Canada Day 2007 - Juan de Fuca Trail

Juan de Fuca Marine Trail on the west coast of Vancouver Island, we hike 20km from Sombrio Beach (Jordan River) to Botanical Beach (Port Renfrew).

First we had to catch the ferry to Victoria on a Friday night of a long weekend. Here we are looking East through Active Passage, a narrow pass between 2 Gulf Islands where the ferries usually pass. You can see the ferry above the navigation light on the left under the clouds building up over Vancouver.

Sunset looking West over Vancouver Island.

Sombrio Beach at the start of our trail, this is where we will spend our last night.

At the start of Day 1, 13kms to go.

We only got one photo of the mud and this shot does not give it justice. The distance obviously did not take into account of climbing up and down muddy ravines which made it harder than we imagined. At one point one of our group was up to her waist in mud. It took us 7hrs to hike 13kms......a long 13kms!

Nearing the end of day one. Most of the trail we followed the coast through muddy rainforest with with glimpses of the coast. Behind you can the Juan de Fuca straight and Islands.

Nikkers and Stef near the end of Day 1, 2 very tired hikers at this point.

The start of Day 2, a massive tree on the trail.

Lunch on Day 2.

After the severe storms last Fall we saw many trees blown over. Here Jessie and I check out the root ball of this one, the biggest of the most recent that have fallen. Notice the boards that we are standing on, these continued until the end. Day 2 and the remaining 7kms we a breeze after the previous day of hell through 13kms of mud. This hike is the closest thing to the Kokoda Track that I will experience.

Nikkers and I taking a break.

Made it! Here at Botanical Beach Nikkers and I check out a the rock pools and marine life that gave this beach its name. Hundreds of pools can be explored at low tide and it was great to finish the hike and wash the mud from our boots.

These little green creatures were everywhere in these pools and Nikkers was fascinated by them, some of them the diameter of your hand.

One of the bigger green thingies in a pool by the ocean.

Camp on Day 2 back at Sombrio Beach and Canada Day. As we were having breakfast in the morning we spotted a pod of about 15 Orca cruising by about 200m of shore. My first sighting a Killer Whale.

After hiking 20kms, setting up camp, dinner, dishes and a few drinks for Canada Day we tackled some charades which turned out to be quite funny!

A cool photo of us by the fire with Brad on guitar, we amused our selves by singing limericks about Juan de Fuca and why the hell he would make a hike in all that mud.