A Beginner’s Tale in East Sooke Trail

It was a long weekend in Victoria–four days of either couching at home or out exploring the nature. Since the weather was good and it was spring season, my friends and I decided to go for a hike in East Sooke–what’s wrong with burning a few calories while indulging your body with clean air, right?

East Sooke is a regional park with 50 kilometers of trail through forest, marsh and field. It also boasts of a challenging 10 kilometers coast trail. There are three entry points to start your adventure: Aylard farm, Anderson Cove and Pike Road.

According to the website, the Pike Road to Iron Mine Bay is the most user-friendly route and it is only 1.5km. Being the organizer, I was responsible for the route. There were four of us in the group. Chel was the driver, Caloy (her husband) was the newbie in Canada and Dennis was the entertainer. I chose the easiest one, Pike Road. It was only until now (while writing this blog) that I realized that I chose the wrong parking lot in the map! Sorry guys!

Before we began the trail, I told them that it would only be an hour or 2. I assured them that it would be for beginners with a very easy terrain. They all trusted me (not sure if that still remains). I brought 4 small pieces of turon (a spring roll with some banana fillings) and a bottle of water. Chel brought 4 pieces of choco-coated cookies. Dennis brought himself and left his water bottle in the car, which shouldn’t be a surprise since it was supposed to be a “short” and “easy” trail.

This cookie saved us from hunger.

The first hour was not that bad. The steps were not very steep. There was a long stretch of wide almost-flat road. The trees, the ferns, the moss and the spring water were invigorating. Dennis even tasted the spring water. We were not sure if the water was clean after seeing a bunch of mosquitoes partying on top of the stream.

We reached the coast two hours after. The view was amazing! The cliffs, the waves and the ocean breeze were worth the long hike. It dawned to me that if it took us 2 hours to go there, it would take us another 2 hours to go back. Without any food left in our bags, I was hoping no one would throw a tantrum to the “tour guide”.

We planned for a slightly different route out of the coast trail. The terrain was moderately challenging with rocks and roots along the way. What made it worse was that we missed the left turn to go back to friendly road. We had to take a different route that was longer.

The not-so-easy trail for the beginners.

Along the way, we were all discussing about food. We first thought of having Thai food in Sabhai Thai but Dennis said their Pad Thai wasn’t that great. Then we shifted to Vietnamese food in Green Leaf. We were all tired but still spirited to move forward. Fortunately, this GOF (Gang-Of-Four) was all smiles and laughter. One would crack a joke when the rest are drained. One would shout “fighting!” when our legs started complaining. Yes, there were two in the group who were big fans of K-pop and Korean dramas, thus the chant “FIGHTING!”

We reached the parking lot three hours after. It was the most comfortable and rewarding seat that we have. It was Caloy’s first “easy” hike as well. I’m pretty sure it became a memorable one. We drove neither to the Thai nor Vietnamese food. We ended up eating in a buffet banquet. With the happy disposition of the group, this adventure surely wouldn’t be our last!