How are you, friends? Hope you had a lovely Christmas. Sorry that we haven’t posted in a while. This is an overdue post, and may be a long one, so feel free to grab a cup of tea or glass of wine before continuing; we’ll wait. 😉
Eric and I are fortunate to have more than the typical vacation entitlement, but we still plan our time off carefully because of our varied interests. Before we got married, I made it a point to travel internationally once a year and within North America a few times a year. I place much more value on experiences than things, and Eric is becoming more like that, which makes vacation planning as a couple easier.
This famous backcountry hiking trail had been on Eric’s bucket list for years, so we finally bit the bullet and crossed it off. Eric’s mom graciously agreed to look after Qianna while we were away. Eric reserved our spot months in advance, then, due to a change in Mama’s schedule, we had to change the reservation a few weeks before D-Day. At the time of reservation, you must choose a hike direction: North to South, or South to North. There are pros and cons with both directions, and many hikers debate this at length. When we changed the departure date, the only availability was for North to South, the opposite of our original plan, but we rolled with it. Torture is torture. 😛
Starting Off on the Wrong Foot
Before we even began the hike, we had a mishap. Since the WCT is a point-to-point hike, it does not make sense to drive to the trailhead, because we would finish at the other end of the trail and be without a car. Therefore, Eric booked a shuttle that would pick us up from the ferry terminal and drop us off at the trailhead. It all sounds great… if only we had arrived at the right terminal.
Public Service Announcement: There are two ferry terminals in Nanaimo.
We left our place at 4:30am to catch the 6am ferry from Tsawwassen. An hour and forty minutes later, we arrived at Duke Point. Shuttle pickup was 9am, so we had to wait over an hour. It’s not ideal, but it was the only arrangement that would get us to the trailhead in time for the mandatory orientation. As the pickup time came and went, we started getting impatient, so Eric phoned the shuttle company. For your amusement, here’s what I heard:
“Hi, my name is Eric. I booked the West Coast Trail shuttle for 9am pickup. We’re waiting outside the terminal. … We’re on the bench in front of the main entrance. Um… yes, we look like hikers. … Oh!!! We’re at Duke Point. … Yes, please. No problem. Thank you.”
After he hung up, he said to me, “We’re at the wrong terminal. Pickup was from Departure Bay. I didn’t know there are two ferry terminals in Nanaimo. The driver will come get us from here, but we’ll have to pay extra.”
We should have departed from Horseshoe Bay, which is closer to home than Tsawwassen, and we wouldn’t have had to leave at 4:30am nor wait over an hour in Nanaimo. It all worked out in the end, and we look back on it now with a chuckle. I particularly liked that the driver asked, “And you look like hikers?” 😀
After more than half a day on the road (and water), we made it to the trailhead. Before orientation, we took a stroll on the beach. Romantic? Nah, we just wanted to get our bearings. 😀
Tillicum Bay Retreat 