Deepwater Bay is on Discovery Passage, north of Seymour Narrows. Deepwater canyon or valley (for lack of a better name; it’s not quite a canyon and it’s more than a valley) is a big gap between Mt. Seymour and North Mountain, complete with a mountain stream which can be impressive.
Twelve of us set off on a clear, cold morning to explore it. It was a winter wonderland, even without snow, all white from hoarfrost. We stopped first on the Deepwater Main logging road to visit the old rail trestle, which is in ruins. Then we hiked up the old logging road to the copper mine on North Mountain. The horizontal shaft is full of water and fascinating, but no one was tempted to go swimming. We then hiked down the old road to the Bay, passed the abandoned fish hatchery, and had lunch in the beautiful warm sunshine, with great views of Deepwater Bay and Discovery Passage. A lone sea lion swam by close to shore. This area is full of the history of logging, mining and fishery on Quadra. 6.8 km; 3¼ hours.
Norris
Photos by Norris
(click on photos to view larger)
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- View NE from Granite Bay Road
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- Frosty leaf
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- Old trestle posts
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- Frosty needles
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- Ice crystals
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- Icicles
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- Mining shaft and rails
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- Mining shaft
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- Horizontal shaft
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- Frosty mushroom
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- Angel hair
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- Deepwater Bay
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- Deepwater Bay
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- Deepwater Creek
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- View SW from new logging road
Quadra Island Outdoor Club 
We’re told that “the mine you walked up to is named the Bennet Mine, and Dudley Richards
who passed away a couple of years ago, was the last person living on Quadra to have worked there.”