Ladysmith, Sept 9-11th

Back on the Vancouver Island side near the Canadian Gulf Islands, we stayed at Ladysmith for a couple of nights. This was a nice little town with a quiet guest dock run by the local maritime community. We felt right at home. 

Old logging tug:

There were a crazy amount of rabbits on the uplands near the marina. This must be a local rabbit depository for people who are tired of their pet bunnies. They were everywhere. We thought of taking one home but assumed Kona might object.

Sue has no comment for this:

We had a nice garlic prawn pasta dinner on the boat the first night:

...and went to an excellent local Spanish-Tapas place the second night. Aside from being the birthplace of Pamela Anderson this town is known for a bakery that has renowned cinnamon rolls. We of course had to draw our own conclusions (multiple tests of course) and we're pleased to announce that they were indeed delicious. Eaten so quickly, no photographic evidence exists.

We also met up with a fellow cruiser, J.R. on his Krogen 42'. He has extensive knowledge of the Inside Passage after cruising it for many years. He shared some stories and good book recommendations with us over some pie one evening that also came from the bakery. 

Yes, overall we enjoyed Ladysmith quite a bit. 

Pender Harbor and Jedidiah Island, Sept 6-9th

After Princess Louisa, it was time to start heading South towards the Canadian Gulf Islands (and yet another layer of civilization). We made it to Pender Harbor for a quick overnight stop, then on to Jedediah Island. Jedidiah is between Lasqueti and Texada Islands and is uninhabited, except for the now wild sheep that were left behind when the Islands last resident family left. There are also supposed to be wild goats here that are descended from animals left on shore by early Spanish explorers, but the goats eluded us during our stay. Anchoring options in the little coves on Jedediah is tricky, but we found decent spot and dinghied ashore for a quick reconnaissance hike. 

This is the homestead occupied by Mary and Al Palmer, the islands last residents. Their story is below. Sounds like they made a pretty good life out here, and the remains of some other structures, farming equipment, and a fruit orchard (still producing) are scattered around this part of the island.

The descendants of the sheep they kept now run wild. This group like to hang around the orchard for free hand-outs from any visitors who are picking:

The next day, we went for a longer hike to the top of the island at about 500ft elevation - it seemed a lot higher... We were the only ones on the island this day.

Sheep bones. No predators here so likely just natural causes.

The hike turned into more of a rock scramble towards the end:

A cache at the top with a guest book:

Driftwood Beach:

Nice to find the dinghy still there at the trailhead.

We set the prawn trap out in the channel where we saw another boat catching the day before.

Jackpot: