Southern Vancouver Island photoadventure - Day One Done - A review

Day one of our Shorts and Gaiters adventure was a fast and furious exploration of some of Southern Vancouver Island.

This is where we're going

From Places I've wandered

Here's how we got from the 4am sunrise in Victoria, BC to after dark on top of a mountain overlooking Duncan, BC.

We started by catching the sunrising over Mt.Baker from Gonzalez Hill in Victoria.

From 2011-07-13

Then it was off west up the coastline towards the Sooke Potholes. But we were locked out. So we rambled about the Sooke River for a bit.

From Wandering and Wondering

Further west we went. Over bridges and beyond. To the end of the road we sought the path.

From Wandering and Wondering

We went through mossy dark primeval to make our way to the bountiful and magnificent intertidal zone

From Wandering and Wondering

Two of our last three visits to Botanical Beach have been planned to allow us low tide exploration. Two of the last three visits we've seen a black bear fishing out sea urchins to eat. Coincidence? I think not!

From Wandering and Wondering

We walked the shore until a chasm we couldn't cross dryly, forced us into the woods.

From Wandering and Wondering

There was time for one last dash along the sea past all sorts of intriguing geology.

From Wandering and Wondering

then it was back into the shelter of the forest and to quest for the trailhead.

From Wandering and Wondering

Leaving behind the Pacific Ocean and Provincial Park we drove deeper into the mountains along less traveled routes which afforded great discoveries during bathroom breaks.

From Wandering and Wondering

We made a quick detour and discovered a giant spruce and a large maple.

From S&G Day1

We explored canyons most usually drive over and forget.

From Places I've wandered

We discovered an old suspension bridge that lead to an overgrown path of rusted debris and local history being consumed by the rainforest reasserting itself.

From Harris Creek Suspension Bridge Discovery

We explored a waterfall beneath an old concrete bridge footing alongside the road.

From Harris Creek Waterfall - A Shorts and Gaiters Adventure

And that's how we found ourselves over 200km, and approximately 16 hours from when we started,
cruising up a dirt road on the side of Mt.Prevost.

From Places I've wandered

I haven't mentioned that the car's radiator wasn't a happy one and that we always had to be aware of the potential of overheating.... as we continued up.

From Places I've wandered

Finally we had to stop and let the car cool down. What a fabulous time to dig into some photoadventuring food! Yes, we split a tub of cookies and cream ice cream while pulled over on the side of a logging road halfway up a mountain watching a Travelling Wilburys music video on youtube on Karsten's phone.

From Places I've wandered

A drive to the parking spot, followed by a brief but intense summiting as dusk fell led to the following photos

From Places I've wandered

From Places I've wandered

From Places I've wandered

then it was time to find our way back down the trail, mostly on it, in the dark so we could get things from the car and sleep before sunrise and the start of day two. Because this is a two-day adventure around Southern Vancouver Island after all.... ;)

see you in the morning ;)
MM

Places I've Wandered - Gonzalez Hill Sunrise

The Shorts and Gaiters Inaugural Adventure took place on June 5th and 6th of 2011. Karsten Klawitter and I have been on many wild and wonderous photoadventures and decided to take two days to explore the heck out of several sites around Southern Vancouver Island.


June 5, 2011
Places I've Wandered -Gonzalez Hill Sunrise

My blackberry alarm went off at 3:30am letting me know it was time to rise, pack, make tea, and get outside. So I turned it off for another 15 minutes before rising and quietly scurrying around my Father's Victoria apartment. I fired off a text to Karsten letting him know I was awake and moving. From the course of our numerous past photoadventures I've learned that early communication with Karsten is a good course of action.

With no response to my first text I got my kit together and headed out to the side of the road to enjoy the predawn and muse as the seagulls flew overhead and their calls echoed in the apartments' canyon. I then got a text informing me of a delay due to the need for making coffee but that he'd shortly be on his way, as is fully normative for our adventures. I savoured the pause as the next two days promised to be very full indeed.



Time passed peacefully when in the distance I heard the loud rumble of Ruby the Red Subaru and a single headlight's beam turned the corner onto my street. The engine cut out as Karsten entered StealthMode and rolled to a stop in front of me. I put my two backpacks in as we quietly grunted an early morning greeting, awoke Ruby the Red Subaru, and headed off towards Oak Bay and Gonzalez Hill.

We drove up the hill. We got out and scrambled up. We looked.

In the eastern predawn light Mt.Baker continued its quiet
sentinel duty as a ship traversed the waters below.



Celestial motion continued and the Sun slowly peeked up above the mountains


I saw a memorial plinth on a close peak and asked Karsten if he felt like climbing it. So out came the climbing shoes and up he scrambled!


Ships continued to travel the Salish Sea and I pondered upon the fact that for millenia the sea have been such a place of work and trial, of progress and danger.

Don't wake the sleeping giant..


Mt.Baker is gently active. When I look towards it I always remember the fact that one day it could get surly. Much like how the whole region here is due for a very large earthquake today, tomorrow, or sometime in the next century or two. For me this doesn't inspire fear but rather an awareness of the moment's beauty and the tenuous wonder of life.

The major Trial Island's lighthouse has been automated for a number of years now but it's flashing beacon still alerts ships traveling the Salish Sea.



The Trial Island's are protected in the Trial Islands Ecological Reserve and protect the greatest number of endangered and vulnerable species in one ecological reserve (according to Wikipedia!)



with a final look towards Kulshan (the White Sentinel) aka Mt.Baker we left Gonzalez Hill stoked for the impending adventures and sights of the next two days. We didn't know what we would encounter but we knew it would be wonderous.

Onward to adventure! This is what two photoadventures on the road at 5:30am look like while listening to CBC (The official post-sunrise morning music of choice in the red SubaRuby bereft of other audio abilities)



What's Oak Bay like at 5:30 in the morning? Well... the deer prefer eating in only the finest of gardens...


Here's some video footage of our deer encounter..


Thanks for stopping by and stay tuned for the next stop in our Shorts & Gaiters Inaugural Adventure when we visit the Sooke River due to an unanticipated obstacle ;)