The WCT Trail

I kicked off my 4 months of travel with a hike along the 75 km length of the West Coast Trail (WCT), located on beautiful Vancouver Island. This was my second trip along the trail, the first one being 7 years ago when I hiked it with my family. In comparison to that trip, our time on the WCT was a true vacation. We had wonderful weather and lots of time for relaxing.

We hiked the trail north to south (opposite of what I did the last time), getting the easy stuff done with heavy packs. The highlight of my first day was the huge sea lion colony we stopped to view. These massive male sea lions can be heard before they are seen and were quite entertaining.

Sea lions on the rocks

The following days were spent alternating between hiking on the lovely beaches and hiking in the forests on boardwalks or in the mud. Luckily for us, the sunshine kept the boardwalks almost usable and the mud to a minimum. During our first four days, we watched a pod of whales swim by one evening, basked in glorious sunshine and marveled at the giant trees.

Jenn on the shelf and a very nice looking section of boardwalk

We were pleasantly surprised to find that the trail conditions in the difficult last sections of the trail were no different than the previous days, and we had to spend only a portion of each day slogging through the forest. We were treated to beautiful beach views, interesting forest walks and a family of sea otters playing just offshore at one of the camps.

Beach view and me on the boardwalk

Overall it was an excellent hiking trip, worth the mud and the sometimes monotonous forested sections to see things not possible when hiking in the Rockies. We took several hundred photos, with my favorites being HERE and HERE.

Its Really Happening!

Over a year ago Jon and I first dreamed of quiting our jobs when I finished school and traveling the world. Today, Jon got on a plane bound for London, marking the beginning of our 4 months of freedom from work, school and life as we've been living it for the past 2 years. And, if my defense on Wednesday is successful, I'll be joining him in the life of leisure in just another week.

The plan? England for Jon for a week where he'll enjoy Norwich and the surrounding countryside. I'll hopefully be having a successful defense before heading to the cottage for a weekend of sun and fun. Then its back to our place to pack up all the items we've collected over the past two years and finish off the thesis (hopefully). August 24 we hit the road and then the trail for 8 days on the WCT. Jon needs another stab and scan before we load up the Impreza for a 5 week cross-country road trip starting in Calgary and stopping in Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI and Newfoundland (we'll be passing through the prairies and Quebec but our limited time means nothing but a quick stop for gas and food). Then its back to Calgary sometime in October for, yes, another stab and scan before we go international with a trip to South America. We'll be back in December, hopefully still with some money in our pockets and a new plan in the works.

I'm a little nervous, life without a home or job does have its challenges. Its been a while since I lived on a budget, and we've never taken a 5 week road trip - with the dog. But we're both really looking forward to this and its sure to be an adventure!