"Ohh, it's uh-boot eight ta 10 clicks, an' very nice sights, eh?"
That's what Don Munroe told me to expect from Sunday's guided hike starting from the Paradise Valley trailhead atop Mount Washington in Strathcona Provincial Park. Don's an earnest member of the Comox District Mountaineering Club. And his wife Pam, on the left in the photo here, led the hike. All 8-10 clicks of it. Translation for foreigners like me: "8-10 kilometers."
And I am a foreigner. 'Though many Americans here mindlessly imagine that they're visiting the 51st state, I'm savouring (sic) the differences. And there are many. I'm trying to stay atuned to the subtle. And I'm charmed by the obvious. To be sure, Canadians speak differently. The intonation and conventions of conversation can make me feel like I'm chatting with Frances McDermott's 'Fargo' character.
For the duration of our splendid Sunday hike, I reveled in the charming Canadian authenticity of Pam and friend Krysta, at right in the picture, a staffer with the Strathcona Wilderness Institute. Pam has moved to Vancouver Island from Alberta. Krysta is local as local can be.
I was the only hiker to show up for Pam's hike. Krysta decided to join us after Don volunteered to tend to Krysta's duties at the Paradise Valley information hut so that he wouldn't aggravate his recently injured knee. (Following our hike, he confessed he'd not sold a single map or wildflower book.)
We had perfect weather for hiking. Clear, sunny skies, turning to light cloud cover by mid-day. But this was VERY much an early season hike. Paradise Meadows was glorious... but not yet festooned with mid-summer green and wildflowers, because it was buried under a blanket of snow until just a week ago. An amazing amount of new snow-melt was flowing and cascading everywhere on Sunday. And as we covered our hike's 800-meter elevation change, we encountered so much snow that there were no visible vestiges of trail for much of the hike... apart from the footsteps of earlier, more intrepid hikers... who we hoped had chosen the right path through the snowy wonderland. In fact, we were well-served not only by the footprints but by the trail-wise advice of one group of Earlier Intrepids -- all young, hearty and 6-7 feet tall -- who had just succeeded in making the season's first ascent of Mount Albert Edward (Strathcona's great snow-covered 'ledge' of a peak shown in my Photo Gallery.)
It was good luck that let me enjoy this early season mountainscape... and to learn from local experts that any more extensive hiking wouldn't likely be accessible 'til August.
So. It was time for me to re-jigger my interary once again. I headed back down the mountain to sea level where I was able to drive the Volvo onto a late afternoon ferry leaving Campbell River for Quadra Island. I'd learned that there was a spectacular day-use Provincial Park there -- Rebecca Spit (see Photo Gallery) -- and also some attractive choices for campsites nearby. Details will be forthcoming on my 8th Post.
