Galiano Island

The first European to see the area around Galiano Island was the 18th Century Spanish explorer and naval officer, Dionisio Alcala-Galiano, while on a coastal mapping expedition. In 1792, he encountered the British Captain, George Vancouver, sailing just off the coast of this island, on a similar mapping mission. Later, in commemoration of the Spanish officer’s mapping skills, Captain Vancouver had both the island and its highest point named in honour of Alcala-Galiano. The island is the second largest of the Gulf Islands, after Salt Spring. For thousands of years before the British and Spanish arrived, the Coast Salish aboriginal people had lived here.

The island community and its supporters have purchased several areas as ecological reserves, including Mt. Galiano, Mt. Sutil and Bodega Ridge. These eco-sensitive areas will stay as forests in perpetuity under the control of the Galiano community for everyone’s enjoyment. This is something I applaud, as on certain other islands it was difficult to hike anywhere without meeting a “Private Property” sign stuck in the trail and seeing ‘No Trespassing’ signs all around.

Galiano Island has a petrol station, grocery stores, a pub, and other artistic stores, including interesting craft galleries and craft shops, almost all clustered at the southern end of the island. Many of the island’s amenities are near the ferry terminal at Sturdies Bay, including the Post Office, a bookshop, a bakery, and a convenience store. A little further along Sturdies Bay Road is the Babes in the Wood restaurant, plus artist’s shops and a cafe. I did not see any evidence of an ATM.

Galiano Island has the most dedicated park land of all the Southern Gulf Islands. There are seven beautiful parks and miles of old logging trails and country lanes. I walked everywhere as I saw no evidence of a bus and few ‘No Trespassing’ signs on my hikes.

I arrived on Galliano from Salt Spring Island via Pender Island and Mayne Island, a journey of two hours, all of it smooth sailing. My hotel was near the ferry terminal at Sturdies Bay. I observed the comings and goings of the local ferries and the larger ferries sailing between Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen as they navigated the waterway known as Active Pass between Galiano and Mayne Island. Ferries sound their hooter when they enter this stretch of water. There is a small hut at Sturdies Bay full of useful tourist leaflets, including descriptions of all the trails available on the entire island. 

On my first day on Galiano, I hiked to The Bluffs and to Mt Galliano. I bought supplies at the Sturdies Bay Bakery and then headed to the Sturdies Bay Trail, which allows walkers to head through the trees rather than walk along the side of the road. This is a great idea. After about two hundred metres, the trail split into two. ‘The Pub’ was about two kilometres straight on, but I turned left and headed for The Bluffs. 

There were various junctions with other trails, but at these intersections are maps showing where you are with the distances to the various sights marked. Under the canopy, all was quiet. Light-green moss covered the trees. Others lay where they had fallen during a previous storm. Enough roots were around to keep me from taking the path for granted. The rain started and had become heavy by the time I arrived at a road. 

I turned left and headed uphill towards the cliffs. A muddy, puddled turning circle for vehicles was on the right. Past this and to the left I could see an unobstructed view of the dark-grey sky. This is Bluffs Park established in 1948 with 128 hectares of cliffs, meadows, and forest to explore. I squelched to the viewpoint and looked down on Active Pass and Mayne Island opposite. Ferries were moving under the clouds, taking care with the 90-degree turning required to keep themselves on course in the channel.

To the right, I looked to where Mount Galliano should have been. All I could see was forest disappearing into a cloud base that was lower than where I was standing. The clouds were sweeping over the Bluffs. Horns from the ferries echoed mournfully around the area. The air smelled fresh, and I looked forward to being dry. I thought I would try to find the trailhead for Mount Galliano before returning to my hotel. First, though, there was a Japanese Pit Kiln to find somewhere down in the damp forest beneath the Bluffs. 

There are five known charcoal pit kilns on Galiano Island and others hide in the undergrowth. These stone-lined kilns are evidence of a thriving early 20th-Century charcoal making industry by Japanese settlers, mostly from Wakayama Prefecture in the Kansai region on Honshu Island’s Kii Peninsula. The first Japanese settlers arrived in the 1870s and continued to settle over the following decades on Vancouver Island, in the Southern Gulf Islands, and around the Fraser River delta. By 1941, there were almost two hundred people of Japanese descent in the Southern Gulf Islands, around seven percent of the total population.

Charcoal making was an industry developed by this group of immigrants who brought the technology from their home country. It produced a commodity they could sell for good money and was also usable at home for cooking & heating. The process was an effective way to use scrap left over from logs sawn for lumber. Consider this process an ancient form of recycling.