Lost in the Beauty

What a weekend....I travelled to Gabriola Island with a friend to spend the weekend in our friends’ cabin and to do some much desired hiking. There are many trails and pathways on Gabriola and we couldn’t wait to get started. The weather however was not that great....lots of rain and some wind but we had both purchased new hiking boots that were to be waterproof. .we were prepared.

My favourite rock being attacked by the waves in the stormy wind.

So Saturday morning after a great breakfast we headed out with the plan to hike the trail to the third turnoff to the beach and then head down and spend the morning on the beach before coming back up for lunch. The beauty that surrounded us was amazing. The maples were all in colour and the leaves were piled high along the trail. The many shades of yellows oranges and reds were so breath taking. Well in no time we had reached the third turn off...according to my friend I have only one speed and that it is pretty fast. She wanted to go further so we carried on along the same trail.

Amazing leaf colours covering the pathways

 After a bit of walking on this trail which is like a narrow roadway I saw a narrow trail and thought we should do some exploring so we decided to take it. I mean the trails in this area seemed to be on a grid so sooner or later I felt we would come to another spot to go left down to the beach. We followed along this trail which turned into a bit of a small dried creek bed. After spending some time on the trail we realized we were heading towards the roadway, not the beach so decided to take a left and head down another smaller trail. By now we are really bushwacking....climbing over fallen trees, going around other larger ones and weaving our way downward. We even startled a lovely deer that quickly flew through the forest and away from us. The rain becomes heavier and the ferns are thick and high and now we are soaked with really no idea where we are. Yet we were still having fun. Eventually I realize there are no sounds. No road traffic, no ocean waves I think this is enough, I am getting a bit scared. If we don’t come out at the beach we will have to back track so before we spend any more time going in the wrong direction we decided to head back towards the road. Finally we can see cars going by so we head in that direction, climb over one more large stump and head down the road. After walking along the road way we eventually found another entrance to the trail and we headed for home...the beach could wait.  I was so surprised heading home when we came to a Y in the trail and my friend said to go one way and I wanted to go the other way. She was right and somehow I had gotten myself turned around and had the ocean on my left instead of my right....it was a very strange sensation to get my head around the idea that we were going in the direction of home. I really need to get a compass I think and learn how  to use one.

Once back home we got into some dry clothes, enjoyed a wonderful warm lunch of soup and and sandwiches and then guess what...yes we headed out once again. This time we hopped in the car and drove to a spot where I had walked with my friends. I couldn’t find the exact entrance that we had used but there were many. This area is not dense forest and has nice pathways all marked with signage and names. It was a good place to walk seeing as we were in our last pair of dry jeans...I had thought we wouldn’t get wet. So we headed up the trail and continued to check the maps posted on top of the road posts. It was great. Then we needed to find the path called the "Path to Nowhere" We came to a path with no name on it but I felt it was where we needed to go. By now the rain has picked up and the wind is blowing and I think this will be the shortest way back to the car. So off we went. Within ten minutes we were in forested trails, ferns higher than our waists on a trail that twists and turns all over the place but we carried on.



Cathy still smiling while being lost amongst the tall wet ferns

After about 20 minutes we began to wonder if we would ever reach the connecting trail to our car. There are no posts, the trail we are on is really no more than an animal trail and it is heavily treed and not open like the road like trails we headed out on. But we also know we have made so many twists and turns that heading back the way we came could be quite impossible.  I am soaked...my jeans are heavy and I am getting cold. We have joked that this trail actually could be the trail to now where but we try to remain hopeful. I was starting to despair and ready to give up, picturing us wandering around and around in circles for hours getting now where. I thought of my friends who hike all over the place always with a very handy safety device called SPOT that will locate them if they become lost, which they never seem to be. I was thinking that I should have the SPOT with me however I knew that the park we were in was small, that there are many roadway entrances and we would eventually find one. My concern was when...how much longer til we could get dry and warm again.

More pretty leaves floating in the puddles

Finally when I had reached the stage of praying to God to help guide us, up ahead I could see the trees were smaller and thinning...yes thankfully there was a main trail with sign posts. We headed up the new trail, away from the car but at least on a path that we felt would connect us to the way we came in .Which it eventually did and two hours from the time we headed out we were back home in the safety of the warm cabin where we stayed put for the rest of the night.

In the morning we headed back down to the beach taking the shortest way possible. We didn’t need anymore adventures for this weekend.  As we reached the beach it was so calm. There was no rain, the water was no longer bashing up on the shoreline. I looked right and could see the stormy skies clearing and the lighter blue sky coming our way.

Storm cloud clearing, blue skies coming our way

As I looked left I could see the devastation of the nights wind and rain. There on the shore were two washed up tug boats. We see the tugboats going by regularly hauling their cargo to faraway places but here were two, obviously abandoned and waiting for the next high tide to lift them back out into the waters.

Two washed ashore tugboats waiting for the next high tide

 

So our wet hiking weekend has come to an end and the best thing...through it all, the puddles, the swamps, the wet ferns, I got soaked but you know what....my feet stayed perfectly dry in my new boots. 

My new boots still nice and dry!

I am not sure what new adventure I will next try but I do know that in two weeks I will be back on Gabriola, hiking with my sister and yes...I am definitely sticking to the trails I know!