Juan de fuca hike

Part 1 – Laughs and  Appreciation

What an adventure! My oldest daughter and I just completed hiking the Juan de Fuca trail, 47 kms along a coastal forested path on Vancouver Island. It was an amazing journey that took courage, strength and tested my endurance. Each night as we tucked into our small tent we would laugh and say how tomorrow would be a better easier day and finally on our last day it actually was. Looking back now it doesn’t seem like it was all that hard but while climbing up and down into creek bed after creek bed, finding our footings up and over massive tree roots after tree roots, trying to balance on chunks of wood, boards or branches to avoid falling into the hundred pits of mud it all seemed more than I had anticipated.

The Adventurers

Laughs, oh yes there were many of those and each night we would lay there chatting that even though the hike was brutal we were still laughing and having fun. The first laugh came over my new hiking poles. Within the first few hours they came apart no less than three times. I obviously had not tightened them up enough and really had little knowledge about them or how to use them...I would be walking along and all of a sudden notice a piece was missing, but they were my life saving piece of equipment. I could never have heaved myself up over all those logs, steps and hills without them. By the second day my daughter also found them useful at times and we shared them as we went along, sometimes finding them a hindrance but mostly very helpful.

On the second morning the biggest laugh of all was when I somehow thought I must be like Jesus and able to walk on water. Camped on the beach I volunteered to go down and rinse out our dishes in the ocean. As I was walking across the seaweed it crossed my mind that I was not walking on solid ground and with each step was sinking a little more into the ocean waters. Did I stop and turn around? Of course not I just kept on going until I was ankle deep, then tried to climb up onto a slimy rock, slipping back into the water once again. Yes during this time I was wearing my hiking shoes. I cried out to my more sensible daughter...I’m all wet. Why, I ask myself was I surprised at this fact? Feeling very stupid, almost to the point of tears, but not wanting to quit the hike I spent the day hiking in one very wet shoe and one very damp shoe.


Bear Beach, the place where I attempted to walk on water.

 

Laughs also came when my daughter slipped off the stump and into the mud for the first time...I of course was already muddy up past my ankles from trying to go around the mud and slipping off the bank down into it all while hearing quiet gasps from my daughter behind me as she watched. My daughter though when slipping off the log just gracefully sat down on the log while her foot sunk into the wet soggy mass of mud below.




Navigating one of the many mud holes

I must say though that the biggest laughs came on our last day. The longest in kms but the easiest of days. While climbing up a gentle slope trying to avoid the mud my daughter slipped off a root and landed sideways laying down thankfully on mossy hard packed earth. With the heavy backpack on she laughed saying “I’m like a turtle,  I can’t get back up” and she really couldn’t. There was no where to put her feet so she laid their curled up laughing. Eventually she was able to remove her pack, unlike the poor turtles, and stand up and reload her pack. Later that day, I missed stepping up onto a boardwalk and fell down on my knees, the weight of my pack pulling me over onto my side and I too was like a turtle laying there making sure I was still all in one piece. Thankfully I was able to roll myself back over and get up once again onto my very tired and sore legs, and yes have a small laugh.

Each night was we watched others enter the campgrounds we would check out their shoes and  legs and each time we realized that we were the muddiest of hikers. We have no idea how the others managed to arrive so dry and clean. Our shoes and legs were always covered in mud, although it was usually dry by the time we camped. By the end of the hike I had decided we were just the cutest muddiest turtles on the trail and could be proud of the fact.

The laughing turtle getting back on her feet :)

I learned so much about myself on this four day journey and so much more about my daughter. This year marks the time that I am twice as old as she is. This hike was a great way to celebrate that and there were times when our roles reversed, where she was the caregiver and the encourager as I became teary and fearful. I saw her strength, realized how calm and level headed she is and very wise and mature. Although I have always been so very proud of her my pride in her has now reached a deeper level and understanding. It also gave me a greater sense of appreciation for nature and life. The creations of God while on the trail and the creations of man upon returning home. I have so much in my life to be grateful for, it is overwhelming. Thank you Amy for a wonderful holiday!

p.s. Could this be the man of my dreams...the tall silent type with a smile?