Hornby/Denman Island signage

On our first hike, in Denman Island Provincial Park, we came across the sign above. We scratched our heads over it for a while. Was this a language unfamiliar to us, some kind of odd hybrid, or just a really plain language version of Go this way to find the lake? Turned out to be option #3. Chickadee Lake showed up just a few minutes later. Well, ok. This sign got its message across effectively and succinctly.

It got me thinking about signs and how well they work (or not). The one below left is crystal clear. We saw several of these in Mount Geoffrey Escarpment Provincial Park, where our trail teetered along the edge of a cliff (and I mean the absolute outer edge!) The photographs I took just don’t quite do justice to the hair-raising nature of some parts of that trail (see how the path below right adjoins treetops to the right? Well, the roots of those trees are a long looong way down, and I wasn’t getting any closer to show you just how steep the drop is.)

We came across one very functional sign that required no words:

The powers that be also provided some very detailed and informative maps of the park along the way. Unfortunately, all were identical right down to the lack of any “You are here” indicators, so all they told us was here’s all the trails in our park, plus those of the adjoining Mount Geoffrey Regional Nature Park and assorted Crown lands, with nothing to tell you where the heck you are in all of this. Fortunately, the Bluetooth on my iPad functioned well even out of range of Wi-Fi to allow us to orient ourselves and ignore the signs — after I'd taken this photo:

Then there were those signs being blatantly ignored in Tribune Bay Provincial Park. Below left, you are instructed not to build log structures; below right (immediately adjacent to the sign) are a number of those prohibited log structures. Perhaps they’re intended to provide examples so you know what not to build?

There was also a sign here stating that dogs were not permitted on the beach. Our little friend below (and his owner) must have missed that one. I opted to take a picture of the dog only, not the sign prohibiting him.

Signage can take other (better?) forms than language. This plain orange shirt hanging from the branches beside the trail of our final hike (Schoolhouse Trail) is far more eloquent than any words would have been. We also saw quite a few orange shirts and red dresses while driving across Denman Island.

And finally, there was the head-scratching puzzle of this truck (no, not a sign, but I’m sneaking it in here anyway). In the middle of the woods, with only a narrow trail running past and quite some distance from any roads, how the heck did it end up coming here to die? The imagination boggles.

And that brings to a close my observations about Hornby Island and its environs. We’ve more or less settled on Texada Island as our next destination (but not until the restaurants re-open!) There are a lot of islands off the BC coast to explore. We could spend years. But only if we can eat out.

Now I have to think up topics for future posts closer to home. This could get boring. Wish me luck.