Monday, October 25, 2010

2 K + 2 K

This may be a longish post of images.
Forest Fronds
The green of the forest floor can be deceptive as it was so dry that the needles from the tall trees resembled the sound of rain as they fell. Campfires were prohibited in most of B.C. and Vancouver Island due the extremely dry conditions. Forest rangers had to be ever vigilant. At Jaun de Fuca attendants carried water packs on their vehicles and strapped on their body when they checked the beaches at night as some campers ignore the fire ban and attempt to have beach fires or campfires. Sadly two nights in a row staff had to stop the same European tourists who were insistent to have a fire; personally I would have kicked them out of the park for such blatant disregard which put the forest and other campers at risk. Growing up on the west coast impressed the memory the forests tending to be damp from the moist air coming off the sea, the trees being a catch-basin for moisture captured and held. I wonder has the mass removal of trees on Vancouver Island generated, or excelerated the process of change ultimately drying out the rain forest.
Junco
We were surprised that no moisture was dripping off the vehicle when we awoke, we were expecting moisture and dampness, yet as the morning fog lifted only dryness was evident.

We decided as our schedule had now run amok to take that park attendants advise and attempt the first 2 k of the West Coast Trail to Mystic Beach. We took our time and leisurely strolling enjoying our new adventure. The first part of the trail was filed with flitting bouncing little wrens.
Camouflage Wren
Wren
Crossing the Pete Wolfe creek suspension bridge at the 1K mark, photo by G Delorme.
The first K was easy, the second K was a little rougher going for the bionic woman.
Bionic woman using long lens as a scope to view birds in the tree tops, good luck, lol.
photo by G Delorme.
This is the second part of the trail, whereupon my sweetie had the challenge to heist me upward or hold the balance of my weight to assist on down drops which were a bit much for my braced legs to manage.
I love this shot of the hikers coming towards the loose plank bridge. Photo by G Delorme.
The bionic woman intent on keeping balance on planks which bend under ones weight, I have to laugh at discovering this image that Gerald took as I look so serious and intent. Now you may look at this image and say "big deal, its an easy cheesy walk in the park" and when I was more abled it was. Now to traverse the landscape I am enabled by leg braces which keep my knees from dislocating and lace up boots that wrap my ankles to hold them together. I have a painful soft-connective disorder and any part of my body can painfully dislocate by a slight wrong move, especially if I lose balance.
the leg braces prevent me falling every twenty steps so to be able to say "I walked 2 K + 2K of the West Coast Trail, even though I needed a wee bit of help, is a personal "highlight" which will not be soon forgotten.
Log bridge. Here I cheated and went off trail and down through the stream bed to cross as the stream was depleted enough to step over.
Looking Down at Mystic Beach from the trail above.
Yay, we finally reached the shore, how inspiring!
My sweetie strolling the shore while I rested on a log.
I was amazed how many people backpack wee ones in that were running around on the beach. When we arrived there were about five families camped above the high-tide mark and when the tide comes up there is not much shore to camp on. As we arrived the tide was hastily in-coming so we were lucky to get these shots as within the hour all had changed.
There were wonderful wave carved caverns.
Looking out from within. Shortly after taking these photos this cavern was reclaimed by the sea.
 Rush and roar of waves, how refreshing, mmm, salt spray love affair. I believe the salt spray and smell of the ocean is what I miss most since moving away from the coast.
The sea reclaiming its boundaries.
Photo by G Delorme.
The notched log path leading back up the bank from the beach, I kindly gave way for these hikers to pass as I am quite slow on steps having to be more cautious than the average bear.
And where we stepped aside, I spotted once again another gift...
Photo by G Delorme.
I asked Gerald to photograph this heart that lay off the side of the log. It, as the stone-heart from the previous day was left for others to discover and enjoy. The one aspect I love about photography is that I can both carry the object with me as an image and also leave it for others to enjoy. 
May your day be filled with Heart-filled joy.
HUGS!


2 comments:

Carol Blackburn said...

Wow, what an adventure. Thanks for sharing it with us, Teresa. Love the photos and commentary. Hope you don't hurt too much the second day after. That's usually when you remember fondly all the climbing you did thanks to the gentle reminders of aches and pains.

tess stieben said...

I amazingly did not garner added pain than my usual quota. Thankfully I have a fantastic walking companion who doesn't mind that we took the trails slow and careful and made stops to rest on the way. I had a 90 yr old fellow speed past me, which noting the humour of it placed a smile on my face.