Roscoe Inlet

Lying to the west of Ocean Falls, Roscoe Inlet has some of the most striking domes and granite faces you’ll see in British Columbia.  In particular, beyond the Goosenecks of the Roscoe, at the head of the inlet, Yosemite-like vistas, complete with waterfalls, abound.

Quartcha Bay ends in a large delta - a good place to see bears.  We rafted with Halcyon for cocktails and soon were passing around binoculars to watch a black bear feeding on the delta.  The bay is a feast for the senses.  Numerous waterfalls sparkle in the late evening light.  Birds soar and dive and paddle and call.  Fish jump and stir the water, breaking the single reflection into many facets.  The vee of an otter's wake points toward the far shore.  The very air is alive with the call of birds and the splash of fish against a background sound of tumbling water.  We fall silent.  The place is speaking to us.

The sun falls below the mountain top and some of the magic is gone.  We break off and drop our own hook in 17 feet of water.  As the boat settles on her anchor, I notice the depth sounder reads 115 feet.  The GPS shows no movement.  We’re anchored on the edge of a cliff.  While I’m pondering what to do, Bill calls.  “What depth do you show?” he asks. 

 “One fifteen,” I say.  Not good.  If the wind comes up from the direction of the delta and the anchor drags, it will be dangling in the water.  Five minutes later the anchors are up; and at 20:30 we’re running for Boukind Bay five miles away.  Not as pretty, but the guide suggests that we might hear wolves.