The scented shore

It’s early morning- writes RICHARD LUTZ- and low light pierces the red cedar on the western coast of Canada in the rainforests of Vancouver Island

The sea moisture, salt spray and the regenerative warmth all release sharp scents, fragrances from the trees and the deep green bed of undergrowth such as sword and deer fern.

It’s a hard task to describe fragrance. You can’t see it. You can’t hear it like the heave of an ocean. You can’t taste it. But, nevertheless, it can stop you in your tracks. The cedar’s morning aroma is arrestingly sharp and fresh. And the scent of a lot of the unidentified shrubs (it may be salal…more on that later) reminds me of the perfume of Scottish beach rose. It’s entrancing. Especially as the day wakes.

With every curve and corner, on the Wild Pacific Trail where the shore meets the treeline, the ocean’s salt merges with the forests.


Here, western hemlock, Douglas fir and sitka mingle with the red cedar to frame the endless ocean as it curves round a lighthouse promontory…

….an end to an edge of a shore long known as the Shipwreck Coastline. And for good reason too. It is a hazardous borderland of water and land during a storm.

Look down past the seaside asters:


And then through a dense wood of heavily scented cedars:


and underfoot there’s a definite clue you still have to tread carefully. It’s black bear country:


and it leaves its scat..its droppings…. scattered on the trail. I won’t deny you the pleasure of a picture:



The purplish contents are from the salal bushes that border the trails. Along with other summer fruit, especially wild blueberries, black bears love the wild crop. And fortunately, I hear, more or less leave us mere mortals alone. Though cautionary signs are always there:


It concentrates the mind, so it does, as you watch the endless summer sky meet the roiling sea that meets the green earth. You tend to quickly look over a shoulder now and then or peek round a curve of a path after encountering another mound of fresh scat. It’s bear country. As well as wolf and cougar country too. Anyway, here’s one last seductive image… sans shipwreck, sans cautionary warnings, sans wolf, sans bear:

Lighthouse/bear pic credit: wikicommons

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14 Comments

  1. Robert
    15 August 2025 at 11:06 pm

    That captures it

    Reply
  2. MB
    15 August 2025 at 11:24 pm

    Looks fun

    Reply
  3. Hannah M
    15 August 2025 at 11:24 pm

    ❤️

    Reply
  4. Alan Holland
    16 August 2025 at 7:54 am

    Beautiful. Thanks Richard.

    Reply
  5. Mary Hill
    16 August 2025 at 3:09 pm

    Looks fab

    Reply
  6. Ewan Mantle
    16 August 2025 at 3:10 pm

    I almost feel I’m back there! A very special place,

    Reply
  7. Al Jamieson
    16 August 2025 at 3:13 pm

    Great shots

    Reply
  8. Deke Koven
    16 August 2025 at 3:15 pm

    Nice that Pacific NW agrees with You

    Reply
  9. Willy Kerr
    16 August 2025 at 3:41 pm

    I’m so pleased that we don’t have bears, wolves or cougars in Scotland…yet!

    Reply
  10. Peg Amir
    16 August 2025 at 6:59 pm

    There are alternative scented shores on Scottish shores

    Reply
  11. Bella Houston
    16 August 2025 at 9:12 pm

    Looks like Vancouver Island is a wonderful spot to be, albeit black bear country.

    Reply
  12. GB
    17 August 2025 at 9:51 am

    Black bears in Ayrshire would be fun

    Reply
  13. Tina Mara
    17 August 2025 at 10:06 am

    Sounds amazing

    Reply
  14. Corey Hecht
    21 August 2025 at 8:26 am

    Scent and aroma- hard to capture in words

    Reply

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