Killer Whales and Camp Food

For the last two weeks of my internship I was camped out at a beautiful secluded beach, enjoying sunny days, clear evenings and sensational views of Pacific wildlife. But the best part? This was all for my master's project.

I spent my days perched high on a cliff overlooking Johnstone Strait, watching boats and whales as they passed and recording it all in my various data sheets. I got to be the invisible witness of all that went on in my small stretch of ocean, laughing at snippets of conversation that drifted up from chatty kayakers, shaking my head and scribbling furiously when boats got too close to the whales, and waving to the occasional boater who happened to spot me.

A foggy day on Chocolate Bar (my observation cliff)

While some mornings may have been too foggy to see anything, and some of the afternoons dragged on with no whales and no boats passing, my amazing volunteers kept things interesting with their stories and conversations. My first volunteer entertained me with tales of his past experiences with wildlife research, and could identify nearly every bird we saw. My second group brought some flair to the campsite with their "comfortable camping" style, great conversation and after-dinner Baileys. My third group, a family from Seattle, kept me on my toes with their keen curiousity and unflagging enthusiasm.

During our evenings we produced almost-gourmet meals on

Volunteers watching killer whales pass by our beach.

our two-burner Coleman stove, chatted over tea and watched whales, porpoises, otters, eagles and the occasional cruise ship pass by our little oasis under the setting sun. At night we were lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves lapping on the shore, and the occasional blow of a passing whale.

Not a single volunteer complained about the long, hot days, the sometimes difficult morning hike up the mountain, or the campsite that lacked any real facilities. Instead they marveled at the beautiful freshwater creek that ran onto the beach and

Our top-of-the-line bathroom facilities

served as both bath and food cooler, they laughed at the luxury of the natural toilet seat propped across our not-so-luxurious hole in the ground, and they thanked me profusely for the wonderful experience (even though I'm sure I was far more grateful for their help.)

While this was my first time being completely responsible for a group of people over the age of 13, I'd like to think we all had fun. It was sometimes a challenge getting a small group of sleepy adults motivated to get up and hike early in the morning (especially since I myself am not a morning person), and even more of a challenge when they realized their "fearless leader" had a bad sense of direction (resulting in the group having to back-track several times to get on the right trail), in the end I brought them all back to civilization alive and happy. That counts for something, right?

Four killer whales pass below our observation cliff