Medby Rock

Bella Coola is a stunningly beautiful valley, bordered on both sides by mountains. There are several hikes up these mountains, hikes not for the flabby of butt or thigh, as the vertical ascent is usually rapid in elevation gain. For the truly adventurous, and perhaps with those with less than well-muscled legs, there is heli-hiking which takes you much higher up the peaks than hiking does. A few weeks ago, I hiked up to Medby Rock. The hike is steep, about 2000 m. in elevation gain in a very short time. The trees are small, the moss is thick, and the silence of the forest is broken only by the panting sounds of those who hike up. There were some lovely lillies in bloom along the trail, though I only say a few in one spot. They look very much like Lady Slippers, but are much smaller. It's a strenuous hike, and for someone moderately fit, takes about 45 minutes to get to the viewpoint, with lots of sweating - a great cardio workout. As you can see from the photo, the view from the top is stunning. You can look way up and down the Valley - it looks so far down as to seem unreal. What seemed perhaps a little TOO real, were the swarms of mosquitos that decided to hang out with us at the top - so while admiring the view, the pesky buzzers descended onto our sweaty flesh, hungry, or should I say thirsty, for fresh blood. I'm not quite sure what else they were eating up there, as hikers are few, and it would seem somewhat of a challenge to get through to bear flesh (if indeed there were any bears up there, rather than down at the river checking out the newly arrived spring salmon!).