Low-Tide Scenic Revelations at Monday Anchorage – Tracey Island

We Enjoyed Our Cruise to Monday Anchorage –

The route to our next anchorage was exceptional, with thick fog, glassy water later in the morning, and partial sunlight illuminating the boulders on shore. We passed an area known as the White Cliff Islets. This is a popular area for kayakers, boaters, and campers.

The anchorage at Monday Cove, which sits between Tracey and Mars Islands, was exceptional!

On the day we anchored in Monday Cove, a group of kayakers arrived in the afternoon, during low-tide. We watched as they pulled their kayaks ashore and climbed up the huge rocks to set up their campsite for the night. It was fascinating because until the people showed up, we had a completely different sense of how big those boulders are. As you can see in the photos, the enormous stones dwarfed the kayakers.

The Broughton Islands have over 300 ancient shell midden sites, creating pristine white beaches. This one, on Tracey Island, is one of the largest in this archipelago. Over thousands of years, Indigenous people harvested clams, mussels, and cockle shells and deposited their shells on the beach, which formed the shell midden. Massive accumulations of shells were used to level shorelines, create terraces, and provide well-drained foundations for villages. The thousands-of-years-old shell beds also provide rich fertilization for the native trees of the area, helping them grow thicker and taller.

The rock formations here have always fascinated me, particularly at low tide. High-tide hides most of the rocky shoreline. Water rises to almost touch the hemlock and red cedar boughs, but as the tide goes out, the rocks become visible and ever-changing during the daily slow tidal flows.