In God's Pocket

Legend tells of a legendary Sasquatch that lives on the east side of Hurst Island near God's Pocket. Apparently so fearsome, First Nations people who live in the area won't go ashore on that part of the island. With intrigue like that, how could we not stop? It was the perfect place to spend Father's Day. After a quick overnight and provisioning stop at Port McNeill, we headed to God's Pocket where we snagged the only spot on their room-for-only-one-boat dock. God's Pocket is a kayaking and scuba-diving Mecca. Jacque Cousteau raved that it was one of the best places in the world to scuba dive. It has sweet, colorful little cottages, a dining room and a bonfire pit to accommodate those who come there to play and explore. We spent our afternoon hiking to the top of the island behind the lodge where we watched fog blow across the water, up the mountain and whip past us. Later, while eating dinner in the cockpit, we watched humpback whales blow just outside the cove. After dinner, while washing dishes, we heard a "Hello, family" from outside the boat. The chef had come down to the dock to surprise us with sweet gifts of chocolate cake and rice crispy treats. We then went for a sunset hike, through some of the most magical forest we have ever seen. There were all kinds of crazed roots and trees growing over rocks and all kinds of pockets and nooks and crannies within and under the rocks. Out on the point we watched more humpbacks as the sun began to set. Aaron found two crazy shells on top of a large boulder he had climbed. We've never seen anything like them and they look a bit like thick fingernails so we decided that a young Sasquatch must have been up on that rock chewing his fingernails. Back at the dock we joined a group of kayakers around the bonfire for lively conversation and stories of adventure. We asked the owner if they see the humpbacks very often. He said that they see them every night at about the same time. In fact, last year the humpbacks spent several nights in the tiny cove. He said they make really funny noises while they are sleeping and he's actually had customers complain about the noise. It totally cracks me up to imagine sleepy patrons calling him in the middle of he night to see if he could do something about their rowdy cetacean neighbors.

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