John Harvey Photo

Jenny Inlet to Cascade Inlet

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When we woke up this morning we didn't turn the generator on.  We were hoping a bear would have come down to check us out (I slept through it), but nothing came to check us out.  We set off for a day of adventure!

Sir Alexander Mackenzie Monument

I knew we were going to cascade inlet - but I didn't know about the monument.  We stopped and tried to drop anchor (it's deep and windy).  Not being able to anchor, we took the Zodiak in to the little bay and started exploring.

Alexander MacKenzie from Dean Channel

The most obvious part of the site is the large monument the government erected in 1926.  Some maintance must be done here (it's a provincial park) because there is a trail down to a carving in the rock:

Alex MacKenzie Monument

The carving is very cool - Alexander MacKenzie was the first westerner to travel to what would (in less than a hundred years) be the province of British Columbia.

Alex MacKenzie From Canada by Land 22d July 1793



I was sad to find out when I got home that the carving wasn't actually made by Alexander MacKenzie.  It was carved by surveyors years later.  Another notable monument is this petroglyph.  Alexander MacKenzie came here by boat with native guides.  He was hiking on what is now know as the "Greese Trail", a trail used by the natives for transporting eulachon (a small, smelt-like fish) grease.

Rock with Petroglyphs

Having seen everything here, we returned to the curve of time and traveled to Cascade Inlet.

Cascade Inlet

Cascade Inlet it well named - it's a steep sided valley that is long (25+ kilometers), deep (well over 1000 feet in places) and straight.  The walls are covered in trees (where it isn't too steep) and spectacular waterfalls crawl down from the ice fields on the nearby mountains.  We drove up the inlet until we were about 4km from the end.  We put the Kayaks in and paddled to the end.

Diagonal FallsCascade of FallsCascade of Falls

Some parts of the inlet show the glacial sculpting dramatically. Valleys formed by erosion are mostly V sharped and has a most regular decent to the ocean.  This valley is U shaped (from being scrubbed by glaciers) and ends abruptly where the glacier joined the larger glacier that formed Cascade Inlet.

Hanging Valley

We paddled down the Inlet to the end where the Curve of Time was anchored.  We had an enjoyable dinner and went up on deck to enjoy the evening.

Mike Pulling up Prawn Trap

Mike went out to place a prawn trap and I tagged along to see something new.  The prawn trap was put in 300 feet of water (Prawns like it deep).

Sunset in Cascade Inlet

Back on board we enjoyed a wonderful sunset.  Being in a deep valley, you see the light change to orange on the mountain tops and then the light slowly gets darker and blue'er.

Glacier on HillCabin at End of Cascade Inlet

Cabin at End of Cascade Inlet

Well into dusk we saw some motion at the hunting cabin at the end of the inlet.  A small (yearling) Grizzle bear was making noise and eating grass.  We watched as he walked over the ridge behind us and came to a clearing that overlooked our position.  The bear seemed to scratch his face and neck on the tree and then moved on to the beach.  Being past sunset the lighting was tragic, but you can see the progression.

Grizzly Bear Rubbing Tree

Next: Eucott Hot Spring



Mike Pulling up Prawn Trap
Tags: boat, fishing
Alex MacKenzie From Canada by Land 22d July 1793
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Tags: monument, rock, sign
Grizzly Bear Rubbing Tree
Tags: BC fauna, multiple frame image
Rock with Petroglyphs
Tags: art, native art, rock
Cabin at End of Cascade Inlet
Tags: coast, reflection
Cascade of Falls
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Cascade of Falls
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Diagonal Falls
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Tags: waterfall
Glacier on Hill
Tags: glacier, mountain, sunset
Sunset in Cascade Inlet
Tags: coast, sunset
Cabin at End of Cascade Inlet
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Tags: cabin, coast, reflection
Alexander MacKenzie from Dean Channel
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Tags: coast
Alex MacKenzie Monument
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Hanging Valley
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Tags: coast
Tags: coast(6), waterfall(3), rock(2), reflection(2), sunset(2), monument(2)
From: John Harvey Photo > Mid Coast of BC on the Curve of Time > Jenny Inlet to Cascade Inlet
From: John Harvey Photo > John's Overnight Page > Mid Coast of BC on the Curve of Time > Jenny Inlet to Cascade Inlet

While serving on board HMCS Mackenzie in the early 1970s whose primary mission was training junior officers in navigatio we went to Mackenzie monument every year and landed a party to clean it up and make it spiffey once again. It appears that with the decommissoning of the ship this annual foray is not conducted any more.
John Crockford
Wednesday, March 13th, 2013 at 17:52:32

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