at. Glenn and I differed on where the camp would
be and in 2017 I conducted an unsuccessful search that was cut short by the
ebbing tide and an approaching weather system.
In 2018 Glenn camped at Higgins Passage during a solo
mission and searched about 600 meters of shoreline where it made sense that the
camp would be based on the mark on the chart, the description of the man who
described his visit with Bill and Glenn’s instincts on where a camp would be
based on wind, weather and Bill’s choices.
His search yielded no sign of Billy.
Glenn has been to many of Bill’s camps in the past and knew how these
camps disappeared in the forest so I was surprised that his search came up
empty.
It has often been said by others that Billy Davidson never
carried a camera during his time on the coast but it turns out that is
incorrect. Prior to leaving Calgary Bill
was into filming and probably had some gear.
When Brandon Pullan’s book on Billy comes out next year we will all
learn more about this phase of his life but it would be safe to say that
cameras were not unknown to him.
Eight or nine years ago I established contact with a man who
had grown up with Bill at the Wood’s Christian Home in Calgary. Following Bill’s wake, he ended up with many
of his charts, journals and photos. Over
the years he has shared parts and pieces with me but it wasn’t until last
Winter that he offered a number of photos that Bill had taken at his
camps. Most of them I could identify
from previous visits while others suggested locations but lacked identifying
factors. Four of the photos looked like
the lagoon that I had searched at Higgins Passage in 2017. One photo was taken from the edge of the
forest looking out towards the water where Bill’s kayak was in frame above the
rocky shore and the entrance to the lagoon was obvious. With that information it was pretty easy to
determine where the camp was and in July 2019 Glenn paddled into the lagoon on
a 3.7 meter tide and stepped out on the steep rocky shoreline.
After locating the cedar tree shown in Bill’s photo he
started searching the edge of the forest.
At first there were no signs of a
camp but then 20 – 30 meters west of the Cedar tree he spotted a wooden step
placed between the top of the beach and the upland forest. Stepping into the forest he spotted a coil of
rope hanging on a limb where it had been placed at least 16 years prior. Clearing the salal that choked the path to
the rope and another 5 – 10 meters of trail to the west he entered Higgins Pass
Camp.
Based on photos and the description provided by Glenn this
camp was atypical in several respects of the camps Bill used during his latter
years. Awkward and tide dependent
beaches were not uncommon in Bill’s choices but this one seemed particularly
tough. It is steep and bony making
landings and boat handling difficult.
Lagoon access is limited by tides.
Recall that I was there with an ebbing 2.1 meter tide and had to leave
before I was stranded by the falling water level. The camp seems to have been located far
enough off of a normal choice for a beach that nobody would look there. When I took the photo of the clam garden below
I had no idea that Bill’s camp was hidden in the clump of trees on the upper
left.
Higgins Lagoon Clam Garden 2017
Billy’s journals make it clear that Higgins Pass Camp was a
critical location in his plans.
Strategically, it was ideal for crossing Laredo Sound to or from
Aristazabal and beyond. It wasn’t a place
where he camped for a night before continuing on. This was a place where he spent time.
Why did he choose a location that was made inaccessible by
tides?
Was it just another brick in the wall that he built to
isolate himself from the rest of the world?
A place that nobody was going to find?
Maybe.
Lagoon
Beach at 3.7M Tide
image by Glenn Lewis
Step
and entry to the camp is on the left of the Alder Tree
image by Glenn Lewis
Atypical Camp
Detail
image by Glenn Lewis
Fire
Stand
image by Glenn Lewis
Why don’t the rocks and wooden components show more evidence
of smoke?
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