Malcolm Island: eagles and orcas TR

[powder11]

Malcom Island is off the northern tip of Vancouver Island in the Broughton Archipelago islands. Its known for tons of wildlife and more specifically a place where pods of Orca whales go to rub themselves on the shore of the beach. The shoreline is covered in very round rocks that have been worn down by the ocean and for unknown reasons, the Orcas go there every summer to rub on the rocks. My wife and I decided it was time to go see for ourselves, so we packed up the car and headed north.

Malcolm island is also home to a small Finnish fishing community known as Sointula. The Finns settled on Malcolm island over a hundred years ago to set up a Utopian society and escape the harsh conditions of immigrant slave labor they had been experiencing in Vancouver.

Aside from the historical Fishing village, the island is virtually devoid of any development. The free campground at Bere point we stayed at is located on the opposite side of the island and right on the same beach the whales rub on! We were the only ones camping and couldnt see anything man made as far as the eye could see.

While enjoying our morning coffee on the beach day 1, we heard what sounded like heavey breathing or exhaling from the water. I looked up and saw an orca breach out of the water right off the shoreline and go back down. another one soon followed. we watched the dorsel fins work their way down the beach, supposedly rubbing themselves on the rocks. My many attempts to photogragh failed miserably as it was hard to predict when the whales would breach and it was only for a breif moment before they headed back down. I was told more whales frequent the spot later in the summer and its easier to get a good photograph.

moon rising our first night camping



view of the queen charlotte straights from our campsite



Alaskan cruise ship heading down the inside passage back to Vancouver



walking down the desolate beach



an eagle flew by



and landed in this tree



this bird wanted a peice of my dog, who had to run like a mofo to get away!



Beautiful Bay trail meanders through this lush rain forrest abutting the beach and is part of the Bere point campground. Theres a few whale viewing stations set up at various view points high up along the trail.



large western red cedars are making a comeback after being cut over a century ago by the original Finnish settlers. According to the locals, wood from Malcolm island was used to build the original bridge from Vancouver to North Van by the Finnish immigrants.



kind of spooky when you get way in there



Malcolm island is one of the coolest places Ive ever been. The sheer remoteness and wilderness experience of the inside passage is something usually only seen from a boat sailing by. Im already planning a sailboat charter later in the summer to be able to really get out and explore the entire Broughton Archipelago.

more pics to come if I motivate...

[sledneckripper]

Wow, super cool./ I like the shots of the baldy.

Kickass sickness man.

[Eldo]

Cool TR.

I particularly like this shot. It would make a nice framed photo.

[Alpine Dreams]

Cool pic, thanks for sharing.

[skadams.ca]

Met a fisherman from Sointula last weekend who was adament that I HAD to make a trip there during the summer and rambled on and on about its tranquility and beauty. I think your TR just sold me on it!! Do you know how long the whales frequent the island rocks for? Would love to see more pics

[Squirrel99]

Fuck that, if she can chase bears, Pika should be leaping for that bird!

[powder11]

Fuck that, if she can chase bears, Pika should be leaping for that bird!

not this bird...



I almost ran myself when I realized it was swooping down at us. Kristina was screaming her head off at it so that was all it took to get the bird to fly off. no idea what kind of bird it is, but it looks mean.

[AKPogue]

Looks like a young bald eagle to me?

[brice618]

yeah an adolescent eagle

[freshie247]

Good Work, I was just in the Couve for a week & meant to get out to the island, but didn't have the time. I Drove up to Horseshoe Bay,Whistler ,Brandywine Falls one day, rode around Stanley Park another, went to the Police show, Boated around the Howe Sound,spent a couple of days at Wreck Beach,& then I was done! I can't wait to go back!

[Hutch]

Cool pics, and that's interesting about the Finnish slaves, but shouldn't there be at least one orca picture?

[hop]

Yeah wtf... no KW pics = blatant false advertising!! Did you get any pics of any KW's? If so post them up and I might be able to tell you who they are.

I'll third the young bald eagle thing... IIRC that's about a 3-4 year old as it's just getting the adult plumage in.

That part of the world is pretty awesome. Cool TR! Reminds me I need to get back there; it's been 9 years now which is waaaay too long.

[Bring On The Snow]

I saw some KWs circling up a seal on time they made like a ring and where taking turns diving down at it pretty fucking cool to watch(the seal got fucked up by the way).

That eagle that chased your dog looks badass

[altasnob]

Nice TR! I'm guessing you take a ferry from Vancouver Island out there? How long did it take you to get there from Vancouver?

[powder11]

Yeah wtf... no KW pics = blatant false advertising!! Did you get any pics of any KW's? If so post them up and I might be able to tell you who they are.

I'll third the young bald eagle thing... IIRC that's about a 3-4 year old as it's just getting the adult plumage in.

That part of the world is pretty awesome. Cool TR! Reminds me I need to get back there; it's been 9 years now which is waaaay too long.

I hate myself for not getting good photos of the orcas. I ran to grab my camera from the tent and then tried to time it right but they came up and went down too fast to get in focus properly plus they seemed to be spending alot of time under the water, supposedly rubbing on the rocks. I was too nervous and failed miserably. The best part was actually hearing them up close, its quite an experience. the whales seemed fairly small to me and I wouldnt really be able to describe them to you in any detail.

I never knew young eagles looked like that, it wanted a peice of my dog for sure, scary!

Malcolm island is a 40 min ferry ride from Port McNeill which is about 5 hrs north of Nanaimo.

[hop]

well, cheesy as it sounds, the memories will probably be way more coolerer than any photos you might have scored. Props to you!

being near a KW rubbing beach is pretty stunning any way you slice it!

[mtnbikerskierchick]

Where's the orcas? I like orcas!!!

Great pics in there though!!!!!

[komo]

wicked sick! just got back from my own trip to the broughton.
TR in a while (once photos are organized)

here's a teaser photo, unfortunately pretty low res. this was taken in baker sound (between gilford and baker islands, across the channel from malcom).

[vanisle]

Nice pics,done a bit of fishin around Malcolm,lots of whales for sure.Next time bring some boards and hit Mount Cain for some touring.Its only 45 minutes away and looks like there was still lots of snow when you were up that way.
We did a little touring in that area yesterday and were able to ski right to the truck.

[Flake]

It was a little moist but it was fun hiking the "unnamed couloir". Where's the pics?

[akrdubbs]

Holland America - ruining wilderness scenes since 19-whenever.

Alaskan cruise ship heading down the inside passage back to Vancouver

[GBB]

Another place added to the "must visit" list. thanks a lot for the TR.

[ak_powder_monkey]

save Alaska, bomb cruise ships

[refried]

The best part was actually hearing them up close, its quite an experience. the whales seemed fairly small to me and I wouldnt really be able to describe them to you in any detail.

I've paddled with orcas at night and it's real strange to hear them comunicating with each other thru your boat, and real scary when they pop up next to you to check you out. They are a lot bigger than you think, and look real big when your in an 8' WW kayak, some of the dorsal fins on the larger ones are above your head in a small boat. I never had a problem with them even though they are 3x the size of my boat, I always picture them decieding to play with my boat as they pass, the otters are the ones to watch out for, they're mean.
An eagle tried to get my cat once, it flew past me (I felt his wing feathers in my hair) and went for the cat who was 3' away on a fence.