These Boots were made for Walking

It was just my husband and me on Mother's Day. We were in Victoria the previous weekend and celebrated with the children then. Tim took me out for a wonderful meal on Saturday night. We enjoyed a four course dinner and rolled ourselves home to read and talk while digesting. We'd worked hard on the yard during the day, hacking, pulling, pruning and evaluating, so our dinner was a reward. Can one PRE-burn off calories?

Sunday dawned sunny and clear and we decided to go hiking. Beach or mountain, that was the question. Mountain was settled on, so we drove out to Cameron Lake.

We parked in the lot by the lake, crossed the highway and began hiking up the trail. It was listed as an easy hike, suitable for novices.

The trail followed a pretty stream for quite some time. Birds chirped in the woods, fresh scents of pine and fir and forest floor invigorated the senses, and we were full of energy.

We stopped along the fairly steep trail for "picture taking" and "scenery admiration" aka to catch my breath. Here, a self portrait of the two of us taken by my husband with the longer arm.

Higher up we ran into a little "leftover winter." But we didn't need extra clothes. No sirree, we were sweating from the effort.

Once we achieved the lookout, the view was spectacular. There's the lake, far below, where we began. Beyond the mountains is the Strait of Georgia with Denman and Hornby Islands to the right, and in the far distance, mainland British Columbia.

Having eaten a late breakfast, and not really assuming the hike would take this long, we had packed a light snack - apples, cheese, mini wheats and dark chocolate. It was enough. We sat at the top for about 25 minutes, joined by a pair of cheeky birds wanting a handout. They were not afraid of us, prancing and chirping just a foot away. We found ourselves guarding the food in our hands, for if we gestured while holding something, or even held the food visible in our fingers, they swooped down and attempted a theft. Obviously, they had been fed by other humans.

Two hours straight up, 25 minutes of rest, 90 minutes down. By the time we reached the stream, I wanted nothing more than to stop and cool my feet. We soldiered on.

In the car on the way home we realized that we haven't done a hike like this in years. Our hikes in East Sooke Park involve much more up and down, not this steady ascent and then descent. But we're glad we did it, and maybe one day we'll train a bit and climb to the top of Mount Arrowsmith, not just to the lookout.