Juan de Fuca trail

I'm finally back in Victoria! It's never felt better to be back home, back in my own place, sleeping in my own bed. It was relieving to unpack my suitcase and put everything back into my closet. After living out of my suitcase for 7 long weeks, it's nice not having it in sight. After flying back from Hawai'i, I went to see Paulie in Salmon Arm. It was a long couple days of traveling! Needless to say it was very much needed, and I had a great visit. Paulie's recovering quicker than anyone imagined he would; hiking and walking lots, and even went out on a mountain bike ride last week! Paulie is an inspiration in every sense of the word. On Sunday, we went to the Salty Dog mountain bike race, where Paulie and I stayed in the feed zone, calculating the time Tom and Kevy would be coming through, and chatting away about life and summer plans. It was great!

This weekend, I went hiking with Kenton along the Juan de Fuca trail. It was so so so amazing to say the least. Two days of hiking with no real agenda set out... we just moved according to how we felt. Day one, started out at 6am, driving out past Sooke, to the start of the trail. Arrived at the China beach parking lot at 7:30am. We got our packs organized, parking permits settled, and left shortly after that. We traveled from China Beach to Chin Beach, which was approximately 21km. Kilometers 11-20 held the roughest terrain, with intense uphills and some sketchy descents.
Kent's back and my feet surely felt it. In an 8 hour hiking day, we took approximately an hour of rest which was broken into 3 stops for our PB & J bagels, and smarties out of the trail mix. Thanks to Marsh for his delish homemade granola bars and water purification tablets.


Hiking along cliff edges, suspension bridges, tree stumps, insane mud sections, and some of the most serene and breathtaking views you could ever imagine, I have never felt so happy, so peaceful, so humbled. There is nothing more beautiful than Mother Nature. Well, maybe besides the sound of the comfortable silence (and occasionally the bursts of my heavy breathing) while being surrounded in such a gorgeous environment. The smell of the ocean, the vibrant green leaves on the trees, all of which stimulated my senses and led to a sensory overload. For the most part, I found myself speechless.

We arrived at the Emergency Shelter at 3:30pm... our much anticipated stop... our safe haven. The walls were covered in names, dates, sayings, poems, etc.. The most prominent one, written in thick black marker, right in front of the door read, "Juan de Fuc this trail in the ass". Repeating that saying over and over never got old. We decided to stop in the cabin for an hour, rest a little, eat some dinner, then trek down 100 meters to the beach and set up our tent and campsite. While sitting on the wooden bench of the cabin, we heard only the sounds of the birds chirping, the waves riding up against the beach, and our own sighs of relief. The more time we spent sitting in the cabin, the more tired I got and heavier I felt. The idea of staying over in the emergency shelter kept sounding better and better to me. The only problem: How to convince Kenton to staying in the cabin overnight? Especially after pumping up the idea of how cool it would be to camp in a tent on the beach. As I'm thinking what to say, I hear, "Do you just want to stay here tonight?" Ahhh, music to my ears!

Kent pulled out a deck of cards, and taught me how to play Gin Rummy. In no time flat we're playing hand after hand, as I picked the all the smarties out of our trail mix.
I have a feeling that Gin Rummy has become what crib is to Brad and Libby.
Our dinner, cold Spaghetti from tupperware containers that we made the night before, had never tasted so good. After having enough of Kenton slaying me over and over in Gin Rummy, we decided to set up our bunk beds and head to bed. It didn't take long after we turned off our canoe brand flashlights (Pound it, Paulie!) did I hear the scurrying of mice along the floor of the cabin. The combination of the crashing waves, and the mice searching throughly for leftovers, woke me up at 3:30 and couldn't get back to sleep... I couldn't stop watching the mice. I was impressed with their climbing abilities... It was quite entertaining. For such small creatures, they sure make quite the racket.

Day two started quite later than the one previous. We woke up at 8:10. I could tell I was really tired. We ate our breakfast; an apple, some orange slices, and a bagel with PB. Taping up my blistered heals and packing up our backpacks we set out on the trails at 9:30. We decided to head onwards on the trail (as opposed to hiking the 20km back to China Beach, which was one options we were thinking of). We re-routed, and headed onward on the trail, to Sombrio.
Coming to an ATV trail that merged with the Juan de Fuca, we evaluated our options and ruled that it was a safe bet it would lead to the highway. With 3 hours of hiking for day two, we finally found the road and tried our luck with hitchhiking back. After being passed by a couple of vehicles packed with people, camping materials and surf boards, we finally got picked up by two hot surfer chicks; Kelly and Morgan. Oddly enough, one of them being friends with Kenton from Calgary. Go figure.

Very soon, we were back at the China Beach parking lot. It felt great to get into the car, and take off my shoes! After a short drive home, (and appreciating another mode of transportation besides the heel-toe!) I found myself lying around the house, trying to recuperate and reminiscing over a very fun and eventful couple of days. Plans are still pending for another hiking adventure to complete the other side of the Juan de Fuca. Anyone wanna come with?


J