Maple Mountain

Today was an awesome day and I finally was able to get out hiking again. The last time I went hiking it was with a group of 20 people up to the Genoa Bay bluffs. It was the first time in over a year that I hiked with a group. It was fast paced and no time to stop and enjoy nature or take pictures. I enjoyed the hike, but like the paddle, I found I really do enjoy hiking with a friend or alone even more. I have been wanting to hike some higher mountains here on the island and the safest route is to go with a group so I had given it a try. My aim has been to hike Mount Arrowsmith and a few others up in Strathcona Park but after today, I’m not so sure.

Maple Mountain has five hiking trails on it and I have completed most of them so today I chose to do a loop, something I had not done before - the Blue trail, down along the pink trail and back along the yellow trail.  I had not hiked to the end of the yellow trail and looked forward to seeing the views from there and wondered how difficult it would be.
The Blue trail took us on a steep trail up the mountain and through the forest although not to the summit.

 

 I had hiked it before and wanted to go and see the three crosses that are there are on a hillside over looking the ocean. 

Even though we weren't at the summit there were some beautiful views along the way.

 

The short piece of the pink trail took us quickly down to the yellow trail which then took us back to the car along the coast line. Although I love reaching great heights I really enjoyed hiking along the coast even more. The sound of the waves hitting the shore, the cooling breeze that blew off the waters and seeing the boats go by was very peaceful and lifted my spirits.

There were little purple flowers growing in the grass among the many rocks we had to climb over,

Beautiful arbutus trees were everywhere and in the trees, the ferns were green and lush, which in our very dry spring looked wonderful.

The trail is well marked with ribbons in the appropriate colour tied to the trees ( you can guess what song came to mind along the way)

and markers which certainly helped when parts of the trail went over dry grass covered rocks making the trail almost invisible. 

 
It was a great hike, but it did require us to go up and down the hillsides quite a few times, climbing up over large rocks and back down avoiding the loose pebbles on trail. By the time we headed back down the mountainside my knee was giving me some grief and I realized that I may not be physically fit enough to make it up a mountain like Mount Arrowsmith but there are other mountains here I am sure I can manage. I always felt that one needed to climb higher and higher and reach those summits to feel fulfilled from the wonderful moments of awe that the views mountaintops give to us. Today , however, I learned that creation is beautiful among the trees, along the shoreline and that hiking anywhere out in nature can spiritually uplift us.

Today’s hike covered 11.5 kilometers taking us five hours to complete. My body, although tired, feels great and I’m so thankful I had this opportunity to get out into creation and to just absorb all that surrounded me. It was a good day!

A Paddle to Remember

This morning over 30 of us met at Maple Bay Beach here in the Cowichan Valley. We were going to embark on a journey across the bay to Saltspring Island where we would share in a feast with others. It was part of the Cowichan 101 program that I have been taking part in over these past 10 months. I had no idea what to expect on this day but had awaited it with great anticipation and the weather and water were perfect. At the beach were two tribal canoes. Both of the same shape and dimensions, one though made of cedar wood and the other of fibreglass. It gets harder and harder to find the large cedar trees that are used to make the canoes and so some people now have them made out of fiberglass. Although the new fiberglass ones are lighter they are also easier to tip.

The canoe I would soon paddle in

These canoes are built to hold up to 18 people comfortably including the leader who sits at the back of the canoe and uses a longer paddle as a rudder to steer. As the one canoe was picking up some family members on its way most of us went in the fiberglass canoe. We ended up fitting 23 of us into it so a few had to sit in the middle of the benches and not paddle. Those folks were all very thankful for the “ride” over. We had two people in the front who were the pace setters and it was our job to paddle at the same time they did. It became quite obvious that this was very important because if you were to get out of rhythm your paddle would hit the person’s paddle in front or in behind of you and inevitably someone would get a bit wet. Our leader Fred, whose canoe we were paddling in, laughed at us at first and compared us to a six legged spider trying to cross the water, each leg moving at a different time but we did actually improve as the journey progressed.


My fellow paddlers with Fred in the back steering us safely across

As we paddled along on the hour journey he told us some of their creation stories of the land that we were passing by. The story of how Paddy’s Mile Stone came to be, the reason Mount Maxwell is shaped the way it is and how Octopus Point was created.

Indian legend has it that a ferocious sea monster called “Shuh-shu-cum” (Open Mouth) once lived at the tip of the point. He would lie with his snout out of the water and when anyone tried to pass close to the point he would open his mouth and suck in the canoe with its passengers. No one knew what to do about “Shuh-shu-cum” but one brave had heard of a man called “Sum-al-quatz” who lived on the mainland and was said to have the strength of a thousand men. The brave decided to seek out “Sum-al-quatz” to ask for his help so he paddled across to Burgoyne Bay and walked across Saltspring Island where he borrowed a canoe and paddled to the mainland.“Sum-al-quatz” agreed to help. He loaded a boulder into his sling and “let it fly”. But his aim was off and the boulder landed in Ladysmith. His second shot landed near Mayne Island. The third landed in Maple Bay and is now known as Paddy’s Milestone. “Sum-al-quatz” explained that he couldn’t get a good aim as Mount Maxwell (or “Hwmat’etsum” - Bent Over Place) was in the way.
They called to the mountain’s spirit and asked him to hunch down so that “Sum-al-quatz” could get a better aim. Mount Maxwell lay down on his belly and hunched his shoulders.
The next boulder cleared Mount Maxwell and hit “Shuh-shu-cum” on the snout. That put an end to “Shuh-shu-cum’s” snout and his sucking up of the canoes but it did not destroy him. He still lives in the deep waters and whenever you see swirls and eddies near Octopus Point you know that he is nearby.
(Peter Rusland “The Legend of Octopus Point” (interview with Simon Charlie) Cowichan News Leader November 15, 2000 p.3.)

He told us how they believe that everything on the earth has a spirit whether it be a person, animal or a tree. It was great to hear some their legends. As he finished he said that the legends may be a bit hard to believe but no harder than any other faith or other countries stories of creation are. I thought how very true. All people have some creation story from their heritage and they all require us to have a bit of imagination.

He sang us songs in his native tongue which we were able to join in and sing along with. It helped us to keep the beat with the paddling. He explained how when approaching other boats or the land they would sing their songs so that the people there would know who they were and that they were coming in friendship and not for war. We sang as we approached the beach at Burgoyne Bay on Saltspring Island. As I looked up I was amazed to see people standing out in the water. A few of them drumming and singing a welcoming song and others standing with trays full of fresh fruit. I was so deeply moved as we remained seated in the canoes as they greeted and welcomed us to their land. Most were caucasian people who had volunteered to provide the meal but some were from the tribal lands. As we left the canoe we pulled it way up on shore to prepare for the incoming tide. Then we enjoyed the delicious fruit from the trays offered to us.

The warmest welcome I have ever experienced

Up on the beach were tents and tables, cooking over an open fire was salmon, moose meat sausages and yams baking on racks and pots filled with crabs. This would be part of the feast that we would take part in. There were approximately a 100 people there to share in this gathering of both First Nations people and non First Nation people. The four men of the Cowichan Tribes drummed and sang songs of thanks, for creation, for the people and then a prayer song to bless the meal. 

Drummed songs of thanks while the food cooks

As we waited for the meal to be served folks visited, children played together on the sandy beach, an elder shared with us more stories and others taught us about the cedar and how they prepared it for weaving. I joined the ones learning about the cedar. They had cut it and peeled it from the cedar tree and soaked it in water to keep it soft and pliable. They then took it and cut it in wide strips. To then make even thinner strips, about a ¼ inch wide, they were using a leather cutter but in past days they had used their knives.

Cutting the cedar into strips

We were then shown how to part it and peel it into very thin, thin layers. 

The finished cedar strips ready for weaving

After four attempts I knew this was no job for me and returned to hear the stories being told around the fire. Learning to weave the cedar will come at another time.

Stories being shared

Plates were filled with food and the elders were served first as this is part of their traditions and a way to show respect for the elders of the tribe. The food was fantastic and such a huge selection of items to choose from. There were greens that were from wild plants that grew locally, salads of many kinds and all the food that had been cooked over the open fire.



The tables filled with delicous food!

I indulged in a lovely plate full. It was followed by desert which included fresh salmon berries that had been picked on the island.

My wonderful tasty lunch

After the meal, when everyone was fed, we gathered around the fire and the volunteers that had prepared our meal stood in a semi circle in front of the drummers. Words of thanks were spoken and sung. At this time the elders came down and went from person to person giving them hugs of thanks “Huy ch q'u” and the rest of us followed them. Approximately 60 people went and hugged each of the volunteers that had prepared our meal. Everyone spoke words of thanks and appreciation to each individual one. A beautiful moment with great connection between people who hours ago had been strangers but had come together to share in this experience of learning from those who were here before us. It was so heart warming and uplifting to experience such a sharing.

We then loaded ourselves back into our canoe, each taking turns, the back loading first and then up to the front. I had to say we must have looked pretty good pulling away from the beach. We had learned on our earlier journey across how to stay in time, how to focus and paddle as a team. We moved smoothly across the bay. The return trip had a bit of rougher weather on the way back but it gave us great fun to have waves coming at us from both the passing boats and the wind. An hour across and we were back to Maple Bay.

The George Family cedar canoe returning to Maple Bay

It had been seven hours of absolute delight. It was such an important and meaningful way to spend a day, learning from and connecting with those who were here first and who have such a deep respect for the land and all of its creatures. Years ago a huge injustice was done to these Cowichan “Quw'utsun” people. We came and tried to force our ways on them believing that it would give them a better life. What we needed to have done was to have listened to and learned from them. We can’t undo what we have done but now we can listen, now we can learn. This is our chance, our time to come together and make this valley a land of respect for all people. Huy ch q'u for this day. 

My "selfie" from the canoe