Turnbull Cove

Turnbull Cove

Somewhere in the aether, Darrell is overcome at the sight of a logging donkey. This one sits beside Turnbull Cove and was used to haul logs out of immense Huaskin Lake then up-and-over the hill to the sea.

But I’m getting a little ahead of myself.

After spending a gorgeous evening at anchor in Blair Islet Cove (no bears 😩), we made a 35-minute run to Turnbull Cove. Along the way, we saw someone surfing the outflow from Roaring Rapids.

The view from our Blair Islet Cove anchorage.
I was just sure that this drying stretch would be a bear highway. Maybe it is, but not when I was looking.
Along Kenneth Passage, on our way to Turnbull Cove.
The band of white in the gap is Roaring Rapids – very appropriately named. It drains a huge lagoon behind it and is three feet deep at low tide. Slack lasts five minutes. Not a lot of people enter because they probably won’t be able to exit for twelve hours.
Playing in the waters of Roaring Rapids. I’d do that – in someone else’s boat.
Bear in mind that this is nowhere near maximum flow. This short narrows drains massive Nepah Lagoon. Notice the calm waters on the inner side of the rapids.

Our guide book recommends against anchoring below the several landslides in Turnbull Cove, but not because of danger of a further slide. It’s because there are logs on the bottom. Drop anchor there and it may snag and you’ll have to cut it loose.


Once we dropped the hook (fancy boater talk for the anchor) in Turnbull, we set out on the short, steep hike to Huaskin Lake. It’s in the 80s here and a lake swim sounded good. Unexpectedly, the trail offered up three large frogs and one sizeable snake. No bears.

Mary Anne reads the instructions to enter our information into a trail log – which was soaking wet and rapidly turning to pulp.
Recreational infrastructure is almost unheard of in the Broughtons. Turnbull Coveis a welcome exception. The trail had been recently trimmed and now we find a swimming platform!
…and a picnic table!
…and a very unintimidated frog who hung out with us during our swim.
Back down the well-trimmed trail to the waiting Zephyr.

We went petroglyph hunting the next morning. I mean this in the singular. While there may once have been a zillion on the local cliffs, there seems to be but one remaining. Let’s face it, berry dye on a rock prone to waterfalls and lichen is not going to last as long as hieroglyphics on the pyramids. .

After some careful searching by Zypher, we found it. The score stands Petroglyphs: 1, Bears: 0.

What do you think it represents?

3 thoughts on “Turnbull Cove”
  1. Excellent timing. I am listening to The Curve of Time. Yesterday I listened to the part where they came to Roaring Rapids, met a boater who had not paid heed to the six (you say five, they said six) minute safe passage, and climbed a hill to watch for themselves. And now there you are.

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