72 » OpenRoad Driver
from just across the cove . With barely enough time to pay our respects , unexpected sheets of rain turn us away from the rock . We leave Gorgie Sethlingun Nah , or Gorgie ’ s Coffin House , and the sacred Testlatlints to head back along the beach .
Day two is a fresh start that takes us in the opposite direction towards Cox Beach to the west . The hike to Cox Beach is an hour-long trek each way , no problem for experienced hikers in swampy and steep sections , but challenging for others . Most of us put on knee-high gumboots courtesy of the lodge .
The hike offers a bit of everything . We ’ re immediately surrounded by a canopy of moss-laden trees . Very little sunshine breaks through , so the constant rain and mist have created a soft carpet of elbow-deep moss on the forest floor . You would be tempted to think of Fangorn Forest from Tolkien ’ s Lord of the Rings , but this is distinctly Kiis Gwaii .
Along the way we tackle sucking wet mud that can be shin deep . We crawl down 70-degree vertical drops in places , and we ’ re rewarded by just enough clearings to
marvel at the old-growth trees . In this Kiis Gwaii version of Mossome , there must be a hundred shades of green in this wonderland of awesome moss , punctuated above by bright red huckleberries that are as beautiful to see as they are bitter to the tongue .
We descend steeply towards the shoreline where suddenly , we reach a clearing and arrive on the sands of Cox Beach . The beach overlooks Cloak Bay , named after the sea otter cloaks that dominated the fur trade between the Haida and Europeans in the late 1700s and into the 1800s . Kiis Gwaii holds a place in history . It marks the location where Haida peoples and Europeans encountered each other for the first time in 1774 .
As we explore the beach further , the mist is at times refreshing and at times soaking as the weather alternates between mist , cloud , rain and sun . As the local Haida say , you only need to wait a few minutes for a change if you don ’ t like the weather on Kiis Gwaii .
Beyond the everchanging weather , the scenery is unique to this otherworldly place . No matter how improbable , the craggy trees have endured generations of ocean storms , perched on top of volcanic rocks that jut out of the water as if they ’ ve been thrown towards the sky . For millennia , the wind and sea have carved the rocks until they lean today , standing at the same angles and bowing to the forces of nature .
With our hike complete , our two-day land journey has come to an end in spectacular fashion . Kiis Gwaii is remote and it may be best known for sportfishing . For those who would consider a journey to the most northern edge of Haida Gwaii , the land can enrich your experience and nourish your soul .
WHEN YOU GO
Haida Gwaii Trip Planner gohaidagwaii . ca
Tourism BC hellobc . com / places-to-go / haida-gwaii
West Coast Fishing Club westcoastfishingclub . com