The Ferry

The campground managed to fill up a good deal last night. Good business for the motel owner. They’re so dependent on the ferry for business and support in a lot of these towns. Most of the arrivals in the campground were from the ferry coming in. It sits in the harbor for the night before we board it in the morning.

8:00 rolls around and we’re first in line. One of the benefits of being on a motorcycle. We’re usually the first on and off a ferry. Choice parking as long as you bring some tie downs. The plan is a 24 hour voyage. We’re to leave Bella Coola for Ocean Falls, dock for 3 hours, move on to Shearwater and then down to Port Hardy on the top of Vancouver Island. Other than a little time on the open sea it should be a pretty damn good trip.

We pick up some coffee from some young entrepreneurs at the head of the car line up. It was a nice chance to wake up before heading down to board the ferry. Once on board we took a stroll around to see what’s where. I’m pretty sure it’s the same boat as last time. A couple of decks for viewing, a galley, and some plush recliners in the room up front. Even a little gift shop for those who never seem to have enough t-shirts.

There are maybe 50 people on board this time. It makes for what’s possibly a 1:1 crew ratio. Pretty personable bunch, too. The whole trip is very people-oriented. It’s a nice deviation from the Ferries through Puget Sound that always seem to run themselves as a crew is often never to be found. But this feels damn near a cruise to me (although I’ve never been on one myself, I can make an educated guess). A fair share of the line’s attention is put toward tourism of the area. We take a 30-minute detour to view the most spectacular falls of the inlets. It cascades through the timber miraculously flourishing on the steep glacially carved walls. Another detour brings the boat close to the monument to Sir Alexander McKinzie, the first European to reach the Canadian coastline from the interior. It is my understanding that while his route was never used (although it is a hikeable trail) again the information documented along the way was invaluable.

Finally we reach the pinnacle of my trip: Ocean Falls. I’ve found I have a strange obsession with this place. It’s essentially an abandoned city, created and owned by a paper mill that shut down in ‘81.

The town was once home to a thriving community and at one time, the fourth largest hotel on the entire west coast. Now few residents live in the “downtown” area and most reside in a residential community in a neighboring valley built by the mill in the 1950’s. Perhaps 20% of the original buildings still exist. The rest were bull-dozed by the mill in the mid ‘80’s. Full demolition was planned but a handful of residents refused to leave and so the mill cut their losses and bailed out. Now deciduous trees marks the areas where houses once existed. This trip we were fortunate to meet up with a group of travelers who were once residents of the town. An elderly couple, the husband worked in the mill itself, and their three daughters (one of which was actually born in Ocean Falls). I can only dream of what they saw as they pointed to groves of aspens and argued over where their friend’s house used to be, or what street we were standing on. A big problem with Ocean Falls is that most of the roads were plank ways and now few wooden structures still remain.


I took the initiative, faked illiteracy, and pushed past the doors marked “Keep Out” to wander through some of the old apartment buildings. Time and vandalism have taken their respective tolls on the buildings. Few walls remain undamaged in most of the buildings, but the gloomy interiors are ideal for photography on a well lit day. Think of a post-apocalyptic town and you’ll begin to get the right idea.


On my way back to the ferry to change batteries in my camera I picked up a book called Rain People: the Story of Ocean Falls from a “sales-trailer” of sorts. Any additional research is a good thing.

A few other things to note about Ocean Falls is the lake above the hydro-electric dam is worth diving into if your bring your suit along. There’s a nice little dock to jump off of, or cast a line if you’re the fishing type. Also things are beginning to look up for the town as the BC government has now set up a fish hatchery there thus providing a few jobs and a little more draw.


Shortly after leaving Ocean Falls the crew fired up the BBQ and prepared a deluxe dinner of salmon or steak, grilled to perfection. A little CCR on the boombox, sunshine on the deck, and Osprey overhead made for what’s likely the best meal of the trip. It makes me think of how underrated atmosphere is in restaurants.

Next stop was Shearwater. One of the largest and certainly fastest ship repair facilities on the West Coast. It’s also home to an abandoned Army/Naval base and one hell of a Fisherman’s pub. Having only an hour at dock (and not wanting to meddle with a government property) we headed straight for the pub. It’s no mom and pop shop either. With a full menu, several beers on tap, a full bar, two pool tables, and more than ample seating room it’s one hell of a nice place to grab a drink with the old man. We got a nice table overlooking the water and busied ourselves pooling 9 bucks in Canadian change to pay for the beers. Never mind all the American currency we had on us. We’re such bastards. Two beers would have been perfect but instead we headed back to the boat to claim space in the sleeping lounge. I took the proper precautions in preparation for the open sea with a Dramamine tablet (notorious for knocking me on my ass) and laid back in a recliner. I don’t recall much after that.