Sidney Spit

 

Living on an island during a pandemic can feel like both a blessing and a curse. Your world can begin to feel very small. Luckily the travel restrictions did not extend to this little island off the coast of our bigger island. Sidney Island has a few residents on it and a large federal park. The park is on a spit on the northern end of the island. The lovely thing about this park (besides the sandy beaches) is that it is only accessible by boat so there are no car, no motorcycles, no ATVs. There is a small ferry that runs a few times a day between Sidney and Sidney Island. We decided to pop over for a couple of days.

There were lots of opportunities to view wildlife on our trip. We watched several great blue herons fish for their dinner, a mink made it's way through our campsite checking for food, we could hear ravens and A found one of their feathers, there were lots of nesting bald eagles, the kids caught sight of an otter near the lagoon and there were tons of sea creatures both in the surf and on the shore.

The campground is a hike-in and there is no potable water on the island so it was an exercise in stamina for us all to get what we needed to the site. From our bases camp we walked about 6-8 kms per day around the island and down the beaches. The kids wanted to just stay at the site and play with tent caterpillars but I feel like our time to enjoy these beauty natural spaces is running out. BC has changed so much from when I was a kid here. Forest fires, logging, urban sprawl, climate change; they are all changing not just our island but the entire province. I want my children to see and love this world and fight to protect it's natural state.

Juan de Fuca :: Day 2

 

Our second day on the Juan de Fuca trail is an ode to my naivete. You see, I knew it would be strenuous, I knew it would be muddy, I knew there would be logs and roots to avoid but I foolishly thought it would be those things at different times at different spots along the trail. The reality is that it is all those things at one time at any given time on the trail. I grossly overestimated my own body.

Our plan for day 2 had been to pack up and hike the 5kms to Little Kuitshe campground. We woke to rain and clouds. I had almost no sleep the night before and F was down to his last pair of dry socks. After a cup of hot chocolate and some granola, we did as planned and packed up. We trekked along the beach back to West Sombrio where we stopped for snacks. Here we encountered our first suspension bridge (and as it would turn out, our only suspension bridge). I think everyone enjoyed crossing the bridge except me. 

The mud began on the other side of the bridge. It was slippery but doable. We passed several mushrooms and banana slugs (F loves to look out for slugs. He would guard them to make sure they were not stepped on during our hike.). Then it was back on to the beach. I think this was the beginning of my downfall. I have chronic joint issues and inflammation in the tendons of my heels. I wore good supportive boots and used a hiking pole to help steady myself. However it was still raining and the rocks were becoming slick. I frequently slipped and wobbled causing those tendons to ache. We reached a spot where the tide was too high to pass. We stopped for lunch in the hopes we could pass soon. 

After an hour and some crab hunting, the tide was still too high so up and over we went. It was slippery, steep and muddy. The steps of roots and logs to help up the slippery hill were meant for someone taller than me. I really struggled to clamor over them. Surprisingly the children seemed to do better with some help from the adults. I could feel the ache in my ankle worsen. Descending down the other side to the beach again did not help. 

We stopped at the marker for 3kms to Little Kuitshe for water and rest. I was feeling this crushing sense of defeat. I know I am fat and I have joint issues but it has never stopped me from hiking before. I just go slowly and take breaks as needed but I carry on. I was feeling concerned that I may end up pushing my ankle to the point of injury. Little Kuitshe campground is only accessible by foot so I would have to walk out if I walked in. I was determined to carry on. I tried to push the pain to the back of my mind and get on with it. Not more than five minutes into hiking again and the pain turned to weakness. It was becoming harder and harder to bear weight on that ankle. I couldn't keep up with my kids and I was feeling defeated. That was the breaking point. We turned back.

I limped back along the beach and over the bridge to our car. I was crushed. I didn't even complete one section of the Juan de Fuca trail. I kept thinking "what if I had taped my ankle?" and "what if we started at the other end of the trail?". I tortured myself the whole night after we returned. I decided to use my defeat as motivation to strengthen that heel and go back. I see my physiotherapist this week and I'll ask her to help me come up with a plan. Juan de Fuca; this isn't over.

Juan de Fuca :: Day 1

 

About a month ago I made the ambitious plans to take my family to hike part of the Juan de Fuca trail. I knew I wanted to spend Mothers' Day with my family in the wild. I read a lot of blogs, talked with friends who have done the trail, read recent experiences on AllTrails; I felt prepared. We have hiked in to camp before but haven't truly backpacked with our children. I put a lot of time and effort into making our packs light as possible but making sure we would be warm, dry and most importantly not run out of snacks. 

F carried a Deuter Climber 22L pack and A carried a MEC Escapade Youth 32L pack. Finding good sized and appropriate fitting packs for my children was a challenge. I think there is a lack of good fitting backpacking packs for children under 16. Nevertheless, I managed to fit their clothing, sleeping bags, mugs, water bottles, headlamps and snacks in their own packs. They each had a hiking pole as well to help with the muddy conditions.

The Juan de Fuca is well known for it's muddy conditions. That side of the island is wet, windy and unpredictable. We were pleasantly surprised however by a clear and sunny day for our arrival at Sombrio Beach. We parked at Sombrio West and hiked the 1.8kms over to Sombrio East for a night on the beach.

Sombrio itself is a beautiful spot. Tricky terrain as you are walking over basketball sized rocks and washed up kelp but there is a lot of beauty to distract you. We found plenty of sea urchins both alive and deceased, starfish, lipets, slugs, bald eagles, seals, cormorants and even a hummingbird. 

By far my favourite part of the trip was the Hidden Waterfall. It's easy to miss (hence the "hidden" part) but well worth the visit. You follow a small stream up from the beach to a sandstone cave of sorts. The stream is lined with ferns and salmon berry and is lush and green. You can feel the cool mist of the falls before you can actually see them. I think it might be as close to magic as I have ever seen on Earth. I stood by myself in the mist at the base and grounded myself in that place. I could feel it healing my tired soul. 

We watched the sun set and even enjoyed the warmth of a rather smokey fire. We made sure our tent was above the tide line and our food was safely in the bear cache and curled up in our awesome family backpacking tent for the night.  I thought the waves would be a soothing way to fall asleep but even with ear plugs it was more like a constant roar. Sleep was rather elusive that night which made for an even more difficult second day. Day 2 in the next post.

Happy Easter

 

Happy Easter indeed! Last Easter was so lonely. We spend Easter weekend outdoors with family and friends. Easter 2019 we spent camping with dear friends and doing our egg hunt in the woods. Last year we did an egg hunt in the backyard with just the 4 of us. This year we were lucky enough to participate in 3 pandemic wise Easter egg hunts. We started our morning doing a street wide egg hunt. The neighbours all hid color-coded eggs in the yards and the children on the street took turns going from house to house to find them all. Have I mentioned how much I love our little neighbourhood?

Next we set out to a large field near a friends house and did another egg hunt. These friends are basically family. We spend more time with this family than some of our blood relatives. The kids were really good about giving each other space. J did some of the hiding and he delighted in making them particularly tricky. Even the tallest of the kids (that would be A) needed a stick to get the eggs out of the tree. It was great fun though.

Finally we ended our day doing an egg hunt in Grandma's garden. By that point the sun had been out all afternoon so many of the chocolates were warm and melting but my kids didn't mind a bit. I think it's safe to say we have enough chocolate to last the rest of the year. And enough love and smiles to fill our cup for another week of pandemic life.

Spring Begins

 

The spring equinox and spring break coincided this weekend so of course we had to get away for a little bit. We spent 3 days tucked away at Goldstream campground. It was cold and wet but such is life here on this island. Everything seemed so lush and calming. We were kept company every night by several barred owls calling "who cooks for you!" to each other. 

This trip was made even better by the company of our closest friends. The kids built forts, explored the swap behind our site and played many rounds of laser tag. We had the campfire going and good company. I can't think of a better way to welcome in this new season. I'm aching to get back into our camping routine and visit some new spots on our little island. 

First Snow

 

The first snow of 2021 has fallen. It's also our first snow here in our new neighbourhood. My children had been keeping vigil ever since someone mentioned "maybe it will snow this weekend". F and I made paper snowflakes to encourage the real ones to make an appearance. Boy did it work!

Our morning has been filled with shoveling, sledding, building, trekking, drying then repeating. Lulu loves the snow. It's so fun to watch her leap through the snow drifts. She hates rain but loves snow. I suppose it makes sense as her breed is originally from the mountains of Tibet. She even has feet especially designed for walking on snow. 

As we no longer have access to our neighbourhood sledding hill, the kids got creative and built one in the yard. They used the deck stairs as a base and piled and packed the snow into a ramp. Their efforts paid off! They've been zooming down that little hill for hours. I think I've heard a gleeful "wheee!" as I sit here typing. Perhaps it's time I went out and joined them.

Corners

 

When we first started talking about selling our little house I felt a lot of resistance. I couldn't imagine finding anything that felt as "home" as that house. In birthed my babies there, we raised chicks, kept bees, cultivated that garden. It was home. Even though we were feeling very cramped in there the outdoor spaces kept us anchored there. 

Now we are trying to find our anchor here. We are putting personal touches all over the house. We painted, put up wallpaper, hung photos, refinished the floors but the work isn't done. I'm finding comfort in these corners of our new home that make me feel comfort and contentment. I'm hoping as we settle in more and finish more of the ongoing projects I can share more of our new home.

Art print from Little Truths Studio

Wallpaper from Wayfair

Introducing Lulu

 

Just over one year ago this brown eyed gal joined our family. I feel like I had been waiting for her my whole life. I've wanted a dog for as long as I can remember. I'm an animal person it's true but I wanted the companionship of a dog. And after searching and searching we found this lady listed with a Korean rescue. Many of the local rescues would not adopt to our family because our children were under the age of 12. It was very disheartening but Lulu here was ok'd to live with young children so they chose our application.

Lulu didn't have a kind start to her life. For her first year she lived in a cage on a dog meat farm in Korea. She was liberated by a rescue in Korea and lived with them for another 6 months while they got her health and vaccinated before her trip to Canada. I must admit, after reading her story I expected her to be distrusting of people but she's the complete opposite. She's incredibly loving and trusting.

I was under no illusions that it would be easy owning a dog. Lulu was not leash trained so she would pull so much that I ended up with a wrist injury. She had no recall so I was constantly afraid she would get loose and never come back. She did escape our yard a few times but was luckily found and easily approached as she's so friendly.

We did several training classes and she's come so far. She is leash reactive with other animals and that's been a huge challenge. We often walk places we are unlikely to see other dogs. In spite of that she's been the best companion I could have ever dreamed of. She sleeps next to me, loves to cuddle, she doesn't bark or chew, she's very tolerant of the kids (they like to dress her up), she's fun to hike with, she comes running whenever I call. She's so loved.