Day 4 Wolf Hill (near Goldstream) BC

The Great Trail (green) is to the left of Golstream Park.

On Day 4 (August 30, 2017) I walked 9.7 km, bringing the total to 35.7 km, which takes me just past Wolf Hill (see map).  This is near Goldstream Provincial Park on Vancouver Island.

Rather than my normal routes in James Bay, I had the opportunity today to walk much of my daily walk on The Great Trail in the Gorge area of Victoria, BC up to Uptown in Saanich and back.  This was a beautiful walk, with interesting nature, ocean bay and artwork.

Today (Day 4) I added 9.7 km, bringing the total to 35.7 km.

Day 3 Langford, BC

Today I've added 7.4 km, bringing the total to 26.0 km. I am in the region of Langford, BC (virtually that is!).  A warm but nice day for a walk in James Bay, with some bigger than normal waves on the outer harbour.

The region I am in today near the city of Langford, BC. The  green line shows The Great Trail.

In my walk in James Bay today I walked by The Glenshiel, an independent living facility for seniors run as a non-profit organization.  Recently I have learned about an amazing program where some of the residents have paddles with messages to cheer people who walk by.  Today I got to wave to one of the residents with her paddle.  If you are walking in the area, please do the same and spread the message. There is an article in the James Bay Beacon about to come out any day on the program (Win-Win Window!).  Give it a read!

Day 3 I walked 7.4 km which took me from a starting point in View Royal to near Langford, BC. Total distance travelled so far 26.0 km. 

Day 2 View Royal, BC and a slogan!

On day 2 yesterday I added 8.1 km so I am now in the View Royal area of greater Victoria, BC. The day started in the Uptown area of Saanich, BC (see map on right - click on the map to see an expanded view), and the trail in this area follows the Galloping Goose regional trail, a very popular hiking, jogging and bicycling route here on Vancouver Island. The route is all pretty level in this opening part, but the ascent near the Malahat is in the days ahead.

In the distance across the inlet from View Royal is the Fort Rodd National Historic site - it actually includes two historic sites, a fort and a lighthouse.  It, along with all Canadian National Parks and Historic Sites, has free admission this year for Canada 150, so this year would be an ideal time to visit.

I shared the start of my virtual walking journey with my granddaughter yesterday, and she is keen to start her own walk.  In case any of you reading this have started your own walk, why not mention it in the comments, and include a link if you have an online update.

The other bit of news, on my walk yesterday I thought of a slogan for my walk.  As mentioned yesterday, while I am not setting a firm goal for either destination for time period, I am hoping to complete from Victoria, BC to Sackville, NB by May, 2022 (which will be my Mount Allison Class '72 50 year reunion). I am going to use the slogan #SeeYouIn22 for my walk (kind of a message to my Mount Allison and New Brunswick Friends). 

Day 2 I walked 8.1 km which took me from a starting point in the Uptown region of Saanich, BC to the View Royal region of BC (approaching Langford, BC).

The Idea and Day 1

I am a fan of The Great Trail (formerly called the Trans Canada Trail).  As I write this the 22,000 km trail is 93% complete. Walking the trail enriches lives from coast to coast to coast. The trail inspires and brings Canadians together. I hope each of you have had the opportunity to explore parts of the trail near where you live.  

I also love walking in the James Bay area of Victoria where I now live in retirement.  With a mix of developed and natural coast, urban streets, the beautiful Beacon Hill Park, it offers incredible variety in a loop walk of an hour or so. Most days I spend at least an hour walking, sometimes more. I look forward to sharing my daily walks with you through this blog.

So the plan is to track the distance I walk each day, and to trace it out along The Great Trail, gradually working my way from west to east. I have started where I live in Victoria, BC and my goal is to make it to Sackville, NB, where I lived for most of my life. I plan to count only walking I do specifically for walking sake, that is not count walking I do to go to a store or do everyday things.

I realize this will take many years, and even if I don't make it all the way, it still will be fun! I deliberately am not setting a goal for how much I will walk each day, or how long it will take.  It would be wonderful if I could complete it by May, 2022.  That would correspond to my 50th year after graduation from Mount Allison University, and I plan to be there for the reunion so I could do the final walking actually in New Brunswick.

On this blog I will share a little bit both about where I am really walking (usually James Bay, Victoria, occasionally elsewhere) and what I have learned about where I am imagining walking. On the top right I will update what day I am on (I started this on August 27, 2017), the total distance I have walked, and the last community that I virtually visited.

For the starting day I got from Clover Point in Victoria, BC (within a couple of km from my home) to the Uptown region of Saanich, BC. The first part of today's route included the very beautiful section along the Dallas Road coastal path, then a portion of the David Foster Harbour Pathway, and then joined up with the Galloping Goose regional trail. You can see it (in green) on the map on the right.  Click on the image to see it in higher resolution.

Thanks for coming along on my walk!

-Bob

Day 1 I walked 10.5 km which took me from a starting point at Clover Point to the Uptown region of Saanich, BC.