Echo Bay - Part two

By Lisa Nohr (Part one)

Transporting us into a National Geographic Documentary, the natural world orchestrated a spectacular performance at ‘Echo Bay’. Thousands of herring arrived in the bay, zooming around at lightening speeds, flashes of silver glistening in the sun, followed by hundreds of salmon racing through the water like synchronized swimmers not missing their cue. Hot on their trail were dozens of white side dolphins leaping and doing summersaults in the air, over and over again. Our hearts felt their pleasure and their happiness was infectious…Cirque du Soleil…wilderness style! These captivating experiences at ‘Echo Bay’ lured a few intrepid individuals into calling this place home and continue to entice a flotilla of recreational boaters on a pilgrimage to ‘Echo Bay’ each year looking for a glimpse into this natural world. Pierre and Tove, owners of Pierre’s Marina, have called this remote area home for over three decades, working and raising their two boys who attended the one room schoolhouse that was demolished by the school board.

Their story: Boy, Pierre, from the film industry living and working on the east coast, meets girl, Tove, and heads off to her home on the west coast in 1977. With limited prospects in the film industry they applied for a job as caretakers at a fishing lodge in ‘Echo Bay’ and got it. Over the years they worked at various jobs in the vicinity, towing their little float home from bay to bay – whatever it took to forge a living and continue to call this place home. Some of the mariners we met had been visiting here for decades and watched Pierre and Tove’s boys grow up.

On my way to check in I caught a glimpse of the charm of the floating dining hall, inside the smell of the cedar walls and the long communal tables are reminiscent of summer camp as a child where new friendships were made and meals and stories shared. When evening arrived and everyone headed up from their boats to the dining hall, bottles of wine, plates and cutlery in hand, there was a buzz of excitement, we looked at each other, and nodded in the direction of a couple vacant chairs, poured a glass of wine and settled in to enjoy the atmosphere. The prime rib was roasting in a custom made barbeque the size of an oil tank and the aroma of home cooking filled the room. Pierre and Tove have created a welcoming and nurturing place to relax, we all felt like guests in their home, not strangers passing through this remote wilderness in the Pacific Northwest.

One young woman’s passion to embrace the wilderness took her on an 18-month journey to become self-sufficient and survive off the land and sea. City dweller to forest dweller – Nikki van Schyndel, a Dominion Herbal College graduate and keen naturalist and survivalist, having studied and taught survival skills for many years, took a leap of faith and left city life to forage a new life in the rainforest of the Pacific Northwest. Nikki, her house cat, Scout, and a virtual stranger at the time, Micah, who has now become her dear friend, lived off the grid and survived completely and self-sufficiently for 18 months on remote uninhabited islands in the Broughton Archipelago. In her book, ‘Becoming Wild,’ she shares her innate desire to connect with nature and her journey. She mentions that sometimes she was ‘prey’ and sometimes ‘predator.’ Her story is truly fascinating and an inspiration to anyone of any age or gender. After living in the wilderness, relying only on herself and Micah for survival, she learned to live fearlessly. Rather than return to the big city, Nikki decided to settle in the remote community of ‘Echo Bay’ and live off the grid permanently, although she now has a generator to run her washing machine and enjoys watching movies on her laptop and painting her toenails! She hand-built a cabin and most of its furnishings in ‘Echo Bay’ and started a business ‘Echo Bay EcoVentures’ – she now shares her adventures, stories and survival techniques by offering day tours exploring the remote islands’ coastline, foraging for food within the rainforest and cooking a delightful meal from nature’s grocery store. People who have been blessed by spending time with Nikki in the wild have said it is a ‘life experience.’ The Broughton Archipelago is a pristine, peaceful region of the world; this wilderness is truly life changing, for those of us just passing through and for those intrepid few who have decided to stay and call this place home.