Sombrio 2014

Today I went to Sombrio Beach for the first time!

What. A. Beaut.

This is a major local spot for the local surfers to catch some awesome waves and for us non-surfers to just simply enjoy. There is the wonderful beach to explore, plus hiking trails to wander along and campsites for those who want to really spend some time amongst the beauty. There aren't many days left in the year such as the one we experienced today, so it was a no-brainer when the topic of heading out there for the day came up. The beach is about a 90 minute drive from downtown Victoria, which is really no big deal considering the view you get.

Adjusted Axel and East Sooke Adventures

The last few weeks have been busy, busy, busy.

Plus a bit more busy in there somewhere but I was too busy to remember exactly where it should be.

Axel has been here with me now for about 2 1/2 weeks and I am very happy to announce that he has done a truly remarkable job at adapting to his new life in Victoria. I was really concerned that he would be miserable since he is losing a lot of his freedom here,

But does he look miserable to you?

How about now?

I am astonished at how well he turned into a city dog. The first two days were stressful because he wasn't eating and worst of all, he wasn't pooping, so I was a big stressball just waiting and hoping that his appetite and bowels would go back to normal. When you own a dog, basically your entire life revolves around their bowels...so I wasn't a happy camper. Axel took it all in stride though. He is great walking through busy traffic and barely shifts an ear when a big truck roars by. He leaves all of the feral hippies alone when he finds them sleeping in the parks and while he is still a bit leery of them, he's pretty much figured out that the waves rolling into shore are nothing to be concerned about. He still tries to drink ocean water though. He runs down to the water, splashes around, takes 2 laps of water and gives me the same "Oh God that tastes awful" face that he gives me every time he drinks from the ocean. Sigh.

The one thing that I will say about Victoria is that (apart from the horrendous access to finding places to live which allow dogs) it does a pretty great job at accommodating the dogs in the city. There are lots of dog-friendly beaches and walk-ways around the city, all well equipped with poop bags and garbage cans. Plus there are dog water fountains placed throughout the city and a lot of businesses in Victoria and in surrounding neighbourhoods keep water bowls and/or buckets outside of their doors to allow any canine passer-bys to have their thirsts' quenched while enjoying their daily stroll.

I can definitely say that Axel has likely been meeting and greeting more dogs and people in the past 2 weeks then he has in his entire life. He's been (mostly) a complete gentleman in all of his introductions to all of the new people and dogs. I was able to find him a lovely lady to take him for walks on the weekdays that I am at work and also a magnificent friend has offered to help out on the weekends when Axel needs some company. Everyone has been very welcoming to him and I am so lucky to have such great people in my life who are willing to help out with his care.

One thing we have been doing is going on TONS of walks and hikes together. Today was the best one so far. It's called the Coast Trail and located in East Sooke. A couple days after I got Axel here, I was hiking in this area with him and a friend and we hiked to the Beechey Trail. I learned about all of the trails in the park and decided that I wanted to do the Coast Trail because it sounded challenging and visually gorgeous.

So this morning we started the trail at East Sooke Park which is an awesome provincial park that is packed full of trails, beaches and picnic areas. The trail is approximately 20km round-trip which in the big scheme of hikes, really isn't that far. But the terrain is tricky and at the drop of a hat changes from lush ferns and soft ground to jagged sheer rock cliffs you have to pull yourself up from. Plus it never gets easier!!! The ups and downs of this hike made my legs feel like jelly (and I'm in semi-decent good shape!) and right when I thought that I would be getting a break from incline, I'd go around the bend and be faced with another rock wall to climb. The way back is equally as difficult and there is no physical relief to be had while enduring this hike.

I friggin loved it.

The one major problem with this hike is that at all times you have to watch your footing so your eyes are basically always to the ground. This means that you just might miss out on some AMAZING views and breathtaking landscapes that most people can only dream about seeing. Based solely on what I saw today, I can 100% understand the draw to living in Sooke. When you can look out from the top of the rocky cliffs and see views of the ocean that are so gorgeous that it brings tears to your eyes, you know you're in an incredible part of the world.

So as I mentioned, the hike is about 20km round-trip. Since the trail doesn't have any km marks or indications of how far along you are, I had no way to know exactly how far I had hiked today. I am guessing that we did about 15 of the 20 kilometres. As much as I really really really wanted to complete the entire thing today, I was worried about how quickly we were going through our water supply: mainly I was worried about Axel. There are some creeks on the hike which would have been great little watering holes for him, but unfortunately they were all dried up so he had to rely on the water that I packed for him. I didn't want to dehydrate the guy so I decided to turn back and ration the water until we got back to the car (where I had lots more ready for our return).

My legs are now feeling less jelly-like and my feet feel a bit achy, but it was a great hike. Next time I shall bring more water and complete the entire trip.

The dog hasn't moved from his bed since we got home so that is a sure sign that he's had ample stimulation for the day. All I can ask for now is for winter to never come so that I can keep enjoying all of these amazing Vancouver Island hikes all year round.

A Foggy Day on Salt Spring Island

I've been really stressed out at work lately so I decided to take a loner mental health day and go to Salt Spring Island for the day. Salt Spring Island is part of the Gulf Islands, is on the east side of Vancouver Island and you can get there in only 35 minutes via ferry from Swartz Bay. The entire island has only a population of about 10,000 people and I believe that there may be more sheep than people inhabiting the island. OK, that may not be true, but there are a lot of sheep. Since moving here I have wanted to check out the Saturday Farmer's Market and explore the little hippie island that people around here tell me that I would appreciate.

So my plan today was to take the 9am ferry, check out the market and the little communities on the island, then hike to the top of Mt. Maxwell for the famously amazing view that I heard so much about. Unfortunately the weather did not really work in my favour. The Weather Network said it would be sunny and semi-warm, but it ended up being very cool and extremely foggy. I went to the island anyway hoping that the temperature would increase and the fog would lift. I drove around enjoying nature, the market, the towns and the very friendly people who were eager to ask questions about where I was from and recommend things for me to do while visiting for the day. Unfortunately they all recommended me to skip the hike due to the fog and the conditions of the road to the trail head. Apparently unless you have a 4x4 or something equally helpful to dodge massive potholes and crumbling roads, it's not worth the trip for short stature vehicles (like my little Honda). Plus the fog would make the view from the top non-existent.

A foggy afternoon by the water

I killed some time by driving around, checking out some of the art studios, tourist attractions and beaches, all in hopes of the weather lifting so that I could conquer the hike.

What I loved about the island is that it reminded me so much of Nelson BC. People living off of the land, producing their products themselves and enjoying a laid back kind of lifestyle. The population consists hugely of artists, musicians and farmers who are all involved in contributing to the community. Organic, natural, home-made, home-grown and "made with love" were the kinds of products you see on the tables at the markets and on the shelves at the stores. As you drive along the windy roads throughout the island, every minute or so you come across a stand at the end of a family farm driveway with a product for sale, such as fresh eggs, vegetables, jams/jellies or lavender. All of these stands are based on the "honour system", meaning that you take the product and leave money behind. Honestly, every turn and bend had one of these stands full of products for people passing by to take a look at and purchase if desired. I love that there are places in the world that still have honourable people inhabiting communities that can follow a system such as this.

Eventually I decided to give up waiting for the weather and headed back to my larger and busier island. Luckily on the way back towards the ferry I saw a sign saying "Brewery" and took a sharp right up a farm road and went to check out Salt Spring Island Ales brewery. When I pulled up to the building, I could not help but produce an ear-to-ear smile.

It was perfect.

It was exactly what the brewery on the island should have looked like.

Small, old, semi-dilapidated and hidden in amongst the trees and mountains that make BC as wonderful as it is.

The brewery is just an old barn with two big tanks in the back and a natural spring running beside it (which is the water they use to make the beer with). The organic hops for the beer are grown just up the road and all of the beer production happens on the island. After a minute of trying to figure out where the shop was to purchase the beer, I found the narrow staircase heading to the top of the barn/brewery which lead me to a small room with one counter, a keg, a beer fridge and a very friendly woman who explained to me everything there was to know about the product and brewery. We chatted for some time, talked about beer, travel and PEI and I left with 3 bottles of delicious ale to take back with me.

So even though I didn't get to hike a mountain today, I still got to experience Salt Spring Island and enjoy my day away from my worries. I know that since I went in the middle of October that I missed out on the true Saturday market (a lot of vendors aren't around this late in season) and the outdoorsy experiences that one gets in the warm summer months. But I got some amazing local coffee, beer, spices and body lotions to remind me of the lovely little island nestled up close to Vancouver Island. I'll definitely head back to the cozy and colourful island when the weather warms up again and I'll see the view from the top of Mt. Maxwell.