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| At the end of August, Lisa and I went to Vancouver Island to hike the Juan de Fuca trail with Laurel and to go to A.E.'s (Aunt Edna's) 100th birthday party. We did a three night hike from China Beach to Sombrio Beach. We didn't have time to hike further and see the sights and explore the beaches. We made too much food the first night, which was fortuitous because a couple came to the beach late, just after sunset. We fed them our extras. We stayed two nights on Bear Beach. Lisa was ill the morning after hiking in to Bear Beach. This was why we stayed put. Staying put was good for all because we had a chance to explore and to relax. Bear Beach has campsites in the trees, just off the beach. A very pleasant place to stay awhile. In the morning, Laurel and I walked down the beach to see from where we had come. The night before we had not taken much time walking over Bear Beach to the campsite. In the afternoon Lisa and I walked the other way and explored a stream bed and the small beach at its outlet. Chin Beach, our next campsite, has campsites on the beach. It is on a windy point. The night we were there the mist was collecting on the trees in sufficient quantity to appear as if it was raining at the edge of each tree. The campsites are in the driftwood, which partially blocks the wind. It makes for an interesting campsite. One has to climb piled up logs, some are quite large - 1m to 1.5m, to get in and out of ones campsite. Doing this with a full pack or water bag is lots of fun. This beach has a natural shower - a small stream flowing over a cliff. No one took advantage of it. It was a little cool in the evening. The last day of hiking saw some of the ruggedest trail. There were many places where Lisa and Laurel had to climb up or down tree roots or rocks using hands. There was one place where I needed it (long legs are useful in some places) - a tree root that formed a 2m vertical drop to the next part of the trail. With a 20+kg pack, one does not jump down. Luckily it had a nice loop root at the top to make a hand hold. The view just after this piece of trail was quite spectacular - crashing waves and a waterfall directly into the ocean. The descriptions (you have to look at an image larger than a toenail), rather than captions, on the pictures have more information. | ||||||||||||||||
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