Thank you to Lundloghouse for sponsoring the cache
Orca - An Island Spirit Legacy.
The Pacific Marine Route is a driving tour that will take you from Duncan west to Lake Cowichan where you follow a seal coated logging road out to the west coast. Passing beautiful rivers and streams and lakes you will wind your way to Port Renfrew, a small village on the ocean. With an access point to both the West Coast Trail and Juan deFuca Marine Trail plus Botanical Beach, the population of Port Renfrew swells considerably in the summer. You can continue south east along the coastal highway making your way into Sooke, then Langford and back to the Trans Canada Highway just north of Victoria. Keep in mind logging trucks are active on this road, keep your headlights on and eyes off the gps when driving.
All the Island Spirit Legacy Caches are within a 2 steps of the trail, there is no need to bushwack or trample the vegetation unless otherwise noted.
Orca
Orcas, also known as Killer Whales are the largest member of the dolphin family. There are three distinct species, Resident Killer Whales, Transient Killer Whales and Off-shore Killer Whales. The dorsal fin in each of the three species is shaped slightly differently and is more noticible in females. Researchers have also found that the black and white colouring on each killer whale is different and have been able to distinguish different pods and even whales within those pods from their patterns. Living up to 40 years, researchers have been able to follow groups year after year recording which specific whales give birth and create family trees for 3 pods of Resident Whales off the coast of Vancouver Island, J Pod can be seen here year round while K and L Pods tend to be off the east coast of Vancouver Island in the summer and anywhere from the west coast of Vancouver Island down to California through the winter. For more information on these pods, including pictures and information on individual whales click on http://www.whale-museum.org/programs/orcadoption/whalelist.html