I had really thought that late fall of 2022 or winter of 2023 would see us back in Spain picking up where we left off on the Via de la Plata or choosing some other southern walking route. I had spent much of the pandemic planning since we couldn’t actually walk them and investigated many routes including the Camino Mozarabe and the Gran Senda de Malaga.
But wildfire smoke here in September triggered bad asthma for my partner Nedjo and he just couldn’t shake it. As the months passed by it became clear that Spain would need to wait. But finally things started improving in February and by March we thought we’d try a short break on Vancouver Island hoping we could fit in at least a little walking.
As it turned out, Nedjo was doing great as we prepared to head from our home on Salt Spring over to the larger, neighbouring Vancouver Island. Not an epic trip but we were excited. We had two nights booked at the Cottage and Castle B and B in Chemainus and that was all accessible by public transit, but if we felt good and the weather cooperated, we started thinking maybe we could walk.
Through the pandemic we walked a lot. We have three different one-hour routes and we try to walk one of them each day. Then there are longer routes for the weekend as well as a new favourite loop that combines road walking and some of the newer pathways in our island’s pathway network. We like to walk with our walking poles, partly for the extra speed they give us as well as a fuller body work-out, but also I believe they make the daily walk seem more exciting. The same with putting on our walking clothes. Yes, it saves on laundry on our often drought-striken island, but also adds to the feel of life on the road.
But now we added our packs and that really made it feel like a trip We packed lightly so as not to weigh ourselves down and as I shouldered my beautiful turquoise pack, I felt a rising sense of well-being. Arriving in Crofton after the 25 minute ferry ride we made the final call. Why take the bus when we could walk
We knew the first stretch wouldn’t be so nice as we’d pass by the paper mill that we can see from our island and which gives Crofton its distinctive aroma. But we also knew that the road had been recently re-paved and it looked to have much better shoulders. Still, it wasn’t the nicest stretch and those laden logging trucks are big and move fast. We needed to scurry almost in the ditch every time one passed. But luckily that stretch only lasted an hour and soon we came to an intersection where the trucks turned left to join the highway and we veered right along Chemainus Road.
I grew up in this area, in Duncan, and so these were roads I knew well but only from the passenger seat of a car or on the bus or in long-gone days from the train. Being a walker always gives you a different vantage point and you never really know how a road is going to be on foot until you try it.
The lovely Crofton/Westholme Cemetery provided a beautiful place to stop for our lunch break of nuts, oranges and chocolate. Snowdrops, aconite and crocuses were in full bloom and the mottled leaves showed where soon fawn lilies would be on display. While the next section also had us walking along the road, there was much less traffic and no big trucks so it was much more pleasant. The vibrant yellow of newly blooming forsythia bushes became the back drop to this section.
Two kilometres before Chemainus we arrived at the goal of our trip: the Cowichan Valley Trail (CVT). Part of the Great Trail (formerly the Trans Canada Trail), this 15 kilometre stretch runs up to Ladysmith and would be our goal for tomorrow. For today it made a welcome change from the road and led us in to the small town of Chemainus with its murals and lovely old buildings. We were the only guests in our B and B and since Monday seemed to be closing day for many restaurants we were happy that one was open for an early dinner.
After breakfast at the B and B, we walked back to where we’d left the trail yesterday right by Chemainus’ former train stop. The E and N Railway stopped running about a decade ago due to track maintenance issues but over the years it had been a favourite, both when I was growing up and then in later years with our own children as our family was car-free. We took it to class camping trips at Bright Angel Park in Koksilah and to Parksville for beach holidays. While discussions proceed about whether or not train service can be restored and as active transport activists lobby for a cycling and walking path and local First Nations rightly push for the return of their stolen land, this section of the Cowichan Valley Trail has been beautifully built next to the train tracks.
As soon as we hit the trail, we were in heaven. The trail was wide, the gravel surface firm and smooth with plenty of room for both walkers and cyclists. A map kiosk and portapotty about two kilometres along provided more evidence that this was a well-designed trail. The lure of a coffee shop had us divert at Saltaire Road and the Coffee Shack on Chemainus Road did not disappoint with fabulous coffee and a good muffin for sharing and a very clean bathroom.
Over coffee we could see on our map that the park adjacent to the trail could be entered from this direction so heading south again briefly we followed the park sign and discovered the wonderful Stocking Creek Park with its lush stands of Douglas fir, cedars dripping with moss and ferns in every direction. We opted for the trail that would lead us to the falls and then climbing back out of the park rejoined the CVT.
A detour for trail construction meant we needed to do a little road walking but on quiet roads, eventually leading to the last section right on Chemainus Road but with a sidewalk. Emerging at the Trans Canada Highway, you need to cross at a busy intersection (but with traffic lights) to the Coronation Mall side and take a short section along the side of the highway. At least you are on the far side of a barrier so although this isn’t pretty, it is safe. Before long the path veers up hill onto the residential streets of Ladysmith. The trail proper drops away again to follow the tracks by Transfer Beach, but we opted to stay on the street that led us into Ladysmith’s main commercial section. Another old, small town that has seen a bit of a resurgence (and which is famous for its Christmas lights display), we reveled in the sunny spring day enjoying late-lunch sushi at an outdoor table before catching the local bus back to Chemainus. Back at the B and B we enjoyed taking off our boots, hot showers and then as the day faded walking down to the beach to admire the view. Dinner at Thai Pinto didn’t disappoint and as we ambled back to our lodgings, it really felt like we’d had the kind of walking day we’d so been missing.