"It has been said by people who have travelled the world and viewed all its beauty spots that two places stand out as the greatest mountain scenery in the world. One is Princess Louisa and the other is Milford Sound in New Zealand." Ray Phillips, The Royal Fjord
The distance from the boat launch at French Creek to Chatterbox Falls at the head of Princess Louisa Inlet is 70 nautical miles. Our boat chugs at about 7 knots. You can figure out how long it took us to get there. We broke the trip into two days, and it didn't seem overly long.
Unfortunately, smoke from the BC wildfires drifted westward and obscured the view. At times it felt like we were drifting on an unknown sea, not certain that there was anything beyond the next point of land.
The inlet is narrow and tall vertical peaks rise sharply from the water, so high that we had to tip our heads far back to see the peaks (or their outline, as the case was).
Chatterbox Falls lies at the head of the inlet, a torrent of freshwater, fed by multiple waterfalls above, rushing over rocks and logs to the saltwater. We anchored our boat, at the bottom of the falls for the best view in the house (our boat is the little one on the left) for a blissful few days.
We rowed our little dinghy along the shore and captured these photos with the falls in the background. It was hot and the spray refreshing.
Yours truly. This is my boating hair - curly, frizzy, wild. I tie it back in a pony tail to try to control it. I am so thankful for my flat iron!
The mist from the falls rises in great clouds wafted here and there by the breeze. Beautiful moss covers rocks and logs; tiny star-shaped flowers bloom in the hidden places. The water falls and falls in unending streams, creating a lush environment.
The trails near the falls are not long and we like to get out and hike. We saw this sign, talked to a family who had done the trail, and set out one morning to do the same. 550 metres = 1800 feet. It was strenuous, alright. We made it in 1 hour 45 minutes, scrambling up rocky faces, using tree roots as foot holds, and sweating a lot. I can't imagine the Trapper who once lived up here who would have hauled his supplies from the inlet up this trail.
The Trapper chose a beautiful spot for his cabin (now in ruins) beside another waterfall. How lovely it was to let the cooling spray fall on our faces. Taking these photos with my camera's timer feature proved hilarious. There are other takes where I'm scrambling over the rocks and don't quite make the photo.
Here's a little perspective. The white speck above the "w" in white is the Trapper's Cabin waterfall. Our boat is in the bottom of the photo. After our descent we changed into swimming suits and bathed in the stream coming off Chatterbox Falls. Brrrr!
In the inlet, the water was completely calm, disturbed only by the comings and goings of boats and the occasional float plane. There are tour operators who bring people here for an hour or so, by fast boats or planes to see this amazing place. I suggest you do an internet search to truly see the beauty of this place. My smokey photos are but sad representations.
It is such a peaceful place. The continual chatter of the falls dulls other sounds. Admiring the scenery takes time and is utterly absorbing. The quietness of nature seeps deep into my mind and soul.
Another day, on a tip from friends, we rowed to a stream trickling down through the rocks, climbed a very short ways and found this small waterfall. Two rocky pools, one just below the falls and another a bit lower, are completely hidden from shore and also very "refreshing." This was another case of using the delayed timer on the camera and I had just fallen into the water at this moment. I look at these photos and think that we are very silly for our ages. But we do have a lot of fun together.
A low-flying heron. You can barely make out the far shore. It was indeed eerie.
And our view leaving the inlet, still smokey. The next day the smoke blew away and it was lovely to see blue skies and real clouds. One day we hope to return to Princess Louisa Inlet when there is no smoke.
I loved your post Lorrie, what a beautiful place despite the smoke. In some ways it gave the place an intriguing quality. Love your timer photos , glad you still enjoy having fun :). B x
ReplyDeleteI would have thought the smoke was just mist, it looks quite beautiful. These photos are amazing and now you have me wanting to visit the inlet myself! Gorgeous waterfalls and beautiful views all around. Love the timed photos, looks like you're both having a great time. The last photo looks like a wood block print :)
ReplyDeleteWendy
How beautiful!!!
ReplyDeleteAmazing scenery and the smoke does give it an ethereal look and feel...especially for the pic of the heron. Love the one of the two of you, it's great to still have fun no matter what your age! Lots of big smiles...I love it!
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful places you take us to ,Lorrie.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a true adventure and I'm guessing after the sweaty hike you cooled off rapidly in the chilly water. I now want to look it up to see its beauty, though your photos showed a lot.
ReplyDeleteWow! You are two adventurous folk. Loved seeing your travels. I can imagine the extra beauty without the smoke, too.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing these gorgeous photos, Lorrie! I'm not much of an outdoorsy person so I have to live vicariously through you.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Is your camera waterproof?
What a wet and wonderful, Shangri-la kind of place to hang out! The smoke does not mask the placid water of the inlet, and the peaceful quality of the whole experience. You both look very happy!!
ReplyDeleteDelightful! Yay for having fun!
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing trip Lorrie! I will look online to learn more about this gorgeous and fun place. It's awesome that you guys are still doing silly things. Love this post. Have a wonderful week.
ReplyDeleteI am amazed by your adventurous spirit and also by your strength and stamina! Why not have fun together? :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post! Off to google . . .
You can tell it is stunningly beautiful. What an amazing place. I'm glad you had such great adventures and time together!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to google it now too!
Lorrie - this is such a delightful post. You had me laughing out loud about the timer feature on your camera - I can see the mirth on your faces - well done for being such a good sport and telling us about it! We were in BC and Alberta last week and I can relate to the smoke description -several times I showed my family members pictures of the sites so that they would know what is normal! My favorite picture is the boat on the calm water - so lovely. And as always, your writing is so descriptive - felt like I was there! Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful spot, it is lovely to know that we still have these special places preserved in our world. It was sad about the smoke, but it does add an air of mystery to the photos.
ReplyDeleteI admire your sense of adventure and fun. What an amazing boat trip and the photos are awesome. Too bad about the timing with the smoke, but something tells me you will indeed get there again.
ReplyDeleteLovely photos even with the smoke.
ReplyDeleteYOur photos are incredible and might I add you and your husband are adorable.
ReplyDeleteYou two sure know how to have fun - and these great candid pix are wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI looked up the area online, there were some lovely pix, but yours were definitely more interesting for me Lorrie.
I had to look this up to see where it is. Wow, so beautiful. My husband and I are thinking about our next big trip, and the Vancouver area is definitely on the list! Looks like you had a lot of fun. And an accomplishment to climb so far, especially seeing it from a distance. What a great trip. I had to laugh picturing you scrambling to get into the pictures! xo Deborah
ReplyDeleteThis post was just beautiful / so many lovely photos but what I got a 'kick' out of it is what you termed ' hilarious ' / running back and forth trying to get timed photos of you two :)
ReplyDeleteYES you have fun together :)
Such a shame that there have been fires, but the smoke definitely added to the atmosphere in your photos, although probably not so fun to be there and smelling it. Love your timed photo!
ReplyDeleteI love your hair!!!! Iwish I had curls! I love all your photos to lady!
ReplyDeleteOh I am just loving that pic of you in the pool of water with your love. So cute! And I love your curly hair! Great photos of a lovely place. :) Kit
ReplyDeleteI'd say you were lucky to have visited this paradise when the smoke from the fires, albeit unfortunate, was floating through the air, as the effect is mystical, magical and dreamy.
ReplyDeleteYou and your hubby look like you're having the best time, and your scrambling for automatic snapshots, had me giggling. Sounds like so much fun!
Another blissful haven of Canada's pretty, Pacific province; thanks for sharing it with us. This expat really appreciates it!
Poppy
Oh Lorrie...what a gorgeous, calm and serene place! Your photos are phenomenal and the smoke just added to haunting beauty. That was quite a hike...and it doesn't seem like any other humans were around. And you were adorable in your curly "boat hair". :D
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic post, lovely to see all of your photographs
ReplyDeleteYou and your hubby look like you're having such a good time.
I was fortunate to go to New Zealand a few years back now. Milford Sound was on the tour and it was fabulous.
All the best Jan
I just love the pictures of you two together! What a place this is. Breathtaking even with the smoke. Makes it look like fog. You should check your camera and see if you can use a remote shutter release for it. I ordered mine for something like $8 online. Makes life so much easier!
ReplyDeleteWhat loveliness! The fires have been so sad. As I drove from California on Tuesday, the smoke just burned my eyes about 3/4 of the trip north. Such relief when I finally was out of the smoke. I can't even fathom the devastation.
ReplyDeleteYou are not silly and I like your frizzy, curly hair!
ReplyDeleteOh my, what an amazing trip! And to take your own boat and enjoy it all on your own time and schedule! So sorry about the smoke, I feel the sadness in your post, and I understand, because it has been so terribly smoky here too! At times the wind changes and takes the smoke elsewhere. You had an amazing time in spite of the smoke, and I loved the fun picture of you and your husband in the waterfall pool, isn't it wonderful to share such wonderful times with your husband! I just looked up the pictures of the inlet, and my, they are beautiful, at all times of year! It would be nice to see it with the snow-capped mountains, but cold! lol... I can't imagine the trapper living in that difficult of a spot to get to! Enjoyed this post today :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun trip, Lorrie! I loved seeing the pics, seeing where you hiked and that you and your hubby still have such a good time together...pure happiness!
ReplyDelete