First we had to catch the Ferry from the main land to Vancouver Island. The Ferry takes about 2 hours. Peter, Feli and Seppel on the deck of the ferry.
Juan de Fuca Trail - on the West Coast of Vancouver Island
Feli and Peter are in Canada for a holiday. Since there is still a lot of snow in the mountains we thought we stay better low. A hike we always wanted to complete and do in nice weather was the "Juan de Fuca" trail. We tried this trail about 2 years ago with Theresia from Offenbach but at that time it rained too much so we bailed after one and a half days. Now the weather forecast was perfect so we caught a ferry to Vancouver Island. Oh, Feli and Peter a study friends from Darmstadt.
First we had to catch the Ferry from the main land to Vancouver Island. The Ferry takes about 2 hours. Peter, Feli and Seppel on the deck of the ferry.
Since we knew we had to hike a bit and won't get any decent food we filled up on fat and salt, burgers and fries.
Peter looking towards Vancouver Island.
Just before Swartz Bay, the ferry terminal on Vancouver Island.
We drove Friday night to a campground close to Jordan River (A on the map). Next morning we started to hike. The trail follows pretty much the line between A and B.
The first kilometer was on a paved road, not a lot of traffic since this is a dead end.
A particular line of business: Thieves
We took a group pictures just in case one of our members will be eaten by a bear.
The trail goes through the rain forest along the shore. Sometimes you walk along a big log which fell down ages ago. Peter and Kerstin standing on the trail - a log.
We came to the beach the first time, quite nice.
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After 10 km of hiking we had our first stop.
Later on we continued, what else should we do.
Nice engineering work. We tried to figure out the span of this bridge and agreed to about 30-50 meters, not bad just for a hiking trail. Well, what else can you talk about if there are 4 structural engineers.
One of my favourite pictures. Feli, Peter and Kerstin.
It is nice to see how the shore line jumps back and forward.
More pictures of the coast. We had a beautiful day.
Luckily it didn't rain. Could you imagine how much mud would be there if it would rain. I think it didn't rain for 3 or 4 days.
High above the sea standing on a suspension bridge.
We hiked about 28km that day. It was a long day.
Kerstin hiking towards the camp. Can you see the bonfire, that was our aim for today.
Only a few more meters. The last km was sooooooooooo long.
Peter and Feli sitting on a rock after a long day.
Kerstin enjoying the sunset, too tired to take the back pack off.
I think we were too tired to enjoy the beauty of this place.
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All we wanted to have was food. This was probably the best tasting packaged soup I ever had.
The next morning we got up early since we had to (at least planned to) hike another 19km after the 28km of yesterday. Well, at least some of us tried to get up early, good morning :-).
Kerstin hiking along the shore.
Some more interesting trail work.
More mud.
Within 5 km the beach changed completely from sand - gravel to rock.
And hiking in the rain forest again.
What a nice Island, wouldn't be bad to spent a day up there.
Finally at the end of the trail after 47km (well, since we hiked an extra kilometre at the beginning we did actually 48km). I think there were not a lot of hikes where I was so tired and sore. Even 2 days after I am still sore.
Some team members passed out as soon as they could sit down.
The next day we walked around Victoria.
The parliament of British Columbia.
Since we didn't see a bear on the trail (Feli and Kerstin saw one when they picked up the car and we saw a lot of bear poo) we caught up with him in Victoria.
Once we came home we had to try out our gear.
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It was a great trip. Thanks Feli and Peter for joining us. We talked a lot about Darmstadt, about playing skat, about having bbq, playing soccer and all sorts of stuff. It will be good to come back over Christmas this year and to catch up.
Here is more information about the Juan de Fuca trail:
History of the Trail: - The Juan de Fuca Marine Trail was created through the Commonwealth Nature Legacy as an enduring reminder of the 1994 Victoria Commonwealth Games. Preservation of a living legacy of unprecedented natural beauty, accessible to all, was considered a fitting tribute to the spirit of the Games. Construction and preservation of the Trail has been made possible by the efforts of government, local industries, First Nations and citizens. Land exchanges and gifts of land have come from Western Forest Products and Timber West. Trail upgrades have been undertaken with funding from Forest Renewal BC and the Environment Youth Team (E-Team). The Juan de Fuca Marine Trail was originally part of a lifesaving trail that serviced this area, known at the time as the Graveyard of the Pacific. (quote taken from: BC Parks)