Coasting British Columbia

“Be at one with your herring,” my sister Linda said, mocking me as she slipped a wriggling silver sliver onto her hook. I had foolishly asked her secret to catching fish. Even when we were imps in the early ‘60s, sitting side by side on the banks of the Chilliwack River in British Columbia using $1.99 fishing rods, she would haul in buckets full of trout. Then she’d mince back to Grandma, who’d fry them up in butter. I never caught a single one.

When she grew up and married a commercial fisherman no one was surprised; we knew it was because she brought him luck.

Throughout the ‘80s she and her husband, Pat, fished for salmon and prawns up and down the Sunshine Coast north of Vancouver on an old 30-foot double-ender called the Star King. In 1992 the boat went down at its marina mooring. The marriage sank soon after.

Meanwhile, I had moved to Montreal and become a journalist. Though my sister and I don’t share a common lifestyle, we both love a road trip. Last summer I asked whether she’d like to drive the Sunshine Coast to visit her old haunts. “I’ll bring the beer,” she said, “and we’ll go fishing.”

Technically part of mainland British Columbia, the Sunshine Coast is a peninsula north of Vancouver that can be reached only by ferry. Long beaches line lush forests of red cedar and Douglas fir that descend from the Coast Mountains to the sea. Cottages and lodges add to the island-lifestyle feel. The “Sunshine Coast” name is based on weather service logs that show an average 2,400 hours of sun a year. That adds up to 200 days, making the area sunnier and drier than anywhere else along the soggy coast of British Columbia. The driest time of year--and my favorite time to visit--is late summer and through September, when the days are still warm and crowds have departed.

The combination of spectacular wilderness scenery and good weather makes this a popular destination for outdoor activities. The region is known for its hiking and horseback riding trails, and the many lakes make it excellent canoe country. The coastline’s sheltered fiords are perfect for kayaking, and the waters are among the best on the coast for scuba diving. And, of course, there is fishing, in the lakes and on the ocean.

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We hopped the Langdale Ferry from West Vancouver’s Horseshoe Bay for a 40-minute trip across Howe Sound, past heavily wooded islets. In Gibsons Landing we headed for the funky Flying Cow, known for all-day breakfasts. The cafe, like the town and this whole coast, is a mixture of millworkers in pickup trucks and alternative-lifestyle folks, often heavily pierced and with Technicolor hair. Flower-covered houseboats brighten the marina. Several art outlets, including the Gibsons Landing Gallery, are owned and operated by local artists who work from rural studios marked on a map we’ve picked up. The region has a thriving cultural scene and is home to one of the highest per-capita ratios of artists and craftsmen in Canada.

“Every road trip needs a mission,” said Linda. “Ours is to stop at every single gallery.”

We set off along winding coastal Highway 101; eventually the road would take us 110 miles north along Georgia Strait. But by the time we’d gone the 14 miles to Sechelt, the coast’s main town, we’d already visited potters, painters, glassblowers and artists who sculpt with iron. Sechelt takes its name from the Sechelt Band, part of the Coast Salish group of Indians. In the area are ancient pictographs and seashell mounds, a cultural center and excellent native art galleries like the Tsain-Ko.

We prowled galleries in houses along Trail Bay. The sign outside one artist’s home said, “Two old crows live here”; inside we smelled the aroma of fresh cedar from the traditional baskets the artist wove. Totem poles lined Trail Bay, and we stretched out on the rocky beach with a picnic lunch.

On the waterfront north of Sechelt we stopped at one of Linda’s haunts, the old Wakefield Inn. “I love this place, it’s so cheesy,” she said as we passed through carved wooden doors into a log-lined pub that featured a moose head above the fireplace. It was a sunny afternoon, and we took a table on the deck overlooking the sea. We sipped beer and discussed former cooking practices aboard the Star King. “The best thing was ‘brown bombers’--ocean perch. We’d wrap them in foil with salt, pepper and sliced onions,” she recalled, “then slap the package on the engine for 2 1/2 hours as we motored along. Just delicious.”

We began driving north again. Alongside the 60-year-old Halfmoon Bay General Store we dropped into the Anchor Rocks Gift and Gallery and bought handmade merino lambskin slippers, a Sunshine Coast tradition from the local Slipper Factory. By late afternoon we were saddled up at the waterfront Malaspina Ranch Resort at Madeira Park. In the late afternoon light we rode into the hills and spotted herds of elk.

For dinner we drove a few miles north to Ruby Lake Resort. It is a birder’s paradise: two lakeside suites and 10 cottages on a private lagoon within a bird sanctuary. There are more than 90 species of birds here, including wood ducks and blue herons. As we nibbled appetizers at dusk, bald eagles soared in to feed on the shore of the lake. Although far from civilization, the resort’s Milanese restaurant was a pleasant surprise. Giorgio Cogrossi explained: “In Milan I modeled for Armani and arranged parties for Prince and David Bowie.” Then he visited the Sunshine Coast, fell in love with the area, went home and convinced his family to move to Ruby Lake, B.C. They bought and restored the old resort. Now brother Aldo runs the kitchen in the woods, which is one of the region’s best-kept secrets.

A sudden breeze popped up. Linda paused, a forkful of cherry wood-smoked sockeye salmon in midair. “Blowing southeast,” she said. “We won’t be fishing tomorrow.” It was an omen. “You mark my words,” I replied, waving a steaming chunk of cedar plank-smoked sockeye in my little sister’s face, “this is as close as we get to a fish on this trip.”

We awakened to the rhythm of howling wind, but because the skies were clear we decided to head on with our tour and try our luck at fishing on the return. We puttered around Pender Harbour and Garden Bay, seaside and lakeside holiday spots that haven’t changed since we vacationed here 35 years ago. At 10 a.m. we checked our tide tables and headed toward Skookumchuck Narrows Park, where the incoming and outgoing tides squeeze through narrows at up to 20 mph, creating spectacular white water. Giant waves and whirlpools suck down logs and spit them straight into the air. On the one-hour hike to the narrows, Linda remembered meeting a fisherman who was sucked backward into a 30-foot whirlpool, nearly losing his boat. On this day the rapids were gentler, yet raucous enough to provide a pair of white-water kayakers with some challenging surf.

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It was a short drive north to Earl’s Cove, where we caught our second ferry of the trip, this one to Saltery Bay. This northern part of the coast is quieter, wilder and much less traveled. We poked among tidal pools at Saltery Bay Provincial Park, finding purple shore crabs, blue mussels, green and pink anemones, and red and orange sea stars. Some of British Columbia’s best scuba diving is found in the deeper waters around here because of their clarity: Divers can count on 100 to 150 feet of visibility on a good day. We hiked around Inland Lake on a trail through forests dripping with moss. The lake trail is part of two longer excursions, the 55-mile Powell Forest Canoe Route and the 115-mile Sunshine Coast Trail through old-growth woods.

In Powell River we met a friend of Linda’s named Rianne at La Casita Mexican cafe. The restaurant’s Mexico City-born owner, Lola, is a skilled stained-glass window artist who also makes a terrific sopa de lima. Rianne took us into the old section of Powell River, a paper mill company town of tidy homes and solid commercial structures that has become a Historical District. The former Bank of Montreal building is now a gallery with excellent works from local artists.

Then Rianne introduced us to the “goat lady.” Lori Kemp is a native Newfoundlander who now lives in a forest home with her four goats: Ginger, Cosmos, Echo and Marble. “I’m the first commercial pack-goat outfitter in Canada,” she said proudly as she strapped onto Cosmos a soft saddle holding two buckets. “We take people day hiking, mushroom picking or overnight camping,” she said, “and the goats can carry up to 50 pounds of gear.” She also runs a simple bed-and-breakfast out of her home.

Just 20 minutes north of Powell River we checked into a seaside cedar chalet at Desolation Sound Resort. Our two-story chalet had a fireplace and a bedroom in the wooden turret. Then we were off to the nearby Laughing Oyster Restaurant, a bistro specializing in local seafood. From our table on the deck we overlooked a panorama of wooded mountain ridges receding in ever paler hues of pink and purple post-sunset light. We downed spicy “Gunpowder” prawns and bouillabaisse.

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The weather stayed sunny, and just after dawn the next morning we squeezed into a couple of kayaks with our guide, Adam Vallance. Ospreys soared overhead as we paddled along Okeover Inlet. In the distance, seals rippled the glassy waters. Adam pointed out oyster leases where the shellfish are commercially grown. A spectacular bright pink sunflower star shimmered in the clear water. “It’s the biggest sea star in the world and has 24 arms,” Adam said. “It’s also the fastest--it zips along at 9 feet a minute.”

Afterward, in search of breakfast, we reached the village of Lund, the end of the road. There’s even a sign to prove it. “Highway 101,” it said, “15,020 kilometers to Puerto Montt, Chile.” We celebrated this auspicious location with softball-size cinnamon buns and coffee from Nancy’s Bakery as we sat overlooking an island recently purchased by Bill Gates. Lund is on the traditional lands of the Sliammon, who offer insights into their culture and way of life with trips in their 30-foot dugout-style canoes. Boat trips travel to Princess Louisa Inlet, where snow-tipped mountains rise sharply from the water’s edge to more than 7,000 feet. Chatterbox Falls at the head of the inlet tumbles 120 feet into the water.

Many people visit the Sunshine Coast as part of the Circle Route, starting out in Vancouver, then crossing from Powell River to Comox on northern Vancouver Island, a 75-minute ferry trip. From there it’s a lovely drive south toward Victoria for another ferry trip back to Vancouver. But we had fish to catch and would head down the coast the way we had come.

I was awakened the next morning with the “zzzz ... zzzz ... “ sound in my ear of fishing line being let out. “Fishies are waiting,” whispered my annoying sibling. In Rob Metcalfe’s 32-foot Chris Craft we set off to fish at Quarry Bay near Pender Harbour. Above the banter of Rob and Linda’s fish stories and Bob Marley’s wailing I could hear loons calling. It was a beautiful day during which many herring were impaled, many beers downed and the view enjoyed, but salmon--as I had predicted--eluded us.

In the end Rob motored into the shallows, quickly catching a rock cod near shore. He instructed me to pitch it into the air. Two bald eagles swooped from a nearby tree and scuffled briefly in midair, with the victor grabbing the doomed cod in its talons before it hit the water. I was happy. At least someone had gotten a fish that day.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Guidebook: Discovering B.C.

Airlines, Air Canada and United Airlines. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $212.85.

By car: The Sunshine Coast is about a four-hour drive north of Seattle.

Ferries: We traveled from Horseshoe Bay in Vancouver to Langdale on the first leg of our trip ($5.05 adults, $2.60 child, $16.47 per vehicle). Other itineraries are available. Call

BC Ferries: (250) 386-3431, www.bcferries.bc.ca.

Where to stay/eat: Ruby Lake Resort, RR1 S20 C25, Madeira Park, BC V0N 2H0, Canada; (604) 883-2269, www.rubylakeresort.com. Cottages from $78 double with breakfast.

Lord Jim’s Resort Hotel, 5356 Ole’s Cove Road, Halfmoon Bay, BC V0N 1Y2, Canada; (877) 296-4593 or (604) 885-7038, www.lordjims.com. Spectacular location overlooking the ocean. Pool. Rooms from $78.

Malaspina Ranch Resort, 13199 Sunshine Coast Highway, Madeira Park, BC V0N 2H0, Canada; (604) 883-1122, webonthefly.com/bigpacific/operators/company.cf. Basic, family-style bed-and-breakfast. Doubles from $55.45. Horseback riding, canoeing available.

Desolation Sound Resort, 2694 Dawson Road, Okeover Inlet, BC V8A 4Z3, Canada; (604) 483- 3592, www.desolationresort.com. Summer rates from $150 double, with three-night minimum. Oceanfront chalets.

Getting there: From LAX, nonstop service to Vancouver is offered by Alaska

Lund Hotel & Resort, 1436 Highway 101, Lund, BC V0N 2G0, Canada; (877) 569-3999 or (604) 414-0474, www.lundhotel.com. Marina, hotel, restaurant, store, RV park. Double rooms from $71.

The Laughing Oyster Restaurant, 10052 Malaspina Road, Powell River, BC V8A 4Z3, Canada, (604) 483-9775, www.laughing-oyster.bc.ca. Entrees from $9.

For more information: Canadian Tourism Commission, 550 S. Hope St., 9th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90071-2627; (213) 346-2700, www.cdnconsulat-la.com.

Other tourism sites: www.hellobc.com, www.bigpacific.com, www.coastandmountains.com, www.discoverpowellriver.com.

Margo Pfeiff