reanne profile

Truly an awesome picture!Posted via Mobile Device

Nice, I have a VW Cabriolet and I was wondering if you could stuff two bikes in the back. Now what I'm wondering, do you think with two bikes and two people you could also fit a big dog? :)

It's actually not a bad time of year to camp! The great thing about being on the coast is that there's awesome camping all year.
Sombrio is a great suggestion and really not that crowded…the beach is LONG and you can camp anywhere. Bear is a great option but you need to have backpacks. The trail is about 12km unless you find the side trail that comes down from the highway which is a much easier/shorter hike. Anywhere along the Juan de Fuca trail is a great idea, but as said, don't leave anything in your vehicle. It's just over an hour drive from Victoria. There's Mystic Beach if you're not prepared to hike to Bear; it's still wilderness-y but only just over 2km (you actually hike through it to get to Bear). If you don't have proper backpacks and stuff it's still doable, it's nice and quick and quite beautiful. The storms really brought a lot of deadheads up onto the beach this year though so there are fewer camping spots. There's a waterfall, a couple of creeks, and at low tide some awesome stuff to explore.
If you guys have backpacking gear you could do the whole Juan de Fuca trail, it's pretty awesome.
From Parkinson Creek to Payzant Creek is only 3km but a bit tougher of a hike, and while Payzant Ck is not on the ocean, it's a beautiful forested campsite. You can also hike in there from Botanical Beach (which is awesome at low tide), it's 8km I think and a VERY easy hike from that end.
If you park at Sombrio, little Kuitsche Creek isn't a far hike and there's likely to be no one there. It's also a forested campsite.
I think the car camping sites like French Beach and China Beach are closed right now but you can just park and walk into them, I've done that before.
If you want to head a bit farther up Island, Englishman River is a great car camping spot, the waterfall is really beautiful.
Out behind Port Renfrew there are tons of logging roads and amazing places to camp, plus lots of old trees and stuff.
Also you could go to one of the many places around Lake Cowichan, they're mostly run by logging companies. Or drive out to Carmanah-Walbran prov park-beautiful!
Lots of options for you. :)

Definitely no shortage of amazing mountains in BC! Black Tusk has always been one of my favourites. Strathcona park is pretty cool, but bring your snow shoes/crampons/etc because there is a shitload of snow up there this year.

Looks all waaaaay to hard for me, but super fun! :) Glad the ankle held up!

I love these guys, they're so creative!!

I am a woman, AND I'm an atheist, and I feel neither excluded nor offended by the national anthem. Plus "thou dost in us command" sounds particularly lame!!!!!!!

Major behavioural changes like that usually indicate pain, illness, or stress. Good that you're having her checked out. Cats can be prone to UTIs and/or crystals in their urinary tract. It could be a combination of things. Probably not the dog since she has been part of the family for a year and a half. But it could have been building, and with you gone away this time it was the icing on the cake for her. Start with the vet check and go from there. Is she still peeing as much as she did before, and does she look like she's in pain?

hahahahahahha

Hard to remember what would have impressed me as an 18yr old. How come dinner at your place is a no-go? Don't want to hang out at your place or just not dinner? Since she likes dancing, you could do a little dancing at home. A couple candles and some music she likes is a pretty easy thing to do.

Or head out somewhere, put some good music in your car, get out and look at the sky if it's sort of clear, and do some dancing. Seems kind of corny, but lots of girls like that sort of thing.

Alternately, what about a night time walk by the river, or even a little night time hike if she's daring? One of the most awesome Valentine's dates I went on was a pretty short little night hike, with a guy I had only been on a few dates with prior to that. We sat at the top and talked for quite some time. The weather was relatively crappy but it was fun, and very different.

Low key, fun, and not completely run of the mill is always nice. Hope it goes well! :)

PS no need for pics of the girl, I'm not a guy LOL

As we say on the backpacking boards, "hike your own hike" but if you have the time, why not spend it in leisure on the trail? Yes, it can be done quickly, but why not take time to enjoy it. :)

Also, I'm not sure what "all access" trail means, but it's definitely not all access LOL.

The going definitely depends on the weather. If it's relatively dry and not tons of blowdown it goes quickly. If you're knee deep in mud, well that slows you down a bit! haha.

You're welcome.

The bus does not start running until May, so make sure you book your time off accordingly LOL

Giant Cedars, White Sands covers only the JDF and it has lots of info on it plus a map. You can't really get lost so the map isn't a must, but it's handy because you can see the creeks and plan your water filtering and also plan for the tides, and figure out where the side trails are if you're exploring any of those. There is a book called Hiking on the Edge that has info about both the JDF and the WCT but I think it's mostly info about the WCT. Personally, I don't think the trails are comparable. Even though they are close by eachother, they are a totally different experience. Love them both though. I prefer the JDF because I can take the dog, which is not an option on WCT since it became so busy.