Water's Edge Ucluelet Blog

By Ross Collicutt

With so many spectacular hiking areas on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland, it's a wonder we all aren't out there every day. Regular commitments and daily routines often get in the way and make it difficult to get out there and hike.

Rain and cold temperatures can make even the most seasoned hiker want to retreat indoors. Sore legs and feet from ill-fitting shoes or boots can send you hobbling back to your car after what could have been a peaceful walk on an excessible forest trail. Like any other sport or activity, there are important things you should know about hiking to enhance your experience. Here are six tips to get you started.

1. Get stable shoes that fit

Easily the most important piece of gear for a hiker? Shoes! You can hike for an hour or you can do a four-month trek in Nepal, but if your shoes don't fit your feet properly you've got a problem. Make sure you take enough time in the store to walk around and gauge their feel. Try to buy your shoes from the most knowledgable salesperson you can find. The salesperson should be able to match your foot length and width with a brand of shoe that best matches your shape.

Stores will often let you take the shoes home and walk around the house to give them an extra trial. If you decide the shoes aren't right for you, they'll still be clean and returnable. The less movement there is in the shoe when you walk, the better. Having a shoe that fits well will prevent blisters and sore feet. Once you get a blister from a shoe or boot, the rest of your hike won't be much fun.

For more strenuous hikes or trips in uneven terrain, it's important to have a stable shoe or boot. Tall boots are more stable than shoes and can prevent a rolled ankle or other injuries because of their better grip on your ankle. Many hiking boots are waterproof, so you'll be able to go through deeper puddles and streams without getting wet.

>> For complete article visit A-Life BC Travel Blog

By Jacqueline Windh

The bald eagle is the national bird of the United States. Its image appears on many American government seals. But when I used to kayak-guide in Clayoquot Sound, I found it ironic that many Americans only see a bald eagle for the first time here in Canada. To residents of Tofino and Ucluelet, a soaring bald eagle is almost a daily sight.

Bald eagle populations fell into decline in the U.S.A. as a result of both DDT pesticide use, which kept the birds from reproducing successfully, and as a result of hunting. By the mid-1950s, a bald eagle population that was estimated to have been in the hundreds of thousands had fallen to just 412 nesting pairs (in the U.S.A., excluding Alaska). The bald eagle was placed on the endangered species list in 1967, and DDT was banned in the U.S.A. in 1972.

>> Read complete article on A-Life BC Travel Blog

With the launching of our new mobile website, you can now request a reservation, view photos of our guest suites, and explore specials and packages from the palm of your hand!

Check us out by visiting www.watersedgeresort.ca from your mobile device.

By Jacqueline Windh

It’s that time of year when we’re all scrambling around to buy Christmas gifts. We actually have quite a number of talented published local authors in and around Tofino and Ucluelet. So I’d like to suggest a few books which could make great gifts for people who either already love the West Coast, or who you may want to introduce to the West Coast.

Beyond the Outer Shores, by Eric Enno Tamm

Beyond the Outer Shores is an account of the life of Ed Ricketts - scientist, writer, and mentor and best friend to John Steinbeck. Ricketts co-authored two books on the Pacific Coast with Steinbeck, and was working on a third to complete the trilogy when he died. That third book, The Outer Shores, was to be the "northern sequel" to the first two, and Ricketts’ research took him to the Tofino and Ucluelet shores. Author Eric Enno Tamm was born in Tofino and raised in Ucluelet, although he currently lives in Ontario.

For complete article visit the A-Life BC Travel Blog

By Jacqueline Windh

The Thornton Creek Salmon Hatchery is only a short drive from Ucluelet. This hatchery and creek are one of the best places to observe a miracle of the natural world: the annual salmon spawn. And it is also a great place to watch bears in the wild - especially this time of year.

The hatchery itself is part of a salmon enhancement project that raises baby salmon to be released in streams and rivers throughout the Clayoquot/Barkley Sound region. Scientists still do not fully understand what has caused the decline of the salmon. Some factors include: a history of overfishing; industrial logging, which clogs up streams with mud and logging debris; and salmon farming, which results in non-native salmon species escaping to the wild and which also may introduce and concentrate diseases that pass to wild salmon populations.

> Read complete story on the A-Life BC Travel Blog

By Jacqueline Windh

Vargas Island, Flores Island, Estevan Point, Juan de Fuca Strait, Alberni Inlet… even the town of Tofino! Have you ever wondered why there are so many Spanish names here?

Few Canadians today are aware of how strong the Spanish presence was, here on the west coast, just over 200 years ago. The Spanish were actually the first Europeans to make contact with the First Nations people here - four years before the arrival of Captain Cook.

In 1774, a frigate under the command of Juan Pérez was dispatched from the Spanish naval base of San Blas (in Mexico) to explore the coast to the north. In August of that year, the ship sailed into a small cove on the west coast of the Hesquiaht Peninsula, about halfway between Clayoquot and Nootka Sounds. Although none of the Spaniards went ashore - a strong westerly wind pushing them towards the rocky coast forced them to weigh anchor and depart - some of the Hesquiaht natives paddled out to the ship before it left. Contact was made, and gifts were exchanged.

> Read complete story on the A-Life BC Travel Blog

By Jacqueline Windh

This weekend marks the 11th annual Tofino Lantern Festival.

Anyone who has ever attended the Lantern Festival will remember the magic of the rainforest at night, lit up by the soft glow of hundreds of hand-made lanterns. And anyone who has not attended… well, they should put this unique event into their calendar.

The Lantern Festival takes place in the Tofino Botanical Gardens, and it is organized by the Raincoast Education Society. RES events in the week leading up to the festival include numerous lantern-making workshops—you can bring your own craft supplies or use one of their kits with all supplies included. So, anyone who wants to take their own original lantern to the event has their chance to do that. (Check out the RES website for the workshop schedule).

> Read more on the A-Life Blog

By Jacqueline Windh

Yes, you heard that right.

Many people want to do the right thing both environmentally and healthwise, but lament the high price of local organic food.

Well, out here on the west coast, we have local organic food available for free, six months of the year!

Wild berries are one of the most delicious and easy-to-find food sources here on the west coast. And yes, the season really does run for six months or more. The first salmonberries appear in May, and evergreen huckleberries (also known locally as cinamock or winterberries) remain good for the picking in the cool temperatures of early winter, through November and even December.

> Read more on the A-Life Blog

By Jacqueline Windh

This long-running annual festival presents a lot more than just fun. Ukee Days is also a window into Ucluelet’s logging heritage, both past and present. The rich natural resources of the west coast: furs, fish and timber were what drew Europeans to this coast.

In the Ucluelet, one of those very first European settlements was the Sutton brothers’ sawmill, established in 1861—you can still see the site of that original mill across the harbour from the Ucluelet docks.

Logging and fishing were the two industries that drove this remote outpost into the town that it is today.

Although logging is no longer the mainstay of Ucluelet’s economy, many of Ukee’s logging families still live in town and some of them still work in the industry.

> Read more on the A-Life Blog

By Jacqueline Windh

Summer is a chance to step back in history from the docks of Ucluelet.

The historic ship MV Frances Barkley sails the waters of Alberni Inlet year-round, servicing Bamfield and smaller settlements along the inlet from Port Alberni, but it only stops in to Ucluelet over the summer months.

> Read more on the A-Life Blog to find out why you should set sail on the MV Frances Barkley to get yourself from Port Alberni to Ucluelet this summer instead of taking the highway.