Captain's Log 2013

Don Wilson. Good Fortune from the Start

Don Wilson in his taxi

For our first visit to Hull Island, Heidi and I needed a ride from Vancouver Island to Hull Island and back. I managed to convince Heidi that a one day visit was definitely safe and just a quick look to see first hand if it was worth pursuing. It wasn't a commitment or anything.

I found Don Wilson and Silver King Taxi via the Port McNeill Business Bureau. Don was impressed I found him this way as he was a town council member and supported the business bureau. Things started off on the right foot! Even more exciting, when I described the island Don says, "yeah, I know the place, it's 1/2 a mile from my home!" Priceless coincidence. We met Don on the dock in Port McNeill and started a great relationship that will last forever.

On the way to and from Hull, Don gave us a fantastic overview of the region's history, terrain and people. He talked about the local guys: Mike Buttle, Len with a saw mill, Doug who is a commercial deep sea diver, Bing and others. Don suggested I ask Mike about Hull Island as they had talked about the sale in the past. So I called Mike and introduced myself. Mike said it was a great piece of land that he was interested in buying but only if he could subdivide it. Apparently, the government didn't want to break it up - not a problem for me.

Heidi and Jon. Let's take a Look.

Setting foot on Hull Island was a significant event - realizing a lifelong dream. Like stepping through a portal from pure imagination to a real wonderland. One step. Solid. Full sensory input. My heart and mind were running all over. Wow! I'm sure Heidi was in similar shock. Awesome that Heidi joined the journey, as we love travel experiences and are usually stronger and braver together.
Crazy to be alone in 240 acres of deep woods surrounded by frigid salt water with strong currents and sea creatures of all sizes. Strange feelings. I was scared in a healthy way. We set off carrying a heavy pack, shovel and machetes. Pack included about 1 1/2 gallons of water, alpine stove, tarp, sweaters and light jackets. Way too heavy, but I wanted to be able to last a few days in case things went wrong.
From the north end of the island we broke through the trees and found the heavily overgrown logging road left behind when about half of Hull was last logged for fir around 1990. We followed the road south along the east side of Hull. Our plan was to go part way down the east side then up across the top of the island. The logging road ended quickly and it became tough going. Steep hillside, dense woods, fallen trees and tall strong salal to struggle through. We soon gave up the east coast venture and headed towards the top. The 400 foot ascent was difficult. Climbing and pulling ourselves up, over, under and around old growth trees. Our bear anxieties were piqued by all the big holes in fallen trees and stumps that looked to us like bear dens. The woods were too thick at the top to get a view so we hiked downhill to the west side and found a beautiful small sunny beach with very light gravel. After being ensconced in woods, it was very relaxing to sit in the sun and get warm. After hiking on the beach and exploring the old logging road (later known as The Highway), Don Wilson showed up like clockwork to take us back to Port McNeill.
Six hours on Hull definitely left me excited to keep going forward.