Windy Bay Sitka Spruce Trail

WINDY BAY SITKA SPRUCE TRAIL FEATURES:
·       Massive Sitka Spruce
·       Old Growth Forest
·       Culturally Modified Trees (CMTs)

ABOUT

Unlike all other hikes on our blog, this trail at Hlk’yah GawGa (Windy Bay) is the only one you’ll likely explore with a guide exactly because it’s located within the Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site. This fact should be viewed as a net positive because your guide will provide important historical and cultural information lacking at most other trails and beaches around Haida Gwaii. As such, while the hike is relatively short, clocking in at approximately 1.2 kilometres, the knowledge you’re gifted along the way is priceless and helps contextualize Haida Gwaii as a whole.

In order to get to Hlk’yah GawGa, you’ll have to book a tour through one of Haida Gwaii’s local touring operators or, if you’ve got the endurance and seafaring knowledge, a multi-day kayak adventure. If booking a tour, we strongly recommend Haida Style Expeditions or Moresby Explorers. Both companies have years of experience under their belts; both focus on local; and both utilize professional, seasoned guides well versed in yahguudang (respect) for this place and this space. “Leaving everywhere I visit cleaner than when I arrived.”

Once you land at Windy Bay, depending on the tide, you will begin your hike either on the eastern side of a very shallow body of water or the western side – the latter of which is where you’ll encounter the Haida Gwaii Watchmen and see the impressive Legacy Pole. For our purposes, let’s assume we’re starting on the eastern side, opposite the Watchmen’s cabin: At this point, the hike commences on a mostly flat, rocky beach that overlooks the Pacific Ocean.

Your guide will take you into the forest towards a not-too-obvious, but the still visible, trail. The route is mostly flat, and the ground is covered with thick moss. After approximately 10 minutes, you’ll come upon a gated deer exclosure, which doesn’t do much now because the fencing is full of large holes. After another 10 minutes of walking through the forest on intermittent boardwalks, you’ll come upon this trail’s star attraction: An absolutely magnificent Sitka Spruce estimated to be 800 to 900 years old.

Chances are you’ll recognize the tree because it’s often used in advertising for Haida Gwaii. There’s a particularly famous photo out there showing a party of 8 struggling to hold hands around the massive base of this beautiful old-growth giant. The Sitka Spruce puts everything into perspective: We are truly small and insignificant in the face of nature.

Once you’re ready to leave the tree, the partial boardwalk trail takes you through lush moss and even more old-growth Sitka Spruce and red cedar trees. As you hike, your guide will likely point out several culturally modified trees (CMTs) along the way. Seeing the CMTs only helps further entrench what we’ve known all along: The Haida have been here for thousands of years.

Please note that you will have to cross Windy Bay Creek at two points: One may result in wet feet as there are no logs to use as a natural bridge; the second crossing, however, does have a suitable log bridge, but it is slippery.

After about 30 to 40 minutes of hiking, you will come upon the Haida Gwaii Watchmen’s cabin, the Legacy Pole and “Looking Around and Blinking House.” Listening to a narrative from one of the Watchmen does much to put the importance of Hlk’yah GawGa into perspective.

Windy Bay was once the site of a major Haida village and, later, a summer fishing village called Hlk’yah Llnagaay (Peregrine Falcon Town). In more contemporary times, it played an essential role in the Athlii Gwaii logging protests of 1985, which led directly to the creation of Gwaii Haanas in 1993. “Looking Around and Blinking House” was built to house the Haida who stood on the line, protecting their land from logging interests at the time.

The nearby Legacy Pole, erected in 2013, was the first monumental pole raised at Gwaii Haanas in 130 years. At a surface level, it celebrates 20 years of co-management by the Haida Nation and the Government of Canada; however, at a more significant level, the pole speaks to the protection Gwaii Haanas enjoys while concomitantly highlighting the role future generations will play. Culture combines with history. The Ancients meet the Moderns.

DIFFICULTY: Moderate
TOTAL DISTANCE: 1.2 kilometers
TIME: 40 minutes
TYPE: Point-to-Point
ELEVATION GAIN: Minimal