Villages in the Mist

These are some scanned photos from a kayak trip I took in the early seventies. I circumnavigated Louise Island, starting from old Moresby Camp and returning to Gray Bay. I scheduled this trip to coincide with minus tides so that I could delight in dining on some abalone during the trip by being in the right place at the right time. I also visited the two abandoned Haida Villages of Skedans and Cumshewa. Shortly after this trip I worked for MacBlo doing layout for logging that was subsequently done by Onion Lake with their main camp at Beatty Achorage, so I suspect that the last photo from Cumshewa Head would look much different today, after the logging.

Click on a thumbnail to see the full-size picture

	Mosquito Lake, just about a mile upstream from old Moresby Camp, the launch site for this trip.
	South Louise Island, between Vertical Point and Skedans, my kayak on beach.
	Approaching Skedans Abandoned Village Site from eastward out to sea.
	Standing Pole at Skedans
	The watcher at Skedans
	Single remaining mortuary pole at Skedans
	Twin mortuary poles at Skedans
	Fallen Totem Pole at Skedans
	Close-up of fallen pole at Skedans from above
	Remains of Haida Longhouse at Skedans -board in foreground equivalent to a T&G 3 x 8-10
	Twin mortuary poles in clearing at Cumshewa Village Site
	The forest taking back its own at Cumshewa - 1
	The forest taking back its own at Cumshewa - 2
	The forest taking back its own at Cumshewa - 3
	Looking back south to Louise Island from Cumshewa Head - south of Sandspit

Near the end of my trip, I paddled across Cumshewa Inlet and landed on Moresby Island at Cumshewa Village site. Walking around the abandoned site, I felt far from alone. It seemed I could sense children running by on the path down to the beach and a whole village of Haida, unseen, but occupying the site as spirits. In order to be (or feel) alone, I paddled about a mile up the coast to a suitable camping spot, made camp, had dinner and listened to a Stanley Cup game on my transistor radio. In the morning I returned to the village site to take pictures in the clean morning light. From there I paddled around Cumshewa Head to Gray Bay, where I kept a crab trap at the time, and got a ride home from a member of the LORAN crew there and returned with my truck from Sandspit to pick up my kayak. I had a wonderful trip, a wonderful two days of pigging out on abalone and mostly good weather for that time of year on the north coast.