Summer dreams

Raft Cove Provincial Park

I must have a little of the winter blues. These dark, wet, windy, cold weeks are the hardest on the calendar. Waiting for Christmas vacation to arrive for a week off of work but having to drag myself out of the warm house for the paycheck everyday. The holidays just seem like they may never come. I love the start of the new annum. Daylight progressively staying a few more minutes each night and arriving earlier in the morning. The promise of budding trees, daffodil flowers and the smell of spring. I am a big fan of early fall with its mushroom picking and food processing, but nothing beats spring and the coming summer.

Lately all I can think about it spending days on the beach on north Vancouver Island. I am in the early stages of planning an adventure for next summer. My idea is to take a week and hike the North Coast trail. The trail follows the coast and is located in Cape Scott Provincial Park . The trail head is in Shushartie Bay, approximately an hours boat ride from Port Hardy. The route ends at San Josef Bay, and the Cape Scott trail. The route combines beach walking and upland scrambling. There are dedicated campsites and  outhouses and bear caches. The whole trip is about 60 kilometers in length.

Raft Cove sunset

Sea Stalk

San Josef Bay Cape Scott Provincial Park

I am dreaming about windswept beaches, sea stalks, tidal pools, and funky driftwood. I long to feel the warm wind or cold rain and sand in my hair. Blisters, bug bites and a hungry belly. I have never undertaken an adventure like this, with all my necessities on my back. The drive to carry on because that is the only option. Quiting is not a possibility. The mid day naps and spectacular sunsets are some of the rewards of the hard work required to complete a trip like this. A relaxing vacation? Not for me. I want to see what I am made of, have an amazing experience, beautiful photos and memories to share with the ones who are not able to participate. I look forward to sharing this experience with my readers in six or seven months time.