I woke up early this morning, about 5:30, and went down to the lobby to work on the journal. The WiFi signal had been weak to nonexistent the night before, and even after uploading all the photos at the Renfrew Pub over dinner I couldn’t complete the day’s entry when we got back to the room. It was very peaceful downstairs in the dim natural light, watching the morning gradually come alive outside.
We enjoyed a delightful breakfast, sharing the table with an enthusiastic quintet of young women from Calgary. They’re here to hike the West Coast Trail over the coming five days. It was inspirational to hear them talk over the adventure that lies ahead of them. We’d not heard about the West Coast Trail before we came here, but it really does sound exceptional - 75 kilometers long. it’s regarded as one of the top hiking experiences in the world. Originally named the Dominion Lifesaving Trail, it was built a century ago to facilitate rescue missions for the many shipwrecks that occurred along the rugged coast here. The trail crosses several First Nation reserves and is only open part of the year by reservation only. The women told us their permits cost $160 Canadian, and access is limited to a set number of hikers per day.
Before leaving, they asked that we take their photo together and send it to them; and they promised to send one back to us at the end of their hike. So hopefully we’ll hear back from them next week sometime and get some sort of report.
I came downstairs early this morning and caught up on the journal as the sun came up. It was very peaceful having the run of the place for the next hour.
Our table mates at breakfast leave shortly for their five day hike the West Coast Trail. They have to catch a boat to the start of the trail soon, but paused for a photo so we can mail it to them.
Today’s ride is through quite empty country, most of which is a timber reserve owned by logging companies. It’s another day we were apprehensive about because it looks much worse on our GPS route than it actually is. It’s not even close, really - our GPS route indicates almost 4,000’ of elevation gain and a ride with a number of steep ascents and drops - just like yesterday’s ride. It’s nothing like that though and we barely cleared 2,000’ of climbing, none of it particularly painful.
It’s a nice ride - generally quiet, mostly through the forest with limited views. The first ten miles are the best - flat, smooth pavement, more scenic as we follow the course of the San Juan River and past a series of small, serene lakes. After that though we cross the boundary into the timber reserve. The smooth road turns to a rougher but not bad chip-seal, and we start climbing - quite gradually for the next seven or eight miles, and then a bit more steeply for the next two until finally topping out at about 1,300’. It’s definitely a climb, but when it’s barely half what we’d been expecting it feels like we really got off easy today.
Leaving Port Renfrew, we cross the mouth of the San Juan River.
The view from the bridge to Renfrew Bay. Our lodge is in the cluster of structures on the left. The point on the right was blanketed in gulls yesterday afternoon.
For a change, I find myself waiting for Rachael here and there. It’s not what you might think - she’s stopping to work with her camera, getting the orientation right. Yesterday’s video was spoiled because it was mostly sky, and she’s trying to do better today.
Bruce LellmanI like the little tree taking hold on top of the snag. Go back in ten years and see how big it is and if it has created its own little island. Reply to this comment 5 years ago
Rachael stopped to adjust her camera again, and has fallen well behind (and threw her chain, which held her up further). I decide to wait until she’s back in sight again. If she’s been mauled by a bear or whatever I don’t want to have to backtrack too far.
One of several long, unrailed bridges we crossed today. We waited until the coast was clear and kept to the center to avoid toppling over the side. We don’t like the looks of those skid marks.
Scott AndersonTo Jacquie GaudetNot a one, and I was watching for them. The sheen of sunscreen probably poisoned them all. Reply to this comment 5 years ago
Jacquie GaudetTo Scott AndersonThey might be seasonal--swimming in the lake at a particular stage of development. I'm pretty sure we saw them the time we camped at Port Renfrew and watched the Perseid Meteor Shower, so mid-August (and well prior to the road being paved). Reply to this comment 5 years ago
Eventually we leave the flats and start the day’s ten mile climb to the divide. It’s quite gradual most of the way, but stiffens in the last mile or two.
Log trucks are a feature of the day, but not a troubling one. One passes us about every five or ten minutes, but there’s so little traffic that we hear them and move to the side well before they reach us.
We arrive in Lake Cowichan (properly, the Town of Lake Cowichan) and head to the grocery store to pick up a few snacks before heading to our room for the night. As soon as we pull in at the store and lean our bikes against a rack, a young woman quickly walks up and asks if I have a pump. She’s here on a ride from Duncan with her daughter, and needs air so they can get home again. She asks if my pump has one of those funny valve thingies, so I ask if her tubes (her bike is still across the street) have presta or Schraeder valves. I don’t know - it’s a Cannondale, she says hopefully.
She wheels her bike over. Her front tire is absolutely flat, which she says happened just before reaching town. I’m sure she must have punctured and am not optimistic, but I start pumping the tire anyway and am surprised to see that it takes pressure just fine. Her back tire badly needs air too - it’s amazing she made it out here, really - so I pump it up also. I ask how far it is back to Duncan, suggesting about 15 miles. She doesn’t know, says she’s a kilometer-gal - but says it’s about 25k.
I’m skeptical that they’ll make it back without losing air again, so I give her one of our spare pumps and wish her luck. Through a packing error we ended up bringing three pumps, which feels excessive. She needs our third one a lot more than we do.
We’re checked into a very nice place - a B&B in a private residence, with a space large enough that we could live in it. We make good use of our stay here, by lounging around our estate until time for dinner and then walking to the recommended riverside restaurant for a meal.
From the inscription: This pole was carved by Chuuchkamalthnii in 2015. The pole is a gift from the Ts’uubaa-asatx people to the community of Lake Cowichan and represents a new relationship built on common values, shared interests, and a spirit of cooperation.
Rachael’s main: a steaming grilled chicken breast with scallops and prawns. And baked potatoes. And mushrooms. And a wide variety of grilled vegetables. No kitchen sink though.
