“God? Are you there?”
10 months ago

I love the beauty of Vancouver Island, and this trail really showcased it. There was a period of 15 minutes or so on the last day where the sun was shining into the forest and hitting the mist that I was moved almost to tears. The section of trail from Chin Beach to Bear Beach, labeled the most difficult, did contain a long of up and down sections. However, it was also stunningly beautiful, and except for the presence of the trail itself, I had the sense of being in the presence of nature as it was before the arrival of man.

10 months ago

We completed the Juan de Fuca Trail on Saturday. I will update later with a full account and pictures. It was challenging and beautiful, a perfect way to start our married life together. 10 months ago

We leave early in the morning for the trail. Getting everything ready now. Really looking forward to it! 10 months ago

Not as ready as I’d hoped to be, but we’ve planned to hike fairly slowly so I think it will be fine. We’ve planned our route and booked the shuttle. My sister has lent us her guidebook, and we’ll print out other necessary info before we go. We have all our gear ready, except for what we will have to get there (propane canisters and the like). I’m really excited to do this. We will be on the trail starting August 7th. 11 months ago

we’ve picked out some items for our trip: a new tent, some missing backpacking-friendly food-related items (sporks – yes, sporks! – and a coffee press for our Jetboil, and a frying pan), and a small, light-weight lantern. We’re also going to add a bear canister, a GPS device and possibly a solar charger. Then, maybe some freeze dried food items and other small things.

I also need some major items for my own kit because it’s been so long since I did any multi-day backpacking. I want a new pack, sleeping bag, and hiking boots. I have an OK pack, but it’s too small and not well designed for packing the amount of stuff that I’ll need. I could also get by with the sleeping bag and boots I have, but definitely could use an upgrade.

I’m getting excited about this trip. Sounds like it will be challenging but lots of fun. 14 months ago

Huge bucket list item for me, and we will be doing this for the honeymoon. Can’t wait! For logistical reasons, we’re going to hike in for a couple of days and then turn around and hike back out to our car, rather than doing the whole trail from end to end. There are shuttles and such, but we have a booking at a nice B&B when we come back, and this way we won’t have to worry about our pace so much. If we’re hiking slowly, we just won’t go as far (as opposed to coming out of the park late). 16 months ago

for our honeymoon. How cool would that be?

^{Maybe a tad crazy, having to pack all our gear up there as well as the wedding stuff, and then spending our honeymoon in a tiny tent… but that’s how we roll. :D}17 months ago