Some Australian First Nation reservations look similar maybe for the same reasons.

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For leg cramps at night: Keep the sheet/blanket from pushing down on your feet by untucking at the foot of the bed and use an extra pillow or something to lift the covers up off your feet if you can. At the first sign of a cramp, push your heels out as hard as you can and pull your toes forward. These things don't keep all the cramps away, but they really help me.

I remember the section from Lake Cowichan to wherever it ended near Duncan to be fabulous, especially compared to the Shawinigan to Lake Cowichan part. We rode it in 2014.

That's the E&N (Esquimalt and Nanaimo) Railway, though it used to run further north, as far as Courtney. There's been a movement to convert it to a rail trail for decades, but there's also a movement to bring back the passenger service. More info in this article: https://thediscourse.ca/nanaimo/vancouver-island-rail-history-how-did-we-get-here

There's a very nice paved trail beside the rails in the Victoria area. Currently the E&N Rail Trail runs 12km from Esquimalt to connect to the Galloping Goose Regional Trail, with a further 5 km planned.

Pretty typical for TGT, which has, I think, been returned to its original name after most of the signage was redone.

That makes some sense, given that the stuff in the messes are still "stuff". Such as in my photo, bicycles, BBQ, etc. I was rather hoping for a more "anthropological" reason, like the transience of the ancestors who may have created midden piles and then moved camp.

The one that overwhelmed Joni was identified as a Kimberley Fern, claimed to be Australian. Clearly it did not learn its manners in Boston.

I'm not so good on ferns, but this seems to match deer fern.

http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/ShowDBImage/gallery.aspx?page=0&specrep=0&latinName=Struthiopteris%20spicant

Messy places on reservations... Back in the 1980s, on a trip for work, I sat on an airliner next to a lady who was the second leader of the Creek Nation and had an interesting discussion that included this subject. She believed that her people, being given Gov. handouts tended not to work in order to improve their pitiful life. Enough to eat most of the time, shelter, and life was good enough. She was doing her best to motivate her people, but actually believed the poverty and careless mishandling of everything was due to free stuff.

Hi,
Leg cramps are no joke. I take magnesium supplements and that has helped a lot, but you have to stick with it for a while before the cramps stop all together. Even with the supplements my blood magnesium is a tad on the low side, and my doc assures me it would be well nigh impossible to overdose. Dodie should tell my wife Sue how much they hurt. Sue claims that nothing hurts worse than childbirth !
In my estimation you picked the right season to tour Vancouver Island: no bugs! I looked up the railway. The politicians are still wangling about it, but the cost of repairing it to a usable state is far higher than any transportation benefit. So, yeah, it needs to be converted to a trail.
Cheers,
Keith

Hope Dodi doesn't get cramps like that again! Great pictures, what a difference some sun makes!

Mustard is reported to be good for leg cramps, though there is controversy. It’s easy to carry some packets from fast food restaurants in your gear. I gave some out on my Wind River trip and they seemed to work pretty well. Pickle juice also works but is less convenient to carry. Finally, I always carry electrolyte tabs and add one to my water bottle each time I refill

I still wake up with cramps occasionally, especially if I didn’t drink enough water. They are excruciating and I totally empathize with Dodie!! Hope you find something that works

Dodie, I’m really sorry about the terrible cramps you had! How scary for you, Steve.

We have to be around home in the morning or we would come down and meet you for cinnamon rolls!