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.

Cows, Car Rides and Cheese

This weekend we decided to drive up the island for a mini-getaway. A stay-cation if you will. We are on a tight budget these days so I did my best to stretch our dollar on this trip. It was a bit stressful but definitely fun. Poor F had a hard time in the car this trip so we had to make lots of stops. It was raining for most of the drive so we didn't visit the beaches as I hoped we could. We did, however, make a stop to one of my favorite farms. Farms are a fantastic, free way to have fun and learn about your local farms and food.

Little Qualicum Cheeseworks and Morningstar Farm is such a fun place to visit. Not only are their cheeses amazing, it's such a great learning opportunity to see exactly where our food comes from. It was still drizzling when we arrived but we took cover in the animal pens. Both kids adored the rabbits. You could tell they were used to visitors because they barely batted an eyelash at all the scratching and stroking.

We visited the calves (oh my they were sweet!), donkeys, sheep, ducks and most importantly the cows. The kids got to visit the maternity pens and give those girls some scratches. Then we took a look at the milking pen. No one was in there at the time but A and I checked out the equipment and talked about how it must work when the pen is full of cows. Then we walked over to the cheesemaking window. "1/2 of excitement packed into 8 hours" as we've made our own cheese before we completely understood this sentiment. Of course the way to finish a tour of a cheeseworks factory is to taste the cheese (my favorite part). We couldn't leave without taking some of our favorite cheese home.

As we were leaving F noticed a tractor. He is a boy obsessed with driving. We could hardly convince him to leave. I think he would have liked to sat on that seat until sheer will brought the thing to life. While he was "driving", A spotted a horse. She tells me often that horses are her favorite animal. It was a gentle horse and happily visited with us. Eventually we bid farewell to the farm and got back in the car to continue our journey.

Sleepless in Rathtrevor

The trip to Rathtrevor in some senses was a success. We were able to introduce Finn to his other grandparents, I was able to visit a friend who had recently had her second baby and we were able to give camping with two children a test run. We had planned to only be there for one night just in case it was a disaster (which it was).

The drive up the island is long. Any mother knows that listening to her baby wail in the backseat is heartbreaking and for me, it's something I just can't do. In all honesty though the frequent stops to nurse and cuddle were a relief for us all. We visited the Whippletree Junction, enjoyed the views on the Malahat and had snacks at the feet of the giant Gnome. Both kids fell asleep just as we entered Parksville and pulled into the campsite.

The Rathtrevor campsite is so nice. It's right on the beach but the individual sites are nicely covered by woods. They have a lovely playground for children to play and a simple biking park. The bathrooms are also really clean and warm. This feature is particularly appealing to the parent who visits the facilities with her children almost every hour. I also liked that we could walk to the beach from our site, so there was no need to pack the kids into the car again.

When we got there April and Jon set to work setting up the tent. April loves to feel important in processes like that. She took her role as pole builder very seriously. Unfortunately, it wasn't until we were all set up for the night that we realized the air mattress had a hole in it. There wasn't much to do about it at that point so Jon and April had a rather rocky night (in more ways than one). We started a modest fire and April helped Jon pop some Jiffypop over the fire.

Finn at first had trouble settling so he and I took a walk on our own down the beach. The tide was far out so we had plenty of sand to explore. We could hear a seal barking out on the water and birds such as eagles and ravens calling. It was peaceful. Finn was quiet but alert. The beach was soothing for him. And once Finn was finally asleep he stayed asleep all night.

April, however, woke at 4am and would not calm down. She screamed hysterically for 20 minutes, being sure to wake anyone in the sites near ours. When I finally got her calm and took her to the bathroom, she decided she was up for the day. We turned on her Martin and Sylvia Sparkle Stories in the hopes that the rest of us could sleep more but the only one that got away with more rest was Finn.

After such an early rising, the rest of the day was difficult to say the least. April was so tired she had little interest in exploring the amazing beach at Rathtrevor. She decided she simply could not carry her bucket, the sand was too wet, there were too many crabs (which she then decided she must destroy), she needed to visit the washroom but couldn't walk and that the playground was more fascinating than the beach. We all resigned ourselves to being very tired and called it quits. We very slowly started the journey home.

I'm not quite ready to give up on camping with my young children. Being out in nature really recharges my brain and gets me back to where I need to be to parent my kids. I know April loves it too but she is still not the best when it comes to bed time and doesn't have the awareness to be quiet for others. I like we will wait until the end of the summer to try again.

Saltspring and Storms

We took a weekend getaway to Saltspring Island, just in time for the first fall storm it seems. It was raining when we left but we were determined to enjoy ourselves regardless of the weather. After all, we were raised on the west coast, we are no strangers to rain and wind. So as long as our many rain layers held up, we were out taking in all we could.

We had hoped the rain would let up enough for us to visit the Saturday market. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived the wind had picked up so most vendors were on their way home. Jon managed to snag some baked goodies before they were packed away. We figured our best bet was to get out of the rain for a bit and get some lunch. Normally we always enjoy the Treehouse Cafe. They have good food for good prices and they have gluten-free options for April. However, when it is windy and rainy the Treehouse Cafe is a cold and wet place to have a meal. We were lucky to snag a table next to the heater but we were still shivering by the time our food arrived. Sometimes you just need to laugh it off and carry on.

We made our way to the farm we were staying at. April was more than happy to simply jump in puddles all afternoon. I, on the other hand, wanted to wander in their amazing garden. It is honestly so beautiful and exactly what I would love to have on my own property some day. Even with the rain, the herb beds smelled amazing. Their greens, carrots and leeks all looked so healthy and ready for the plate. Jon and I both stood by their beds and marveled at their amazing cold cover system. Convenient, effective and aesthetically pleasing; it really was impressive.

The farm also had sheep, chickens and goats. The sheep were definitely shy (as most sheep are) and we not at all impressed with the enthusiastic toddler I brought to the pasture. The chickens were sad, drenched messes but were very happy to socialize. April stood and chattered away to them, just as she does with our own chickens. To my disappointment, the goats (very pretty goats at that) were not as tolerant of the rain as we were and refused to leave their shed. When it comes to animal visits, the rain can prove very disappointing.

We finished our day with a local ingredient meal on the farm and some jazz preformed live by local musicians. Briefly, in the middle of our meal, the sun came out and a rainbow appeared. Sitting there, eating local mussels, watching my daughter dance to dinner jazz and pausing to admire the rainbow, was the perfect way to end the day.

Our Haven

This year we continued the tradition of heading to our favorite getaway on Gabriola Island. It now goes by The Haven but to me it truly is Haven by the Sea (it's former name). We didn't get the best weather but this year we ended up with a large, comfortable room with a complete kitchen, patio and lovely view of their small garden plot. It didn't really seem like any less of a vacation to be reading books and cooking pancakes in our nice room.

We were lucky that the rain held out for a trip to the market. Every time we go we love visiting a local tie dye artist. I have never come across someone who does such beautiful dye work and the folks at Tied Up and Dyed. Of course we had to pick up a few tie dye items for April to wear this fall. Although the tie dye was all we came home with, the market itself was a wonderful experience. The smells of local herbal products and soaps, the beautiful colors of the apples, beets and corn, the happy sounds of friends coming together, it was the perfect community gathering place.

Even though it was raining, it was still warm. It was so warm it was uncomfortable to wear any kind of rain gear so we walked around and let the rain soak us. April was determined to spend some time in the pool at The Heaven so even in the rain, she and her dad were splashing away. She has become such a little fish. The wearable water ring we got for her has given her a lot of confidence to put her face in the water and kick her feet to get around. We could barely get her out of the pool, even though she was shivering away.

April's other very favorite experience from our trip was the visit to the Paradise Island Alpaca Farm. I found myself getting very excited to visit these fuzzy ladies. Alpacas are just so cute and soft. Though I must say they are not exactly cuddly. Still April enjoyed letting them snack away from her cup. However, the alpacas were nothing compared to the miniature horses. These horses came to the farm from abusive homes and they seem overjoyed by all the food and attention they receive here. April could have fed them all day long, she couldn't get enough of these sweet boys. Unfortunately, the farm had to remind her that they had many other visitors to see and she could not spend the day shoving hay through the fence.

The disappointment of leaving the miniature horses was soon remedied by a trip to the beach. Jon and I kicked back and wiggled our toes in the sand while April built castles, collected treasures, chased sand pipers and splashed about. It wasn't long though before the rain showed up. April, being the beach bum she is, wasn't ready to head indoors so we walked along the beach in the rain. We found jellyfish and crabs washed up on shore, we splashed in tide pools and finally made our way across the rocks back to the room.

It's always bittersweet leaving Gabriola. It is never anything less than enjoyable and we feel so relaxed by the slow pace of the island. It also feels like summer is over when we board the boat to come home, it feels a little cooler and a little darker when we say goodbye to our Haven. But we will be there again, next summer.