Gabriola Pleasantries, Part II
Wednesday, August 20
The next day was another cloudy and somewhat rainy affair. We were running out of time on our trip, and we wanted to
get one more climb in if possible. In 2005, we had almost succeeded in summitting Arrowsmith via the nose route with
Jenn's dad. We all wanted another crack at that, and so we looked to see if perhaps the unsettled weather might
co-operate for us. It looked potentially decent for the following day, so we made tentative plans to go for it if the
weather forecast held.
Ewart and Ruth were keen to get back onto Vancouver Island and continue doing some exploring. They were interested in
climbing Arrowsmith with us, so before heading off, we made arrangements to meet up the next morning on the way to the
peak.
As for the rest of us, we spent another leisurely day on Gabriola Island. Jenn's dad had a few errands to run,
including signing some of his novels at the Silva Bay Marina, so we tagged along. And when Jenn realized that I'd
never seen the Malaspina Galleries -- one of Gabriola's most notable attractions -- we went and had a look at that,
too. The Malaspina Galleries are like a wave frozen in time: a long overhanging arch of Gabriola Sandstone on the
island's northern side. Quite a fascinating spot, as I'm sure you'll agree with after looking at the pictures below.
Later, we learned that the weather forecast for the next day was still passable, so we made the call to go for
Arrowsmith early the next morning, and headed off for bed.
