...hiking is for masochists!

Okay, I know some people love all that hard core hiking/camping stuff. I thought I would love it too. And when I think back about 3 years ago, when Frank's idea of roughing it was not getting extra towels at the Holiday Inn. The idea of us hiking 20 odd kilometers to a campsite was very exciting.

We made some fundamental errors when calculating our first hiking/camping trip.

1. We way over packed. Note to self: when you go hiking, you will wear the same clothes the entire 3.5 days. All you need is extra underwear and a pair of clean socks to wear when you hike out. You do not need to bring 4 t-shirts, 2 pair of shorts, an extra pair of pants, a jacket, and your swim suit. Also, don't bring enough food for 6 days when you are only planning to be gone for half that amount of time. Also...KD is heavy! Also, maybe invest in a little tent and mattresses. We didn't weigh our packs, but we figure mine was about 60 lbs and Frank's was close to 90 lbs. I couldn't barely lift Frank's. Yah, we could have gone for about half that weight.

2. Maybe don't go for the 20 km hike the first time out. Try the 6-8 km distance first. After a certain distance, I think it was km 15, I almost starting crying. I put on a brave face though. At the 13th km, my hip flexors were hurting so much that I had to try a different gait. Every flat area, I started to jog. Without me knowing it, Frank recorded this for posterity.

Also, wearing running shoes is good for not getting blisters, but they are not so good for giving support in the soles. My feet felt bruised from walking on tree roots and sharp rocks. I saw some pretty nasty blisters on other people's feet and they were hobbling around with moleskin and bandages and dreading the walk out.

3. Don't take BC Ferries, anywhere! I already talked about that in a previous post. It just makes you angry after hiking 20 km out of the bush and then driving 4 hours down the island to catch the last ferry back to the mainland and then having to fork over $73. No matter how much you love the person you are hiking with, you will find them extremely annoying and not want to talk to them the whole ferry trip back.

The campsite was gorgeous, the only thing was that we only got to see it the first afternoon we got there. We arrived at the campsite at about 4pm, proceeded to fall into a coma for 2 hours. Woke up to sunshine and whales breaching in the bay and a glorious view. Around 8pm, while I was cooking 3 dinners (I wasn't going to carry all that food out!), the fog started to roll in and we didn't see a clear sky for the rest of our trip. The fog hid everything!

Oh yeah, and just for the record, those dehydrated hiking food packs you can buy? They're not bad. And they are light. You just add boiling water, seal the package back up for about 15 mins and then you can eat your Turkey Tetrazzini or Beef Stroganoff right out of the bag! Pretty sweet! Oh! And powdered eggs...not bad. We didn't get the apple crumble or the brownies or the ice cream sandwiches...but I bet they wouldn't be all that bad either.

The second day, we had the option to hike out to the very tip of the island and go see the lighthouse. Thinking about the hike out, we didn't take that option. We literally did as little moving as possible.

Oh! I forgot, Tuck came with us and had a great time. He even had his own little back pack. He loved it! He was so excited everytime we put it on him. We would literally be wiggling with eagerness. And everyone who saw him loved it as well. He was so well behaved the entire trip. I love that dog!

So, to wrap it up...it was fun, but physically exhausting and the next time we go these are the conditions that I will insist on:

1. Shorter hike, much shorter. Mayber 5-6 km.

2. Lighter packs. I want mine to be about 30 lbs.

3. Better scenery.

4. Bring the kids to run errands.

5. No ferries.

6. More desserts! Need chocolate.

7. And alcohol!