Walk on the Wild Side

Hey, Babe, Take a Walk on the Wild Side.

This Isn't the City, Toto

Well, it is not a true Wild Side, but this was the earworm I had during most of this walk.
And when that wasn't in my left ear, The Happy Wanderer was in my right!

Beaches Are As Wild As the Woods

Here in the "east end," as I think this part of Vancouver Island is called, is a rain forest.
I drove through about 50 miles of it from Sooke to Port Renfrew and the Botanical Beach Provincial Park.
By the way, the reason I started thinking the island was about twice big as I thought is because all the distances I was looking at were now in kilometers. Silly me! Now, every number I see posted, including the speed limit, I mentally multiply by .6.

This part of the island receives about 136" of precipitation a year. In contrast, Dener receives less than 18 inches a year.

There is a mist hanging over Juan de Fuca's strait, clouds rest on the mountaintops, and a breeze blows - at least today it is only a breeze. By noon, the sun shines with enough heat to make you shed a layer or two only to put them back on again around 4 PM.

Path through the Rain Forest

Shale and Quartz

Leaves and Lichen

Botanical Beach is known for two features:

• Tide pools
• The end of the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail

The last 2.5 kilometers of this trail is a loop that leads from the parking lot to the beach.
After a walk through the forest, you can walk out on the beach to look at the tide pools.

Not As Easy As the Trail

Definitely, check the tide charts and make this walk at low tide. You would see none of this at high tide.

Crawl Among the Rocks to See Tide Pools

Looking into a Tide Pool

Looking into Tidepool 2

Looking into Tidepool 3

Looking into Tidepool ##?

One More Look

A Great Place for Lunch

There are a few restaurants in Port Renfrew. I chose the Renfrew Pub on Snuggery Cove as did several people who had spent the last 5 days walking the rugged Marine Trail.

At the End of the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail

After lunch, I headed up through the lands of the Pacheedaht First Nation to the Avatar Grove.

On to the Avatar Grove

Path to the Avatar Grove 1

Path to the Avatar Grove 2

Path to the Avatar Grove 3

Just past this spot on the trail, I saw a couple coming down the trail. They said no one remained at the grove and I was only about halfway.
I continued on for a few paces and then either intelligence or old age set in. It was after 5 PM, I am arthritic, fat, and almost 72. It was probably not a good idea for me to continue as there was no one in the world who knew where I was or would even think I was missing until sometime in July.
I decided to return to my pleasant home in Sooke and take this jaunt another day.
Here, the wildlife munched in my neighborhood

Deer in the Churchyard

Scrawny Shedding Deer

The next day, I met up with a hiking group that meets every Thursday for a mild hike. They have 52 walks they like and take a different one every week. Apparently, they have maintained this routine for several circuits.

This Thursday, we circled the Esquimalt Lagoon and part of the Royal Roads University campus which was formerly a military college which one of the members of the hiking group had attended.
It was nice to walk with other people who notice so much along the way, are familiar with the environment, and so congenial to a stranger.

At the Lagoon with the Hiking Group

Across the Lagoon

Mother and Twins

Near the Heron Rookery

We stopped for a nice lunch after the walk.
I want to join them again next Thursday. As I dropped my Kindle in the back seat of the vehicle in which I carpooled, I know I will.