British Columbia (Sep 2011)

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At the end of summer in 2011 in Edmonton, I got a ride to Vancouver with a friend. We stopped at Mount Robson and did the Kinney Lake Trail. On this hike, I saw Devil’s Club (Oplopanax horridus) for the first time and we measured the diameter of a huge cedar. It was about 1.7m. After the hike, we drove a bit more and camped at Blue River campground and I remember it was really cold. The drive to Vancouver was very beautiful. We were going along the river most of the time. We passed by a town called Little Fort. It had the most idyllic scene with horses grazing by the river, quaint little houses, and trees swaying gently in the background.

At Kamloops, you can take the toll highway which is faster or you can stay on the Trans-Canada highway. We decided to stay on the Trans-Canada highway and I’m so glad we did. The scenery was so beautiful. I have to say, what I saw on this stretch of road was more beautiful than anything I saw at Jasper or Banff. (Lake Louise was such a huge disappointment.) I think it was around Savona that we saw the most beautiful scene of a valley. From this road, we also saw a lot of sand dunes with hoodoos everywhere. The rest of the drive was along the Thompson River and it was really enjoyable.

Our final stop was Cumberland on Vancouver Island. We stayed with friends who are from the area and they showed us the mines and told us about the history of Cumberland. There was a very large population of Chinese workers who lived in Cumberland and Dr. Sun Yat-sen actually visited Cumberland to solicit support for the establishment of a Chinese Republic before 1911.

We also went to Tofino and on the way there, we stopped at Qualicum Falls where there were a whole slew of people jumping down a big cliff into the river. I so wanted to join them but it was a bit too cold to get wet. We also stopped at Cathedral Grove and saw a Douglas Fir that was 2.86m in diameter. I saw Arbutus trees for the first time. Monkey Trees (Araucaria araucana) seemed to be a common decorative item on residential lawns. I’ve seen them before but not in Canada. In Tofino we went to Tonquin Park and walked on the rocks along the shore to a small beach. We saw very large starfish and beautiful anemones in the water. I managed to touch a starfish without falling in the water but just barely. I never knew they had such hard shells.

The next day, we did a very long hike on Mt Washington. Many of the plants near the base had identification tags which I was really happy about. There were signs saying not to swim in the lakes but there were still people doing it. We camped at Cumberland campground for one night. The lake was beautiful but the people next to our campsite were talking very loudly all night and I didn’t sleep at all. People kept telling them to be quiet but they didn’t listen. The owner and staff had gone home for the night so there was no one of authority to restrain their behaviour.

I heard about the West Coast Trail and the Juan de Fuca trail for the first time. The West Coast Trail is apparently one of the best hiking trails in the world. These are definitely on my to do list.

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