Arriving home from the Camino, I was jarred by the differences in myself. I felt like I lost some of the confidence I had gained on the Camino. Some of the same activities I had been doing seemed more difficult somehow. I continued my daily walking at home, but acutely felt the noise and busy-ness of the city. I longed for quiet country vistas.
I also realized that the remaining energetic cords to my "career" issues became very draining. The question of "what's my next step?" loomed large in my consciousness, even though Colin and I had both agreed that I didn't need to rush. I felt the pressure of incompletion, having left a lot of my teaching supplies at the college when I left on December.
My "Camino family" Cathleen and Sophie had also kept walking. Sophie, onward past Santiago to Finesterre. Cathleen, in her hometown of Prince George. We were compelled to keep walking, as if our journeys were still incomplete, despite the great strides we had made (eg on Cathleen's end, she reported being better able to ask for --and receive-- the "space" she needed at home).
I started googling long distance walking trips online. I emailed the Irish couple I had met in San Romao da Ratorta, asking about the yearly walking trip they suggested, thinking it occurred in the fall. They didn't reply.
I searched walks on Vancouver Island, like the famously challenging West Coast Trail, amused to realize it was only 75km long (granted, through rough terrain). I discovered that Vancouver Island had several interlinking "loops" of trails that could be adjusted according to preference. The longest was 120km.
I mentioned this to my friend Nihan, who had been with us "in spirit" on the Camino. She immediately said, "Pick me! Pick me!"
I had considered her as a walking partner for the Camino, as she was also off work and already in decent walking shape. However, she was significantly more social than me. Plus, she liked to "vocalize" a lot to herself, with noises, sighs, humming, etc. I worried I would not get enough quiet time. She had also never done a trip of this sort, so I would need to always be the leader. I didn't want to risk flipping out on her and damaging our friendship. However, a short trip, like one of the Vancouver Island loops, might work.
Nihan and I had been on similar personal journeys for the last six years, and I could see how this trip would be a "continuation" of the personal inner process I started on my Camino.
Since Nihan and I had both just transitioned out of our jobs, and were both suffering from adrenal fatigue, I knew our intentions for this trip would be highly aligned. We were both in a place of ending status quo and birthing new possibilities, trying to figure out what they would look like.
I went to the college and successfully collected the rest of my belongings, and --after having a panic and a big cry-- felt a closure from it. So I set my intention that by the end of our Cowichan trip, I would feel a solid answer to the question of what to do regarding my other teaching job at UBC.
I went to visit Nihan. Within two hours, somehow we had a trip planned. By that night, we also had dates selected. They were earlier than I had wanted, but due to scheduling issues, the only ones that would get us there both there before the fall rains started (in Vancouver it rains from about October to about May). While walking can be fun in the rain on the West Coast, we wanted to travel lightly on this trip.
After looking at many alternatives, we finally decided on a simple 66km circle, counterclockwise- from Duncan to Cowichan Lake, following Cowichan Valley Trail, a part of the Trans-Canada Trail.
The route would take us along all types of trails: country roads, railgrade, and winding footpaths. It ran alongside rivers, through forests, over several trestles, and past a lake.
We had it all planned out, with only one hitch: we could not seem to find available accommodations at the walking intervals we wanted. First, there were not many to choose from. Second, many were already booked. For example, Stone Soup Inn was in a perfect location, near the top of Mayo Road, but it was booked.
We discovered that if we did the short stretch of Mayo Road twice, while completing the far end of the loop to Cowichan Lake, we could stay at Cobb House on 2 days in a row, but they were not available on the first day we wanted. We finally decided to reverse directions, running the loop in the other direction, and Cobb House was available on both days we needed. With a final booking at Akasha Meadows, just outside Duncan, we were set to go!
Even though was a shorter trip than the Camino (only 4 days walking vs 21 days), we would need to pack in a lot of our own food, as the only grocery stores (and open restaurants!) would be in Duncan and Cowichan Lake, which are 30-40km apart, depending on which of the many trail options you follow. We could eat lunch in Duncan on Day 1 and in Lake Cowichan on Day 3, but because we were planning on tubing the Cowichan River for part of our "trail" on Day 3 (it starts in town and tubes out a few km), it put a kibosh on hauling groceries that day. We located a small country store in Glenora, and planned to stop there to buy soup for dinner on Day 1, which would save us hauling a little extra food at least the first 10km from Duncan.
I spent some time trying to maximize the food-to-weight ratio and came up with some pretty great options. Even with food, we were each only carrying 8-9lb packs. You'll have to read on, to see what we decided upon for our meals! ;)
Like on the Camino, I'll be blogging with my cell phone and when we hit wifi, so bear with me!
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